Billy Collins (boxer)
Encyclopedia
William Ray Collins, Jr. (September 21, 1961 – March 6, 1984) was an Irish-American professional boxer
whose career was ended after he sustained serious injuries against an opponent with illegal under-padded gloves.
. He trained his son to follow in his footsteps. Collins won his first 14 fights as a professional welterweight
, among them a decision win over future world title challenger Harold Brazier
. Collins was matched against Puerto Rican
journeyman Luis Resto
at Madison Square Garden
in New York
on June 16, 1983, on the undercard of the Roberto Durán
vs Davey Moore
light-middleweight title fight. Collins entered the fight as a substantial favorite but took a severe beating and lost by a unanimous decision
.
At the end of the fight Collins' father and trainer, Billy, Sr., noticed that Resto's gloves
felt thinner than normal and demanded that they be impounded.
, had removed an ounce of padding from each glove. It made Resto's punches harder and more damaging to Collins.
The commission ruled the fight a no-contest
.
Lewis was effectively banned from any official role in American boxing for life, while Resto was suspended indefinitely and never fought again. In 1986, Lewis and Resto were tried and convicted of assault, conspiracy, and criminal possession of a deadly weapon (Resto's fists); prosecutors felt that Lewis' actions made the fight an illegal assault on Collins. Both men served 2½ years in prison.
and permanently blurred vision, which prevented him from boxing again. After losing two jobs in a short time after the fight, he began drinking heavily. His violent mood swings threatened his marriage.
On March 6, 1984, he crashed his car into a culvert near his home in Antioch, Tennessee
, a suburb of Nashville
. He was killed on impact. Many commentators, as well as Collins' family, believe that the loss of his livelihood broke him psychologically and that his death was a suicide.
, the inspectors, the bout's referee and Everlast
(the manufacturer of Resto's gloves) for gross negligence and loss of income. However, the suit was derailed by Collins' death. Collins, Sr. and Collins' widow Andrea then sued the New York State Boxing Commission for failing to protect Collins. The commission argued that the term "inspection" was so broad that there was no way to determine whether the fight's inspectors could have done more than they did. It also claimed that Top Rank actually hired the inspectors and bore more responsibility for their behavior. A court ruled in favor of the commission, and the court also noted that Collins' death ended any potential future damages. However, Collins' widow, now known as Andrea Collins-Nile, attempted to reopen the suit. The request was denied. The state subsequently changed its rules to prevent a repeat of what happened to Collins.
like those used to set broken bones. The hand wraps were never confiscated and did not figure into the official investigation of the tampering incident. However, the combined effect of the plaster casts and unpadded gloves meant that Resto was effectively striking Collins with rocks. At a 2008 press conference, Resto not only admitted to knowing that Lewis had tampered with the gloves, but had done so at least twice before. The 1983 incident and subsequent aftermath is covered in the HBO-aired documentary Assault in the Ring
.
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
whose career was ended after he sustained serious injuries against an opponent with illegal under-padded gloves.
Career
Billy Collins was born to an Irish-American working class family in Antioch, Tennessee. His father had been a welterweight who had once fought champion Curtis CokesCurtis Cokes
Curtis Cokes is a former boxer from Dallas, Texas, United States. Cokes was world welterweight champion, and he was famous for his training regimen, which he also imposed on other boxers training with him.-Pre-championship career:...
. He trained his son to follow in his footsteps. Collins won his first 14 fights as a professional welterweight
Welterweight
Welterweight is a weight class division in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like kickboxing, taekwondo and mixed martial arts also began to use it for their own weight division system...
, among them a decision win over future world title challenger Harold Brazier
Harold Brazier
Harold Leon Brazier is an American former boxer.Fighting at light welterweight and welterweight, Brazier's career spanned three decades and 127 professional fights. He fought such opponents as Roger Mayweather, Pernell Whitaker, Meldrick Taylor, Vince Phillips, Micky Ward, Lloyd Honeyghan, Juan...
. Collins was matched against Puerto Rican
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
journeyman Luis Resto
Luis Resto (boxer)
Luis Resto is a former welterweight professional boxer from Bronx, New York.-Personal life:Luis Resto was born in Juncos, Puerto Rico, and moved to the Bronx when he was nine years old. Late in his eighth grade year, he elbowed his math teacher in the face, and spent six months in a...
at Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
on June 16, 1983, on the undercard of the Roberto Durán
Roberto Durán
Roberto Durán Samaniego is a retired professional boxer from Panama, widely regarded as one of the greatest boxers of all time. A versatile brawler in the ring, he was nicknamed "Manos de Piedra" during his career....
vs Davey Moore
Davey Moore (1980s)
Davey Moore was an American world champion boxer, the second of two boxers who shared the name in the late 20th century, and whose respective careers each ended with death by trauma around the age of thirty....
light-middleweight title fight. Collins entered the fight as a substantial favorite but took a severe beating and lost by a unanimous decision
Unanimous decision
A unanimous decision is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and others sports involving striking in which all three judges agree on which fighter won the match....
