1 of Most Brutal Crimes in Sports

Off Topic
1

Finally making a documentary about this. Basically, here’s the summary backstory from the New York Daily News:

[quote]
It was one of the most brutal crimes ever committed in sports and it happened in the ring at Madison Square Garden. The padding was removed from the gloves of Luis Resto and for 30 minutes he assaulted Billy Collins during a match in 1983.

A new documentary entitled “Cornered” will look at the events surrounding the fight and the tragic aftermath. Eric Drath, one of the film’s producers and its director, has pulled together interviews with the prosecutors, Collins’ family, Resto and his trainer Panama Lewis.

“It’s a very timely film considering the crimes that are being committed in sports today,” Drath said. “But most of the crimes, like Michael Vick being charged with dogfighting, are occurring away from the playing field. This was a crime that was actually committed in the ring. People served time for the crime that was committed that night.”

The film has been selected for the 29th annual IFP Marketplace, a showcase for independent filmmakers, and will be shown during the week of Sept. 16 in Manhattan. Drath is hoping that the film will be selected for the Sundance Film Festival.[/quote]

Basically, the backstory is that boxing trainer Panama Lewis removed all the padding of his fighter, an underdog, named Luis Resto. He was fighting Billy Collins Jr, by all accounts a future champion and one of the most promising prospects in the early 80’s. Resto devastated Collins, shattering both of his orbital sockets with basically bare knuckle punches and permanently blinding him.

Collins trainer discovered this after the fight when they shook hands, Panama spent 6 years in jail and was banned from boxing in the United States. Collins, now rapidly going blind, fell deep into depression and commited suicide after his boxing dreams were crushed. Panama still trains fighters overseas, in fact he is training Sultan Ibragimov before his fight with Evander Holyfield coming up.

This should prove to be an interesting and timely documentary considering all the scandals currently in sports.

2

Holy shit. Thats awful.

3

I thought the most brutal crime in sports was that piss poor excuse for a World Series in 2005 when the Chicago White Trash beat the Astros in 4 games.

Sorry to hijack the thread. Reading this does make it sound very interesting. I’ll be watching.

4

I really want to see this. I barely rememeber this happening and have not thought about it for years.

5

I wasn’t even born then, so I didn’t even know this took place. The trailer has me very intrigued though…

6

man, thats just horrible.

7

[quote]Donut62 wrote:
Panama still trains fighters overseas, in fact he is training Sultan Ibragimov before his fight with Evander Holyfield coming up.
[/quote]

WTF?! He did such a brutal thing and is still allowed to train boxers. I don’t understand how come he’s not banned from every boxing organisation because of the things he did.

8

I’d rather cut off my nuts than attend a film festival, but I’d love to get this if it ever comes out on dvd.

I don’t know much about this story…

10

[quote]Jack_Dempsey wrote:
I’d rather cut off my nuts than attend a film festival, but I’d love to get this if it ever comes out on dvd.

I don’t know much about this story…[/quote]

It should be coming out on DVD before too long, it might get picked up by a cable network and shown on TV as well depending on how well it goes over.

11

[quote]gatesoftanhauser wrote:
I thought the most brutal crime in sports was that piss poor excuse for a World Series in 2005 when the Chicago White Trash beat the Astros in 4 games.

Sorry to hijack the thread. Reading this does make it sound very interesting. I’ll be watching.[/quote]

one can only wonder.

12

I am in horror even today.

I’m surprised there wasn’t stricter regulation of the gloves.

13

READ THIS. The film isn’t about what happened to Collins. IT’S ABOUT RESTO AS THE VICTIM. I got this synopsis online:

"Resto�??s post-fight victory celebration proved fleeting however amongst allegations that padding had previously been removed from his gloves �?? vilifying his reputation and sending the brutally-beaten Collins into a tragic downward spiral.

The film�??s director, Eric Drath, first met the Puerto Rican-born Resto seven years ago in a rundown gym in the Bronx. Working as a boxing agent at the time, Drath perceived Resto as taciturn and humble.

�??The glaring contradiction I saw between Resto�??s quiet, restrained character and the premeditated violence of his convicted crime lay on my mind. For years, I have researched his court case and developed a relationship with him and his family. I hope to uncover the disparity between what really happened and the account presented to the jury that found him guilty. This documentary is a personal account of my pursuit to find justice; to delve into, and understand the issues that haunt this unassuming man,�?? stated Drath."

14

Yeah, 'cause it’s so hard to tell all the padding from your gloves has been removed when you’re punching a guy…

15

[quote]JokerFMJ wrote:
Yeah, 'cause it’s so hard to tell all the padding from your gloves has been removed when you’re punching a guy…[/quote]

No doubt, victim my ass.

16

Resto the victim? Unbelievable, Yet another benchmark for the society’s ability to “understand” the offender.