BoxRec

One of the most colourful characters in boxing is gone. Him, benton and Holyfield were an awesome team. I always remember him having brawls in the ring...and then getting stretchered out.
Pass easy sir..

He was around for quite a while. RIP Lou. A very memorable Boxing character

RIP Lou, a proper boxing legend who forgot more than most knew

He was Great. A combo of Classy Freddie Blassie and my Dad to me. Happy to see he lived a long life. He loved to eat, was always complaining about something. Shows you can live a long great life like that.

For Lou Duva,it was family,whether it was his fighters or his own. .He'll be missed. Saint Pete is gonna' open those pearly gates and welcome him with a plate of linguini and white clam sauce.

I remember 20 years ago when Lou was standing in Andrew Golota's corner prior to his fight with Lennox Lewis. He was barking instructions at Golota.. He was in terrible shape and I was thinking, "Gee Lou is looking old and so overweight. He'll probably be gone in 5 years." ... When you have a passion it keeps you alive. He was 94.

I was just thinking earlier today while I was taking a run before even logging on here ,I had a thought wondering whether if Lou Duva was still alive.
Thinking when he was working along with Rocky Marciano.
Must have been some frequency in the air.

End of an era, what a rugged SOB.
No quit in him. 94 is a full life, and he was in it to win it.

RIP you creator of champions!


Fighters Managed
Joey Giardello
Rocky Lockridge
Johnny Bumphus
Zab Judah
Shaun George
Michael Marrone

Fighters trained

Pernell Whitaker
Evander Holyfield
Meldrick Taylor
Michael Moorer
Vinny Pazienza
Mark Breland
Jose Luis Lopez (Maestrito)
Andrew Golota
Tyrell Biggs
Alex Arthur
Scott Frank

May he R.I.P.

He was a trainer of champions. Maybe the last of the breed. I remember when Lou Duva came at referee Richard Steele after the great Julio Cesar Chavez put Meldrick Taylor on the canvas in that controversial ending. Talking about a trainer that loved his fighters. He gave 100% commitment to every fighter he had. He hated corruption in boxing. He looked like a pit bull or a bulldog. Rough and rugged. He was something to see as a trainer.

I actually saw him in an airport once. It was in Detroit, the day after Tyson-Golota. He was getting driven on one of those carts.
He was something else, wasn't he?

I remember I was working out at a gym in West Palm where Duva was training Golota for the Lewis fight.

I said to Lou, "Good luck against Lewis." He replied laughing, "We're going to need it."

I should have put $ on LL.

Back in 1984 when I showed up at Livingstone Bramble's training camp in Buffalo for his first meeting with "Boom Boom" Mancini I had no idea what to expect from Lou, as my only impression of him was what I'd seen of him on television. And those moments weren't often of him on his best behavior because, as we know, he was always a passionate advocate for his fighters & he could sometimes segue into a rather histrionic state when he felt that one of them had been wronged.
So, it was with some trepidation that I was introduced to him. But what I discovered was a true gentleman & one of the nicest guys that I've ever met in or out of the sport.
He had great respect for all fighters whether they were world champions or four round pugs like me. And, even though I was rarely used as a sparring partner during Bramble's training, Lou made sure that I felt at home in camp & he treated me like a member of his Tomorrows Champions team where I trained with & became friendly with not only Livingstone, but also Johnny Bumphis, Bobby Czyz, Rocky Lockridge, Mark Breland & Louie Espinosa ( who wasn't one of Lou's fighters, but who was in camp as another of Bramble's spar mates ).
I had a great time in that camp & it was a terrific experience because of Lou's hospitality & generosity. Something that, at the time at least, he'd passed down to his fighters as they treated me like family even though I was really just the equivalent of a lowly day laborer alongside CEOs. RIP Lou Duva.

Jim Allcorn