Post by mexicanjunior on Jul 25, 2011 9:37:57 GMT -6
thebiglead.com/index.php/2011/07/24/butch-lewis-promoter-for-ali-frazier-dead-at-65
Since he is a boxing person, probably won't get in but I remember him vividly for those stupid outfits he wore during Micheal Spinks fights. IN...
Another link to a time when boxing was in its Golden Age and actually considered among the most prolific and influential sports in the world has been broken with the death of promoter and manager Ronald “Butch” Lewis.
Among the fighters on his roster were Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier and brothers Michael and Leon Spinks. He also worked for, and in competition with, top boxing promoters Don King and Bob Arum.
Lewis, who was born in 1946 in Philadelphia, passed away on July 23 at the age of 65. Cause of death was given as heart failure.
Lewis, whose trademark was to wear a tuxedo without a shirt into the ring, also became an entrepreneur in the music and entertainment fields, forming Butch Lewis Productions and working with Def Jam Music, among others. His work included producing and promoting a concert with James Brown in 1991 after the iconic singer had been released from prison after serving time for assault and battery.
One of the highlights of Lewis’ career was working with Arum to produce and promote a 1978 fight between Ali and Leon Spinks, which attracted more than 78,000 fans to the Superdome in New Orleans. Ali won to retain his heavyweight crown.
In 1988, he helped Michael Spinks earn a reported $13.5 million for one round of work: a KO at the hands of Mike Tyson.
Robert L. Johnson, founder of Black Entertainment Television and founder and chairman of The RLJ Companies, said in a statement, “Butch Lewis was my best friend. As a boxing, entertainment, and music promoter, he was a true legend in his time. He is the only man I know who knew people at the highest of heights and the lowest of lows and treated them all the same.”
Continued Johnson, “He was passionate about helping young black men achieve their goals in life and he would ask anyone for a favor if it meant helping these young men be the best that they can be. I, and all of our ‘crew’ will miss him but we, like millions of others will never forget him.”
Since he is a boxing person, probably won't get in but I remember him vividly for those stupid outfits he wore during Micheal Spinks fights. IN...
