NEW FILM REVEALS BOXING’S DIRTIEST SECRET

I was talking about Resto not knowing the gloves had been tampered with before the fight and that he had nothing to do with it.

 

I enjoyed this documentary very much. I really knew very little about the history of this fight. In the end,both fighters and their families lost everything. You can really tell Resto is remorseful for what he did.

On the other hand,Panama Lewis is a fucking punk ass pimp if I've ever seen one. And seriously,being 60 + years old and still dressing and talking like a ghetto punk is pretty low. Not to mention that horrible fake Bling Bling and gold grill on his teeth:atu:

 

that was a pretty intense documentary.

did anyone catch what Resto said about the pills that Panama Lewis put in the water bottles? asthma drugs that open your lungs up and make you breath easier? crazy stuff, for years upon years of debates i have never heard anyone even speculate that might have been something that could have been put in the water.

makes sense.... aaron pryor's sudden burst of energy in the 14th round doesn't seem so inexplicable now does it?

how about when Resto confronted Panama Lewis? Very strange exchange between the two guys, anyone think it was completely sketchy that Resto wouldnt look Panama in the eyes? Resto may have confessed in this movie, but i still don't think he told the whole truth.

i think he knew the whole time what they were going to do to his gloves, knew about the casts on his knuckles, and knew that they were going to use the asthma pills during the match. his story about Panama and Lee Black "going to the bathroom" and doing something "i'm not sure what they did" is the last gasp attempt on Resto's part to try absolve himself of some of the blame. that's why he never fully confronted Panama, and why Panama could still cling to his story that he went to the bathroom to "take a piss" and that he didn't wrap his hands...

another point i found interesting was that Billy Collins MIGHT have been able to continue his boxing career but that his dad wouldn't let him because it would jeopardize the lawsuit(s) they were trying to file to get more money. i always thought that Collins could never get medically cleared to fight again.

very intense tho - we get a camera view of Resto confessing to his family, the members of collins' family who would listen to him, and to the trainer

 

2 points about the documentary that i would have liked to have been explored more:

1. the asthma pill. i wish they would have had some doctor confirm the effects of asthma medicine pills that could have given Pryor that burst of energy... i know that the focus of the film was supposed to be Resto, but in an attempt to further discredit Panama Lewis' character i think it would have helped to have a medical professional confirm the use of asthma pills as a performance enhancer... or maybe i should just try and score some for myself and see how i feel in 30 seconds.

2. TONY PEREZ. the few times they had Perez speak he talks about how inept the commission was in their actions leading up to the fight, their neglegence, etc.... WHAT ABOUT YOU PEREZ??!?!?! Are teh ref's not supposed to check the gloves before the fight? I spoke with Eric Drath via email years ago when this documentary was in the works and he told me they asked Perez about the gloves, that he checked them and didn't notice anything. DIDNT NOTICE ANYTHING?!?! Collins Sr grabbed the gloves and noticed immediately! Granted he had some lingering suspcions at the time after seeing the damage that had been inflicted, but regardless Tony Perez is supposed to be a world class boxing referee.... and his incompetence should have been brought to the forefront along with everyone elses, imo.

 

Good Documentory.Panama Lewis is a real piece of work,he's nothing but an obitual liar and a cheat.

 

Perez has always been a clueless ref.

 

He is the worst and most incompetent "world class" ref in the history of the sport imo, by a long shot

 

Does anyone know this for sure? I thought that they are supposed to feel the gloves as well as check for the sign off. Either way - the maker of the documentary told me that he asked Perez about checking the gloves, and Perez said he checked them and didn't notice anything...

 

Well, for what it's worth, I think Resto told most of the truth as far as what he was aware of at the time. I think there are still a few small things he isn't telling, probably the kind of things that color his complicitness a bit. But for the most part, I think he is (was) a truly burdened man, who sincerely felt terribly guilty over his actions. It takes brass to ring the Collins' doorbell and just stand there waiting alone on the porch, trying to apologize.