.
At the end of the fight Collins' father and trainer, Billy, Sr., noticed that Resto's gloves
Boxing gloves
Boxing gloves are cushioned gloves that fighters wear on their hands during boxing matches. The term also refers to gloves used in training, though these often differ from competition gloves...
felt thinner than normal and demanded that they be impounded.
Outcome
A subsequent investigation by the New York State Boxing Commission concluded that Resto's trainer, Panama LewisPanama Lewis
Carlos "Panama" Lewis is a well-known and highly controversial boxing trainer who achieved his greatest notoriety in the 1980s.-Early career:Lewis was a disciple of trainer Chickie Ferrara...
, had removed an ounce of padding from each glove. It made Resto's punches harder and more damaging to Collins.
The commission ruled the fight a no-contest
No contest (boxing)
No contest is a technical term used in some combat sports to describe a fight that ends for reasons outside the fighters' hands.-Boxing:...
.
Lewis was effectively banned from any official role in American boxing for life, while Resto was suspended indefinitely and never fought again. In 1986, Lewis and Resto were tried and convicted of assault, conspiracy, and criminal possession of a deadly weapon (Resto's fists); prosecutors felt that Lewis' actions made the fight an illegal assault on Collins. Both men served 2½ years in prison.
Injuries and death
In the Resto fight, Collins' eyes were swollen shut, especially shocking since Resto was known to be a light puncher. He suffered a torn irisIris (anatomy)
The iris is a thin, circular structure in the eye, responsible for controlling the diameter and size of the pupils and thus the amount of light reaching the retina. "Eye color" is the color of the iris, which can be green, blue, or brown. In some cases it can be hazel , grey, violet, or even pink...
and permanently blurred vision, which prevented him from boxing again. After losing two jobs in a short time after the fight, he began drinking heavily. His violent mood swings threatened his marriage.
On March 6, 1984, he crashed his car into a culvert near his home in Antioch, Tennessee
Antioch, Tennessee
Antioch is a community in southeastern Davidson County, Tennessee, that is governed by the Nashville metropolitan government. The area is assigned to postal zip code 37013.- History :...
, a suburb of Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
. He was killed on impact. Many commentators, as well as Collins' family, believe that the loss of his livelihood broke him psychologically and that his death was a suicide.
Legal action
In July 1983, Collins and his family sued Lewis, Resto, fight promoter Top Rank BoxingTop Rank Boxing
Top Rank, Inc. is a Las Vegas based boxing promotion company founded by Jabir Herbert Muhammad and Bob Arum, which was incorporated in 1973. Since its founding, the company has promoted several world class fighters, such as Muhammad Ali, JI Penalver, Oscar De La Hoya, Roberto Durán, Joe Frazier,...
, the inspectors, the bout's referee and Everlast
Everlast (boxing)
Everlast is an American brand active in the design, manufacturing, licensing and marketing of boxing, mixed martial arts and fitness related sporting goods equipment, apparel, footwear, and accessories. Based in Manhattan, Everlast's products are sold across more than 75 countries...
(the manufacturer of Resto's gloves) for gross negligence and loss of income. However, the suit was derailed by Collins' death. Collins, Sr. and Collins' widow Andrea then sued the New York State Boxing Commission for failing to protect Collins. The commission argued that the term "inspection" was so broad that there was no way to determine whether the fight's inspectors could have done more than they did. It also claimed that Top Rank actually hired the inspectors and bore more responsibility for their behavior. A court ruled in favor of the commission, and the court also noted that Collins' death ended any potential future damages. However, Collins' widow, now known as Andrea Collins-Nile, attempted to reopen the suit. The request was denied. The state subsequently changed its rules to prevent a repeat of what happened to Collins.
Further revelations
In 2007, Resto made a tearful apology to Collins-Nile for his role in the scheme. He also admitted that his hand wraps had been soaked in plaster of Paris before the fight. This caused them to harden into plaster castsOrthopedic cast
An orthopedic cast, body cast or surgical cast, is a shell, frequently made from plaster, encasing a limb to hold a broken bone in place until healing is confirmed...
like those used to set broken bones. The hand wraps were never confiscated and did not figure into the official investigation of the tampering incident. However, the combined effect of the plaster casts and unpadded gloves meant that Resto was effectively striking Collins with rocks. At a 2008 press conference, Resto not only admitted to knowing that Lewis had tampered with the gloves, but had done so at least twice before. The 1983 incident and subsequent aftermath is covered in the HBO-aired documentary Assault in the Ring
Assault in the Ring
Assault in the Ring is a 2009 sports documentary film about a controversial boxing match held at Madison Square Garden on June 16, 1983...
.