Obituary - Lou Duva, boxing promoter and manager

Died: March 8, 2017

LOU Duva, who has died aged 94, was an Italian-American boxing promoter and manager who guided 18 of the USA's greatest ever 20th century boxers to world championship glory.

He was born into poverty in Manhattan the second son in the extended family of Salvatore Duva who had emigrated from Italy in the 1920s. However, Duva would attribute his subsequent fame and wealth to the relentless work ethic which was a feature of his earliest days.

By the age of 15, he was boxing professionally in pub-based smokers in his adopted New Jersey neighbourhood - bouts which paid five dollars. His innate ambition was so acute that he lied about his age in order to get into the Roosevelt New Deal Civilian Conservation Corps where hard labour enhanced his 5ft 7in frame in a way that helped progress his boxing career. Another bonus of working for the CCC was that it took him to upstate New York's Catskill Mountains resort, which was much loved as a training camp base used by legendary boxers like heavyweight champion Joe Louis.

During the Second World War, Duva became a US Army boxing coach. He then established the New Jersey trucking firm which, with his growing family, he used to bankroll many of his boxing activities.

A strongly tangible presence in American east coast boxing circles in the 1960s and 70s, Duva, having formed his Main Events promotional and management team, made his big breakthrough to the top table of American boxing by winning - against stiff opposition - the right to promote the September 1981 mega world welterweight championship fight featuring Sugar Ray Leonard and Tommy Hearns.

Three years later, in 1984, he had an annus miriballis when his boxers Johnny Bumphus, Rocky Lockeridge, Livingstone Bramble and middleweight Mike McCallum all became world champions under his tutelage.

Even more importantly, in 1984 Duva's burgeoning reputation as a kingmaker saw him sign up the crop of the American Olympic boxing team from the Olympics held that year. So future world cruiserweight and heavyweight champion, Evender Holyfield, welterweight Meldrick Taylor, light-welter and welterweights Pernell Whittaker and Mark Breland all signed with Duva and became world champions.

The downside of Duva's wnning ways was his proclivity to engage in brawls with officials and boxers whom he thought had tried to short change his fighters or himself in some way.

Thus in 1988 Duva suffered a cut cheek after brawling with world champion Roger Mayweather in the ring. And when Duva's Polish heavyweight, Andrew Golota fought Riddick Bowe, Duva had to be rushed to hospital after angrily colliding with the referee and knocking his pacemaker askew.

There were many other such incidents, although they could not diminish the achievements of Duva and Main Events in producing the plethora of world champions that emerged under their corporate banner.

Back in June 2000 I was a dinner guest of Lou Duva at Glasgow's Hilton Hotel where he was staying while attending Mike Tyson's fight at Hampden Park. Duva was scouting local Scottish boxing talent and I found him to be both personable and possessed of an amazing fund of boxing anecdotes.

His beloved wife Enes, who had suffered from multiple sclerosis, died in 1986 and he is survived by a son and three daughters, who were involved in the running of his company.

BRIAN DONALD