I think the key to putting Resto into perspective is whether or not he knew about the plan. The "conspiracy", as it were. If he did, I don't feel sorry for his lost career. If he didn't know about the plan, but saw things indicating something might be going on and just didn't tell anyone, I see him as far, far less culpable. It is like the pitcher who could really use some help being brought a greased-up baseball by a sneaky coach. Tough situation. You're in the middle of something EXTREMELY competitive, you've worked your whole shitty life to make it happen, and someone offers you a way to make it happen at the last minute, and then it's up to YOU to blow the whistle. Tough call for me on how much blame to place.

But if Resto knew beforehand about what was going to happen, he's as guilty as the rest. I saw on his Wikipedia entry that they have Resto quoted as saying that not only did he know about the Collins fight glove-tampering, but also that Panama Lewis had done it BEFORE. If that is the case, then God will forgive Luis Resto for his honesty, but he deserved the loss of his career, and HE is to blame for it as much as anyone else. I think his existence is basically a fair sentence. He will always be a could-have-been and will always be virtually penniless, and his name is like a curse in the world of boxing.

Panama Lewis - why God? Clearly guilty, clearly the ringleader, and we get a lot more clarity on motive when we hear Resto relay how Panama Lewis was always talking about the "bets", the money they had bet on these fights. So Panama (1) Wraps hand with plaster (2) Removes padding from gloves MULTIPLE times (3) Bets on these rigged fights to get rich while young fighters are maimed.

Uh... how much more evil can you get? Wait don't answer! It gets better! He feels no guilt and no remorse over what he's done, he lies through his teeth every time anyone talks to him, he LAUGHS at Resto for being all sad about it, and he is making an apparently good living STILL training fighters!! He is only concerned about his own career (and you can see that when Resto tells him "You destroyed my career!" and Lewis answers "Your career?!? What about me!!!"). He plays Resto like a fiddle, manipulating him and lying to him under the guise of this "you're like a son" shit, it's disgusting. Disgusting.

Lastly - although Billy Collins Sr. probably did the worst thing he could possibly do in the fight aftermath - basically insisting his son REFUSE to take good fights because it would make his lawsuit(s) look bad - it is another crime altogether that the suit against the NYSAC was dismissed. Yeah, maybe you can't prove Panama Lewis did this, maybe you can't prove Top Rank or MSG was somehow in on it - but by God the NYSAC and their inspector were NEGLIGENT for admitting they NEVER INSPECTED RESTO'S gloves, or HANDWRAPS, and WERE NOT PRESENT when he gloved up!!!!

Out of all this mess, the NYSAC should have been held liable for damages to Billy Collins, his career, his future, and everything else. This crap about the rules being too nebulous or whatever is absurd. The commission's job is to regulate boxing in their state, and that means protecting the fighters from things like loaded gloves. They have paid inspectors that serve this very function. It is stunning to me that they were not held liable in some fashion for what was a clear, egregious error on their part.

 

Excellent point.

 

:doh:

One sucker punch vs. 100s of punches without padding in a presumed fair fight? Hmm.

 

I don't suppose you remember the details of what Butler did very well.

Ask anyone who has ever been punched if they would prefer to fight Luis Resto with padding missing from his gloves or get cold-cocked by a single James Butler punch with his hands taped and gloves off.

As I said, it's not even remotely close.

 

If you're comparing what he did to Sam Kellerman.

 

Resto said they had done this sort of thing a couple times before Collins.

I think it's off youtube but it was on before. It's a lot more of the press conference that was shown at the very end of the movie.

I sort of have mixed feelings on Resto. Watching the documentary, I want to forgive him as he appears to be remorseful and has suffered a lot. However it was such a despicable act that it is hard to to forgive him. The only mixed feelings I have regarding Panama Lewis is which way I prefer him to die violently.

 

There is ephadrine in most of those pills

 

I came out feeling sorry for no one. The reporter was a real pussy as well which is the only way the film gets made. Not to pull a stingkarl, but anyone who has ever laced them up knows that there is no way a person can remove padding from your gloves and you as the fighter would NOT know. He finally came clean, but if he had tried the victim shit I would have left. It was 100% bullshit. I don't believe in Karma, but his life turned out the way he deserves. I feel no sympathy for him and even less that he lied for a 1/4 of a century.

