BOXING; Ex-Boxer Becomes Promoter
This is where Joe Winters had long wanted to be: standing behind a podium announcing the formation of his own boxing promotions company, Winters Boxing.
With the former heavyweight contender Gerry Cooney in attendance, Winters, a 34-year-old businessman and former professional fighter, said yesterday at a news conference at Gallagher’s Steakhouse in Manhattan that his company would be promoting its first bouts Jan. 18 at the Huntington Hilton on Long Island. The card will feature three local boxers.
Winters, who was a two-time gold medalist in the Junior Olympics, had a 12-1 record as a professional. He said the creation of his company was the fulfillment of a dream.
”I was introduced to this sport as a small child,” Winters said. ”I remember when I first saw fights at Sunnyside Gardens with my father and I decided that this is what I wanted to do. I wasn’t able to become a champ inside the ropes, so now I wanted to try to become a champ outside of them.”
Winters, of St. James, N.Y., fought professionally as a heavyweight on the undercards of bouts featuring Riddick Bowe and Vinny Pazienza until 1992, when he decided that with his wife expecting a child, he should try to make a living outside the ring. He purchased a waste management company in Vermont, where he also ran a gym, then sold it and started a new waste management company on Long Island.
But boxing remained important to Winters, who formed Winters Boxing with his father, Jimmy, and George Munch, a fight promoter who has worked with George Foreman and Hector Camacho. The company hopes to revive Long Island’s long dormant interest in boxing.
Tags: BOXING, Ex-Boxer Becomes Promoter, Gerry Cooney in attendance, Winters
