Luis Resto Seeks A Second’s License In New York
by Waldo Rastel on Nov 22, 2011 2:10 AM EST
in Boxing News Analysis
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The infamous Luis Resto is going to apply for a second's license in New York according to Mitch Abramson. For those who don't know, Luis Resto is currently banned from boxing because of his bout with Billy Collins Jr in 1983. Before this fight, Collins was an up and coming young fighter with a decent future and Resto was just a stepping-stone. Resto pulled off the upset, scoring a unanimous decision victory. Yet, it was later discovered that all of the padding was taken out of Resto's gloves, making his punches extremely powerful. These punches caused Collins to spend several nights in the hospital with a torn iris. This injury led to permanently blurred vision, and ended the career of Billy Collins. Collins then became depressed and was killed in a car accident less than a year after the Resto fight. Many of his friends and family think that the accident was a suicide. Resto admitted in 2007 that not only was the padding taken out of the gloves, but his handwraps were also dipped in plaster of paris, which would harden over the course of the fight. By the end of this fight, it must have been like hitting Collins with a set of rocks. Resto was convicted of assault in 1986, and served out a 2 and ½ years in prison.
All of these events were retold in the Emmy awarding winning documentary ‘Assault in the Ring' by Eric Drath. This documentary portrays Resto as a puppet of his evil trainer Panama Lewis. The film makes Resto out to be a sympathetic figure who truly wants to apologize for his terrible actions. I take this movie with a gigantic grain of salt. Any fighter knows when the padding is taken out of the gloves, especially when your fists are dipped in plaster of paris. What he and Lewis did on the day of the Collins fight is truly the greatest possible sin in boxing. Cheating that day ended the career of another fighter, and arguably led to his death.
Of course the NYSAC is currently dealing with the eye health of Antonio Margarito, another notorious cheater. Resto was already granted a trainer's license from USA Boxing-Metro to work with amateurs in the 2002 New York Golden Gloves competition. The reasoning was essentially that Resto was trying to help kids and that he made his mistakes in the pro ranks and not in the amateur ranks.
I'm of the opinion that Resto should not be allowed anywhere close to boxing, especially so close to up and coming fighters. He can be as sorry as he wants to be, it doesn't change what he did in the past, and it doesn't change the consequences. As opposed to Margo, Resto is very repentant and it makes me forgive Resto as a person. However, that doesn't mean that everything is cool and he can start training people. What do you guys think? If you were the NYSAC, would you give Resto a second's license?
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I wouldn’t have a problem with it. A second’s license isn’t exactly comparable to, for example, being given a fight with Manny Pacquiao. And a lot of time has passed, and as you said, he has come clean. On the other hand, I can see taking a harder line and refusing too, and it wouldn’t upset me either if he was rejected. I guess I personally don’t see the harm in it.
Boxing writer: "Iran, what are you going to do when you retire?"
Iran Barkley: "Rob your house"
Do you think Panama Lewis should be given a second’s license again?
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
by Scott Christ on Nov 22, 2011 8:20 AM EST up reply actions
I don't know for sure. My instinct says no. I really am overly reliant on the documentary in my opinion here.
And I know that ultimately means my judgment is being filtered through someone’s else’s perspective, which is why I feel extra cautious offering it. In general, though, I do believe in second chances but only after significant honesty from the guilty and significant penalties have been legitimately endured.
Boxing writer: "Iran, what are you going to do when you retire?"
Iran Barkley: "Rob your house"
I thought he finally admitted that he knew of the wraps after the doc came out?
By the way, he still should be banned for life.
Hey, I'll take it from here because you obviously don't know what you're doing... Lie down now, rest, and we'll talk about this when you regain your senses. --The Knockout Mechanism.
I find it very strange that this is coming up NOW.
There is some politics behind this report but I just can’t grasp what exactly is being tried here… This seems too big a coincidence to me with the whole Margarito / NYSAC thing…
The timing is totally weird and he should be denied. Lifetime means just that.
Just as a matter of holding some kind of line against that kind of offense, I hope he’s denied the license. He denied culpability for years, and only came clean when “finding Jesus” started to look like a possible way back into boxing. I don’t necessarily think he’d do it again, it’s just a matter of maintaining a standard. Boxing needs badly to do that, imo. Fans don’t realize the hostility to boxing, the numbers of people gunning for it hard. This stuff is the wrong ammuntion to give them.
There is no safety in numbers, or in anything else--James Thurber, 1939
What would happen?
Great thought. I would be concerned about him being in the ring period. He’s not fit for it.
Well, the timing is perfect--
He is a living part of the new United States
He is scum incarnate
"There is a level of cowardice lower than that of the conformist: the fashionable non-conformist." --Ayn Rand
Hell no.
He can repent for the rest of his life. I’m not God so I don’t have to forgive him and neither should NYSAC
Forgive...But don't forget
Since he seems truly sorry and is trying to make up for it I can forgive him. But we can’t forget his actions very likely lead to a premature end to a career and a life, so I agree that he shouldn’t be granted a second’s license.
by TheMysticalNinja on Nov 22, 2011 4:28 PM EST reply actions
If Mucho Gusto Margarito Can Get One...
This is awesome timing considering the back drop of Cotto/Margarito fight soon. My stance is that he shouldn’t be allowed to have a license. He came clean, and while watching the documentary you can almost tell that there’s a part of him that wanted to believe that he was unaware that his glove weren’t tampered with.
What happened in my opinion destroyed the man he was then. I’m not familiar with his character outside of the ring, but it seemed he wasnt on good footing. He could have been playing it up for the cameras, or he could really be that bi-polar.
How much different was this from the first Cotto/Margarito fight?
What does boxing gain from giving this guy a second chance?
“What does boxing gain. . .” is a good question. It gains nothing, really, and it loses another tattered shred of accountability.
from Wikipedia:
For almost a quarter-century, Resto publicly denied knowing that Lewis had tampered with the gloves. However, in 2007, Resto apologized to Collins’ widow, Andrea Collins-Nile, who attempted to sue the state of New York for not protecting her late husband. Resto also told Collins-Nile that in addition to removing padding from the gloves, Lewis soaked his hand wraps in plaster of Paris. This caused the wraps to harden into plaster casts similar to those used to set broken bones, which greatly—and illegally—increased Resto’s punching power. The hand wraps had never been confiscated. Combined with the removed padding, this meant that Resto had basically been hitting Collins with rocks for 10 rounds. Resto also disclosed that Lewis would break apart pills used to treat asthma and pour the medicine into his water bottles, giving Resto greater lung capacity in the later rounds of a fight. Resto also visited Collins’ gravesite and said, “I’m sorry for what I did to you.”7 At a 2008 press conference, Resto said that he knew Lewis had taken the padding out of his gloves and had done so at least twice before. However, Resto said, he didn’t protest at the time even though he knew it was wrong. “At the time, I was young,” he said. “I went along.”
There is no safety in numbers, or in anything else--James Thurber, 1939
From Bad Left Hook by Scott, with photo:
http://www.badlefthook.com/2009/1/30/742106/the-tragedy-of-collins-and
There is no safety in numbers, or in anything else--James Thurber, 1939
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