Being around the sport of boxing as long as I have, you see and hear all kinds of stories from various individuals. From fighters, to trainers, to media members, and even hardcore fans, the stories you hear can go anywhere from enthusiastic to bone-chilling, and everything in between. It’s been this way since the late 1800s going back to the era of fighters like John L. Sullivan through today. 

15 years ago this month, a documentatry that was as bone-chilling as any story you will ever hear, was released. It involved perhaps the darkest night in the sport’s history to where, after you see and hear about it, Mike Tyson‘s ear bite of Evander Holyfield in 1997 was basically a 3rd tier side show.

The boxing world was introduced to the documentary Assault In The Ring, an award-winning film put together by Eric Drath, which digs deep into the dark and criminal 1983 fight between Luis Resto and Billy Collins Jr. The fight was filled with surreal controversy and the lives of those who were associated with this changed forever. What was revealed in this documentary validated how dirty this fight was as it went to the core of the criminal act that was committed that night.

I break down the fight and everything after that was revealed before and after the documentary.

The fight:

The fight featured a prospect from Nashville, Tennessee Billy Collins Jr. (14-0) against a seasoned journeyman fighter from the Bronx, Luis Resto (19-7-3). This was a fight where for Collins to get to the next level, he needed to beat Resto, who was a tough fighter who can give anyone a tougher than expected fight on any given night. Collins was the favorite going in, and many felt he should have won. However, nothing in boxing is always a given and this fight proved it. The fight was basically a one-sided beating in the favor of the Resto, with both of Collins’ eyes swollen completely shut in a grotesque manner. As the fight went on, the stronger Resto appeared to deliver a beating to Collins for the entire 10 rounds. As the final bell sounded, it appeared a major upset had taken place. However, as always is the case with the sport of boxing, something was about to happen and it wasn’t going to be good.

The post fight, in-ring chaos:

When Resto went to congratulate Collins, his trainer, BIlly Collins Sr. grabbed Resto’s gloves and was calling for the New York glove inspectors, screaming “All of the padding is out of the gloves!” and the chaos began. The inspectors and referee Tony Perez all went to the corner and heard the complaint from the Collins corner, taking a look at Resto’s apparent tampered gloves. Resto tried to get out of the ring immediately and was cut off by Perez, who wanted to feel the gloves himself. In comes Panama Lewis, Resto’s trainer, yelling to the referee “Those are the gloves they gave us!” Resto would be escored to his locker room with the commission inspectors where they would impound his gloves for further investigation.

The immediate hearing:

Weeks after the fight, a hearing before the New State Athletic Commission was scheduled to determine the fate of both Luis Resto and his trainer Panama Lewis, in regards to the tampered gloves. Everyone in Resto’s camp denied wrongdoing.  However, the commission found that both Resto and Lewis did in fact tamper with the gloves, and announced that Resto was suspended indefinitely, and Panama Lewis would be banned from the sport for their actions. Resto’s win over Collins, as a result, was ruled a no-contest. The consequences and aftermath for everyone involved, was just beginning., and it was going to ugly and swift.

Tragedy for Collins:

After the fight, given the beating be took from Resto, Collins would suffer a concussion and torn iris in his right eye which permanently blurred his vision, basically ending his career. It put him into depression as he became addicted to substance abuse, unable to hold a job, and became increasingly depressed.  His downward spiral ended when he drove intoxicated and crashed into a culvert near his home of Nashville, Tennessee. The near unanimous opinion throughout the boxing community was everything was taken from him that night in the ring. 

Resto and Lewis wins fight, but loses war in criminal court:

Resto and Lewis got the win, but lost their careers in a preliminary hearing shortly after the fight. But their losses would escalate to the court of law as they faced criminal charges in the New York State Supreme Court on September 15, 1986. What was revealed was that Lewis and his right hand man, Lee Black, took into the bathroom where one ounce of padding was removed from the gloves. Black, a star witness, couldn’t testify due to death threats. However, once they were revealed, he took the stand and did testify that he confronted Lewis and said “someone will get killed”. After weeks of wild testimony and facts, Resto and Lewis were found guilty of conspiracy, assault, criminal possesssion of a deadly weapon (fists), and for Panama Lewis, tampering with a sports contest. Resto was sentenced to 1-3 years in prison, while Lewis was given 2-6 years, with each servng 2 1/2 a piece.

Documentary and what was revealed:

In 2008, a well respected individual named Eric Drath put together one of the more powerful sports documentaries ever called Assault In The Ring (originally “Cornered”), which was exactly 25 years to day of the fight that took place. The main star was Luis Resto, who made some very stunning revelations of that night in the documentary.  Not only were the gloves tampered with, but there was also Plaster of Paris used in Resto’s handwraps, which made what Resto did that night even worse. During the documentary, Resto also revealed that he was drinking tampered fluids that were mixed with a crushed asthma pill throughout the fight. 

Why all of this? Resto also said there were discussions in the locker room of a bet that was placed on Resto to win a fight, despite being a journeyman fighter, as Resto also revealed. This was due to a meeting at Victor’s restaurant where a high level drug trafficker wanted to wager money on Resto’s behalf. Because of it, Panama Lewis was willing to do anything “by any means unnecessary” to win the fight, which was revealed in the 1986 court.

Lewis’ true colors come out:

Also a part of the documentary was Panama Lewis. Unlike Resto, Lewis took a complete different route. Taking a more defiantly deflective approach, Lewis seemed to want to be manipulative and refuse to address the issue when confronted by both Drath and even Resto throughout, even asking Drath for financial compensation to partake. Even then, he was defiant in his stance when it comes to the gloves, feeling he was victimized by the “system” despite the facts that were revealed in both the 1986 trial and documentary, using phrases like “Only God knows!” to deny wrongdoing. The most telling came when he met an individual name Nino Gonzalez (a former opponent/friend) of Resto) when he mocked and laughed at Resto, basically admitting that he wouldn’t tell Resto who did it, even if he knew. The most tellng came at the end when Resto confronted Lewis in a parking lot where Resto told the truth to his face and basically exposed Panama Lewis as a crooked liar and thief who basically ruined and took away his career. 

Conclusion and the Burden that still exists today:

In the end, there were really no winners in this criminal act that took place on June 16, 1983. Everyone lost and wound up living as tortured souls (fighters, families, trainers, commissioners, inspectors, and even the criminal prosecutors and defense attorneys) from a despicable act to fulfill a bet that was placed on a journeyman that was close to his end before the fight and those failing to catch it beforehand. The only positive that came out of this is requirement from higher powers when it comes to catching this act before anything this tragic happens again. The night is a burden that still wears heavily on Luis Resto’s shoulders to this day, despite coming clean and free for revealing the truth on what happened in the documentary. You can see the pain in his face and eyes anytime he speaks. His name is attached to boxing history for all of the wrong reasons. 

It’s history he knows all about, and will never escape it.

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