Luis Resto (boxer)

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For Luis Resto the musician, see Luis Resto (musician).

Luis Resto (born September 21, 1960) is a former welterweight professional boxer from Bronx, New York.

Contents

[edit] Personal life

Resto was a resident of The Bronx, of Puerto Rican descent.

[edit] Amateur career

A two-time New York Golden Gloves amateur state champion in the welterweight division, Resto trained at the Police Athletic Leagues Lynch Center. [1]He won both the 1975 and 1976 147lb Golden Gloves Open Championships. Resto defeated Miguel Hernandez in the finals of the 1976 147lb Open Championship. Resto was defeated in the 1973 147lb Sub-Novice Championship by Victor Checo of the New York City Recreation Gym.

[edit] Professional career

[edit] Early career

The light-punching Resto made his professional boxing debut on February 4, 1977 with a points defeat of Julio Chevalier. He scored his first professional knockout in his third professional fight, against Mike Lytell in May of the same year. Resto remained unbeaten until his eighth bout, a knockout loss to Bruce Curry in March of 1978. Through 29 fights Resto had compiled a record of 20-8-1 with 8 wins by knockout, which made him a high-level journeyman. [2]

[edit] The Billy Collins Jr Incident

On June 16, 1983 Resto unexpectedly beat undefeated prospect Billy Collins Jr at Madison Square Garden in New York City. in a 10-round unanimous decision, However, Collins' father and trainer, Billy, Sr., discovered that Resto's gloves were thinner than normal. Screaming that he thought the gloves had no padding, Collins, Sr. demanded that the New York State Boxing Commission impound the gloves. An investigation revealed that Resto's trainer, Panama Lewis, had removed two ounces of padding from the knuckles of his boxing gloves. Collins suffered a torn iris and permanently blurred vision, ending his career.

Collins died only months later when he drove his car into a culvert while intoxicated. Some commentators have speculated that he may have committed suicide because he was unable to continue boxing as a result of the actions of Lewis and Resto.[3]

Lewis and Resto were both put on trial and found guilty of assault, criminal possession of a weapon (Resto's hands) and conspiracy. Prosecutors charged that the bout amounted to an illegal assault on Collins and that Resto should have known that the padding had been removed from his gloves. Both were effectively banned from American boxing for life. At last report, Resto was living rent-free in the basement of a Bronx gym.[4] Resto's win was subsequently changed to a no contest.[5]

In 2007, Resto apologized to Collins' widow, Andrea Collins-Nile, who is suing the state of New York for not protecting her late husband. Resto also told Collins-Nile that his hand wraps had been soaked in plaster of Paris, greatly--and illegally--increasing his punching power. Combined with the removed padding, this meant that Resto had been hitting Collins with rocks for 10 rounds. The hand wraps had never been confiscated. Resto also visited Collins' gravesite and and said, "I'm sorry for what I did to you." In 2008, he told the The Tennessean that he'd been burdened by guilt over his involvement in the scheme for almost a quarter century.[6]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Luis Resto - Boxrec Boxing Encyclopaedia
  2. ^ Luis Resto
  3. ^ Silver, Mike (December 1997), “The Ten Dirtiest Fights of All time”, The Ring 76, no. 12: 48 
  4. ^ Farhood, Steve. Unforgiven. Boxing Monthly, 2000.
  5. ^ Luis Resto
  6. ^ After 25 years, boxer admits to tampering

[edit] External links

Professional boxing record for Luis Resto (boxer) from Boxrec

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