By James Slater: The name Panama Lewis will surely be instantly recognizable to most fight fans. Banned from the sport of boxing for life back in 1983 for intentionally removing the padding from the gloves of his fighter, Luis Resto before Resto’s fight with the up-and-coming Billy Collins Junior, Lewis saw to it that his charge badly beat up Collins.
The damage done to the loser was horrific, with both eyes banged shut, and later, as a result of the trauma the beating caused him, Collins crashed his car (some say in a suicide attempt) and died. One of the darkest days in modern day boxing, the whole shoddy affair was later documented in an award winning documentary.
On can understand, then, the concern members of Amir Khan’s team have had recently, when whispers were heard saying Lewis has been seen working with Zab Judah ahead of this Saturday night’s light-welterweight unification clash in Las Vegas. Asif Vali, Khan’s manager, spoke to The Telegraph about the alleged Team Judah-Panama Lewis connection.
“We’ve heard that this man has been around their camp,” Vali said this week. “We are talking to The Nevada State Athletic Commission to make sure that, if this is true, he is not involved. He has no license and if he turns up on Saturday he won’t be allowed anywhere near the locker room or Judah’s corner. We have to protect Amir.”
Lewis, who has always protested his innocence regarding the Resto-Collins affair, will surely not attempt to get involved in any way on fight night – no way would he get away with that! But the concern in Khan’s camp is simply the fact that Lewis may have been working with Zab in some way. Just what, if anything, has the disgraced former trainer been doing? And why would a sportsman like Judah want a known cheat anywhere near him?
This whole thing may prove to be nothing more than a rumor, of course, but where do these rumors start?
Meanwhile, Khan is feeling extremely confident ahead of the big fight, primarily due to the way he has been handling himself in sparring.
“Freddie has to tell me to calm down in training,” Khan said. “In sparring when I get hit with a clean shot by big guys who are 154-pounds, I get straight back at them. I have proved I have probably got one of the best chins in boxing. Manny’s [Pacquiao] hit me with a clean back hand, his hardest shot, and I walked straight onto it and still stood there.”
Khan will really impress fans if he is able to take Judah’s best shots, when it’s for real!