I would love to see Panama Lewis' body shot and bloody on the street, Mussolini style. I really hope he gets killed. The guy would make Don King and Bob Arum's slimely skins crawl.

However, Resto is not responsible for that dumb hayseed's death. Yeah, he was wronged and when you are wronged the worst thing a person can do is make it worse. He lost one fight and the permanent injuries were debunked in the documentary. Collins wanted to win his life's riches in a court room.

It was well done and compelling documentary though. Quality stuff.

 

Ok. If a guy has padding removed from his gloves and thefirst thing Resto says is "I didn't know what was going on I would hammer him although in my mild mannered way. I would not allow Resto five minutes of the victim card. He knew what he did and I for one believe 100% he knew that it was going to happen. He wasn't a victim. He was a filthy cheat. At the end, the reporter let known his bias. He wanted to make this a story about a hapless Resto. Resto's story had no truth in it. The reporter was very soft fro that reason. I liked the result, but if I had been doing it, Resto would have totally come clean instead of what he did finally admit. My opinion is, he knew before what was going to happen. I do believe him that he didn't expect the disasterous repercussions. I think he figured Collins would quit and that tough mother fucker wouldn't.

 

I agree, i think Resto knew the whole time what they were going to do.

 

Everybody is guilty.....Panama Lewis he was the leader of this whole thing....Resto he knew padding was missing....he knew he had Plaster in his wraps...*if he didn't know those things why did he attack Collins face so much wasn't he a body puncher?
Collins killed himself...that was all him he was the weak one..not only that but he endanger the life of his friend who was in the car w/ him....

Collins Sr...scum...if anything he is the one that can get some blame for Collins jr suicide..he was the one that prevented him from going back in the ring....and IMO he fills hella GUILTY about it...

 

And to be honest I bet he wouldn't have agreed to do it at all if it weren't for the fact that the maker of the documentary was trying to make the film DEFENDING Resto's innocence at the inception of the idea.

I was very pissed at the beginning of the documentary as i thought the whole film was going to be based on the premise that Resto had no idea and was just a victim, etc. This may be the land where you are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, but ANYONE with an ounce of sense ccould tell from the moment Billy Resto Sr grabbed Resto's gloves after the fight: his body language and his immediate reaction - that he was guilty as sin and KNEW the whole time entering the ring that he had tampered gloves.

 

Nice sig, Hitman. ::

 

Believe the Gospel, my friend.

 

Yup. Everyone involved has a share of the blame. The only sympathy I feel is for Resto simply because I believe he is the only one who has any conscience. He has nothing to gain by being honest except unburdening himself. I thus have some respect for him. Nobody else gave a shit about anything they may have done wrong, and nobody else showed any sign of remorse.

Next, it is almost sort of taken for granted or implied that somehow "Resto killed Collins". It's like it's sort of the aura of the situation, and the source of much of Resto's guilt I think. But that is a perverse way to look at it when you realize that Collins could have fought, but pops insisted he stay "ill" for the lawsuit, and then jr. goes and starts loading up on the dope & booze until he kills himself.

And that's who's fault? Sure as Hell not Resto's. This same thing could have happened as the result of any legitimate ring injury, and based on what I saw of Collins's personality he seemed a prime candidate to become a redneck drunk the minute his career was over anyway.

 

I finally got to see this documentary on On Demand HBO!

I blame both Resto and Lewis. But I has to be said that Resto at least feels bad and tried to make amends with everyone from his family to Collins' family.

Panama Lewis is just fucking scandalous. That dude needs to die imediately. Not only does he not feel bad but he acts like he is the victim for having his license revoked.

Also I can't believe fighters still seeks his services to be trained. Not surprised someone like Judah worked with him tough. But that's the last idiot I would look to if I was a fighter.

I with HBO did more documentaries of fighters. It was pretty good.