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Obituary by John DiSanto |
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After a brief battle with cancer, former boxer and trainer Willie Reddish Jr. passed away on October 11th, just two months shy of his 86th birthday. Reddish was diagnosed just three weeks prior to his death. Willie Reddish Jr., born December 12, 1932, was a talented amateur boxer during the 1950s, with a reported record of 26-2. Once he hung up his gloves, Reddish became a boxing trainer, and decades later, this role in the sport earned him a place in the Pennsylvania Boxing Hall of Fame. Reddish was inducted just four months ago on May 20, 2018.
Over the years, Reddish either trained, managed, worked
cuts, or advised more than 25 fighters, with about half of
those boxers eventually turning pro. Long in the shadow of
his famous father, the legendary boxer and trainer Willie
Reddish Sr., the often overlooked Willie Jr. joined his
father as a trainer at the famous Frankford
At the Frankford PAL, Reddish worked as the trainer or assistant trainer for numerous local amateur and pro boxers like Curtis Parker, Rudy Donato, Billy Abel, Obie English, Billy Patton, Chuck Davis, and others. When the Frankford PAL closed its doors, Reddish and his father opened their own gym called the Reddish Boxing Club. One of Reddish’s fighters, Kerry Judge, a 14-3 heavyweight between 1980 and 1990, believes Willie Jr. was one of the best trainers in the business. “I feel Willie Jr. was underrated,” Judge said. “If you ever spoke with any of the fighters from the Reddish Gym, you would understand how well respected he was by his boxers, then and now.” Funeral services for Reddish have not yet been announced. _____________________________________________________________
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PAL,
after his amateur career ended. 