04.05.04 – On Wednesday, April 28th, 2004, long time boxing manager, trainer and promoter and friend, Dave Gorman of Fort Worth, Texas passed away in a nursing home at the relatively young age of 61. Dave’s health had been failing for some time, but the final blow was a late diagnosis of cancer and within days, he was gone. Dave Gorman never left boxing, no matter how sick he was or how broke he was. He and his wife, Loretta, were a prominent couple in boxing and they worked as a team.
As recently as a month ago, Gorman was working the corner for a handful of fighters hoping to be Champions. He had a hard time making it up the few short steps to his fighter’s corner and those who knew him, worried about him. He was skinny and he looked like a man who accepted far less than he deserved. He loved his wife and his partner, Loretta, who was always by his side. His last fight on a card in North Las Vegas was one of the few trips Loretta didn’t make with him. It was a matter of money.
While everyone knows the professional success that Dave Gorman enjoyed, only his close friends know the kind of man he really was. Dave Gorman did not use boxing as a stepping-stone to his own success or for his personal gratification. He simply loved boxing. If Dave Gorman’s ego was big enough, he could have been far better known in boxing. He could have made a lot of money, but he could not live with anything less than his pride and his dignity.
Dave Gorman managed many world champions not the least of whom was Donald “The Cobra” Curry, as well as Troy Dorsey, “Little” Stevie Cruz, “Rockin” Robin Blake and Gene “Mad Dog” Hatcher. Gorman chose to do what is right for boxing and what was right for the athletes. Four Time World Champion boxer, Marischa Sjauw, credits Dave Gorman for many opportunities in boxing and called him a mentor and a friend. He was a quiet man and if a fighter was smart enough to listen, Dave was a genius.
Dave Gorman, with his wife by his side, had many successes. When Donald Curry turned pro in 1980, Dave Gorman was working his corner. In later years, when Curry had some problems making the transition to a dignified retirement, Gorman was still in his corner. He contacted the Retired Boxers Foundation and asked if we could help him out. Dave Gorman and his wife, Loretta, were probably not much better off financially.
Dave was saddened by the state of the sport, not because of the athletes or the shows, but because “nothing changes.” Dave was disgusted by the “two-bit promoters” trying to be the next Don King or Bob Arum. He was disgusted because these new guys had “not a lick of sense” about boxing and because he knew their ignorance would end their dreams, but also had the potential to hurt the young fighters coming up. Towards the end of Dave’s career, he knew there was another Donald Curry or Troy Dorsey or Stevie Cruz and a new day in boxing. He was a patient man. He also recognized that the sport is more about the money and that was not Dave Gorman’s game.
Dave Gorman was always about great boxing—in well-matched fights with well-trained athletes—and not about the money. You would never get Gorman to find you a tomato can on a second rate card. Dave came to win and his boxers always believed they could be the next champion. Some did and some didn’t.
A SPECIAL TRIBUTE TO DAVE GORMAN FROM THE RETIRED BOXERS FOUNDATION
The Retired Boxers Foundation, Inc., RBF President & Founder, Alex “The Bronx Bomber” Ramos and all of the organization’s board of directors, representatives and supporters are asking for your memories and your comments to be presented to Dave Gorman’s widow, Loretta, and the family. “Dave Gorman was never a flashy guy and it would be a shame to have only an obituary to remember him by,” said Ramos. He continued, “When Troy Dorsey called me with the sad news of Dave’s death, I wanted to do something to honor his life in boxing. With your help, we can leave some memories from the people who really knew him. He will be missed.”
For more information about the Retired Boxers Foundation, visit their website at www.retiredboxers.org, or call Alex Ramos at (805) 583-5890.