Richie Kates, light heavyweight contender in one of his division’s golden eras, dead at 69

Mild heavyweight contender Richie Kates, one of many prime fighters in a talent-laden division within the 1970’s and ‘80s, has handed away in New Jersey two months earlier than his seventieth birthday.

Promoter J. Russel Peltz broke the information on Twitter on Saturday, March 11.

Preventing in a division that featured a number of the greatest abilities previously century, Kates shared the highlight with champions reminiscent of Bob Foster, Victor Galindez, Marvin Johnson, Eddie Mustafa Muhammad, Matthew Saad Muhammad, Dwight Muhammad Qawi, Mike Rossman and Michael Spinks throughout his profession. Among the greatest fighters who by no means gained a title in that division reminiscent of Yaqui Lopez and James Scott have been additionally a part of that golden era.

Breaks my coronary heart to report that Nineteen Seventies and early 80s light-heavyweight contender Richie Kates handed away at this time two months in need of his seventieth birthday. What a category man!

— PeltzBoxing (@PeltzBoxing) March 11, 2023

Considered one of 11 siblings to a household of migrant farmers from the Deep South, Kates moved to New Jersey as an toddler and lived there his complete life, turning skilled on the age of 16 utilizing a pretend ID whereas nonetheless in highschool and combating alongside the Jap seaboard throughout his early years, most notably in Philadelphia and Atlantic Metropolis.

He received his first title shot someday after turning 23 years outdated in South Africa towards Argentina’s Victor Galindez, in one of the dramatic fights of all time. After inflicting a nasty lower on Galindez’s head through unintentional headbutt, Kates and Galindez fought a gory and bloody 15 round bout that ended with Galindez scoring a dramatic stoppage solely seconds earlier than the ultimate bell. A rematch in Rome one 12 months later resulted in a choice win for Galindez as nicely.

Kates retired in 1983 when he was solely 30 years outdated with a document of 44 wins and 6 losses, with 23 knockouts. His life was the topic of a documentary referred to as “Richie Kates: An Unusual Journey.”

Diego M. Morilla writes for The Ring since 2013. He has additionally written for HBO.com, ESPN.com and plenty of different magazines, web sites, newspapers and shops since 1993. He’s a full member of the Boxing Writers Affiliation of America and an elector for the Worldwide Boxing Corridor of Fame. He has gained two first-place awards within the BWAA’s annual writing contest, and he’s the moderator of The Ring’s Girls’s Rankings Panel. He served as copy editor for the second period of The Ring en Español (2018-2020) and is presently a author and editor for RingTV.com.

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