Billy Collins Jr.

William Ray Collins Jr. (September 21, 1961 – March 6, 1984) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1981 to 1983. His career was cut short after his final fight when he sustained serious injuries against Luis Resto in their ten-round bout. Aided by his trainer Panama Lewis, Resto used illegal, tampered gloves with an ounce of the gloves' cushioning removed, along with hand wraps which had been soaked in plaster of Paris.[1]

Billy Collins Jr.
Statistics
Real nameWilliam Ray Collins Jr.
Nickname(s)"Irish"
Weight(s)Light middleweight
NationalityAmerican
Born(1961-09-21)September 21, 1961
Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
DiedMarch 6, 1984(1984-03-06) (aged 22)
Antioch, Tennessee, U.S.
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights15
Wins14
Wins by KO11
No contests1

Professional career

Billy Collins was born to a working-class Irish family in Antioch, Tennessee. His father (whose mother was native American) was a former welterweight professional boxer who had once fought world champion Curtis Cokes. He trained his son to follow in his footsteps since before kindergarten. Also a welterweight, Collins won his first 14 fights as a professional, among them a decision over future world title challenger Harold Brazier.

Final fight against Luis Resto

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 betting favorite but took a heavy 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.[2] A subsequent investigation by the New York State Boxing Commission concluded that Resto's trainer, Panama Lewis, had removed an ounce of padding from each glove. It made Resto's punches harder and more damaging to Collins. The fight result was changed to a no contest.

Lewis' New York boxing license was permanently revoked, effectively banning him from any official role in American boxing for life. 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 plaster of paris wraps); prosecutors felt that Lewis' actions made the fight an illegal assault on Collins. Both served 2​1⁄2 years in prison.[3]

Injuries and auto accident

In the Resto fight, Collins' eyes were swollen shut. He suffered a torn iris and permanently blurred vision, which left him unable to box again.[4]

On March 6, 1984, Collins was killed when the car in which he and his best friend were driving in crashed into a culvert near his home in Antioch, Tennessee, a suburb of Nashville. The autopsy showed he died a short time later at the scene of the accident. Many commentators, as well as Collins' family, believe that the loss of his livelihood broke him emotionally and physically.[2]

In July 1983, Collins and his family sued Lewis, Resto, fight promoter Top Rank Boxing, the inspectors, the bout's referee and Everlast (the manufacturer of Resto's gloves) for gross negligence and loss of income. The suit against Everlast was dismissed by the Federal Court which found that there was no liability since the gloves had been tampered with after they were delivered by Everlast. 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.[2] 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. The Collins family never saw any restitution.

Further revelations by Resto

In 2007, Resto made a tearful apology to Collins-Nile for his role in the scheme unexpectedly during the making of an HBO documentary about the fight. He also admitted that his hand wraps had been soaked in plaster of Paris before the fight. This caused them to harden into plaster casts 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.[5] 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.[6] The 1983 incident and subsequent aftermath is covered in the 2008 HBO documentary Assault in the Ring.[7]

Professional boxing record
Professional record summary
15 fights 14 wins 0 losses
By knockout 11 0
By decision 3 0
No contests 1
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
15 NC 14–0 (1) Luis Resto UD 10 Jun 16, 1983 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S. Originally a UD win for Resto, later ruled an NC after he was found to have used tampered gloves and handwraps
14 Win 14–0 Fernando Fernandez KO 6 (10), 2:50 May 5, 1983 Bristol, Tennessee, U.S.
13 Win 13–0 Steve Johnson KO 1 (12), 2:15 Mar 16, 1983 Castaways Hotel and Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
12 Win 12–0 Dennis Horne UD 10 Jan 20, 1983 Sands, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
11 Win 11–0 Ricky Whitt KO 4 (10), 2:48 Oct 17, 1982 The Claridge Hotel, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
10 Win 10–0 Eddie Flanning TKO 3 (10), 2:21 Sep 30, 1982 USS Yorktown (CV-10), Charleston, South Carolina, U.S.
9 Win 9–0 Harold Brazier MD 6 Sep 11, 1982 Sands, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
8 Win 8–0 Mike Pollitt KO 3 (6) Aug 4, 1982 Sands, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
7 Win 7–0 Roosevelt Moss KO 1 (6), 1:59 Jul 17, 1982 Bally's Park Place, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
6 Win 6–0 Jose Fuentes TKO 3 (6) Jun 23, 1982 Sands, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
5 Win 5–0 Bruce Strauss KO 3 (6) May 20, 1982 Sands, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
4 Win 4–0 Tony Taylor UD 6 Mar 17, 1982 Sands, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
3 Win 3–0 Keith Corbett KO 6 (6) Feb 4, 1982 Sands, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
2 Win 2–0 Gary Baker KO 2 (4) Jan 19, 1982 Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
1 Win 1–0 Kevin Griffin KO 3 (4), 2:48 Dec 2, 1981 Sands, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
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References
  1. "Resto: Wraps were doctored with plaster in fight vs. Collins". ESPN. April 4, 1998. Retrieved August 18, 2018.
  2. Pearlman, Jeff (October 26, 1998). "Bare Knuckles". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  3. "Luis Resto vs Billy Collins Jr. 1983 fight resulted no-contest". Sports Mirchi.
  4. "Worst Cheater In Boxing Ever!!!". YouTube (MMA TV Documentary, source referenced at timestamp 9:10.). November 30, 2018.
  5. "After 25 years, boxer admits tampering". The Tennessean.
  6. Mladnich, Robert. Resto Comes Clean: He Knew Gloves Were Loaded Archived April 15, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. The Sweet Science, 2008-04-06.
  7. "HBO: Assault in the Ring". hbo.com. July 18, 2009. Retrieved July 18, 2009.
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