Boxer Mark Weinman, who returned from a nearly 21-year layoff to win a professional bout at age 50, has died. He was 62.
Weinman, from the borough of Queens in New York City, died Feb. 8 in Mesa, Arizona, his brother, David, told The Associated Press. Mark Weinman died of complications from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a respiratory illness he was diagnosed with more than a decade earlier.
Mark Weinman was the oldest of three boxing brothers from a Jewish family — Mark, David and Michael. David Weinman, the middle brother, said the three combined to win a total of 19 championships at various levels.
In the 1983 New York Golden Gloves tournament, Mark Weinman lost to Dennis Milton in the 156-pound final. Nicknamed “The Hammer,” Mark Weinman turned pro and won his first 11 fights before losing three straight bout and stepping away from the ring.
He won his comeback fight against then-32-year-old Elvis Martinez at the 39-second mark of the second round in September 2012. He fought once more and lost, finishing with a professional record of 12-4 with 10 knockouts.
Boxing promoter Steve Tannenbaum managed Mark Weinman at the end of his career. Tannenbaum said Mark Weinman was a better fighter at his peak than his final record indicated, but had trouble controlling his weight, among other issues.
Tannenbaum said his client and friend never got the recognition he deserved.
“He looked like a world beater,” Tannenbaum said of Mark Weinman in his early years. “He was known in the gyms all around. I mean, he fought everybody. He would beat everybody in the gyms. Just beat them up. He was that good.”
David Weinman believed Mark Weinman was mismanaged in his younger years, saying his brother was forced to lose 10 pounds 24 hours before his first loss, to Warren Williams at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.
“I think he was mishandled tremendously by management and everything,” David Weinman said. “It was mismanagement, I believe to this day, I’ll say that. He should have been handled so much better.”
David Weinman said his brother was diagnosed with IPF about 12 years ago, and was given three-to-five years to live. He held on, in part, he said because of boxing.
“He never stopped loving boxing," he said. “He chased boxing to the end. Just the other day, he was talking about coming home and getting strong and maybe teaching some boxing classes when he was older. He never talked about dying. He was going to live forever. He did not acknowledge -- we never had a conversation about him dying.”
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AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports
Cliff Brunt, The Associated Press
