HBO Assault In The Ring

I've been behind all week but I just recently gotten a chance to watch HBO Assault In The Ring. I thought it was a great documentary, many boxing fans including myself have held ill feelings toward Luis Resto before watching this. For those who dont know heres the story: In June of 1983 Billy Collins an undefeated welterweight prospect out of Tennessee signed to Top Rank took on New York's own Luis Resto on the undercard of Davey Moore vs Roberto Duran. Billy Collins was on his way to boxing superstardom and had a fierce right uppercut, unlike Luis Resto who in his young career of 5 years had a record of 19 wins and 7 losses and on his way to journeyman status. The matchup was 15 rounds of brutality all favoring Luis Resto. Shots were just snapping Billy Collins head back and swelling both of his eyes up eventually closing them shut after round 10. Collins never went down and kept fighting. The fight went the distance with Luis Resto winning the unanimous decision victory. After the matchup Billy Collins' father Billy Collins Sr. noticed the padding was out of Resto's gloves and called for some people to inspect them. Resto and his trainer Panama Lewis left the ring immediately, and later in the dressing room under observation the gloves were removed. The person observing noticed that the padding was taken out of the gloves and it was later confirmed that plaster of paris was used. So basically Billy Collins was being hit full force with a cast over a duration of 45 min. in a boxing ring. Months later Billy Collins Jr. committed suicide, and Panama Lewis and Luis Resto were sent to jail and banned from boxing for life. Onto the documentary, it paints a picture of a broken man in Resto. He lost everything as a result of that fight. He lost his family, he couldnt get back into the sport he loved not even as a trainer, and hes pretty much homeless living in the basement of a boxing gym. You can tell by looking at this documentary that Luis Resto carried a lot of guilt as a result of what happened that night. Panama Lewis on the other hand was still working corners but still couldnt get his boxing license. It disgusts me that hes still working corners, and pretty much continuing to train fighters after what he did, while Resto lives in extreme poverty. I'm not going to say Panama Lewis was responsible in the death of Billy Collins but is responsible in destroying many things: the legacy of Aaron Pryor, the career and life of Luis Resto, the lives of the Collins family, and his own training career. Any fighter that works with Panama Lewis must not know much about boxing if they work with him, because this man is everything thats wrong with the sport. At the end of the day I felt sorry for Resto because the result of his one mistake costs him everything he worked so hard for. The underbelly of the New York boxing scene has since recovered, but ever since that infamous night 25 years ago Antonio Margarito has come under suspicion for having plaster in his gloves against Shane Mosley and people think he possibly used them against Miguel Cotto. I like to give a boxer the benefit of the doubt even in this case. But I thank God everyday plaster or no plaster that Miguel Cotto or any other fighter was as damaged as Billy Collins