When Luis Resto beat Michael Collins on June 16, 1983, two careers ended that day. Collins was beaten so badly that he suffered blurred vision and fell into depression, ultimately dying later that year in a car accident that many think was a suicide. Resto was convicted of assault and conspiracy and served time in prison, while also being banned from boxing.

You see, Resto and his trainer, Panama Lewis, were convicted for removing two inches of padding from Resto’s gloves, leading to Collins taking a sever beating. But what was one of the most disturbing boxing tales of the past 25 years just got worse.

While being interviewed for a documentary about the bout, Resto admitted recently that not only was the padding removed from his gloves, but that his hand tape was soaked in plaster of Paris, creating in essence two casts underneath his tampered gloves.

Now, lawyers in New York are hoping that this new evidence will convince a judge to re-open this case. A past civil trial resulted in a hung jury.

After the bout between Resto and Collins, Collins’ father (also his trainer) noticed that Resto’s gloves were missing a large amount of padding and alerted boxing officials. Collins had told his corner during the fight that it felt like he was getting hit with rocks.

Due to the beating he took, Collins suffered a torn iris and permanently blurred vision. Later that year, he drove his car off of a cliff in Tennessee, which many people feel was a suicide.

Panama Lewis was also the trainer for Aaron Pryor in his 1982 fight with Alexis Arguellio when Pryor miraculously came back in the 14th round after Lewis gave him a drink from a different water bottle. HBO’s cameras caught Lewis telling another cornerman, “Hand me that bottle, the one I mixed.”

Lewis has denied his involvement in the tape incident, claiming that he didn’t even wrap Resto’s hands for this fight.

Lewis is still allowed to train overseas, and was notable used as an advisor for Mike Tyson in his match with Lennox Lewis in 2002.

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Here’s a Boxing Scene article from last year about the fight.

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