Lou Esa

Lou Esa (born January 10, 1952) is an American former professional heavyweight boxer from Wayne, New Jersey, who had 26 fights with 16 knockouts in 19 wins.

Amateur career

Esa began his amateur boxing career at the age of 17 in New Jersey, accumulating a record of 7-1 with 7 knockouts. His only loss was to future heavyweight champion Larry Holmes. At the age of 20, while preparing for the Olympic trials, Esa was hit in the face with a bottle and required over 300 facial stitches, which ended his amateur career.

Professional career

After playing defensive end in football for Saint Peter's College in New Jersey, Esa tried out for the Miami Dolphins.^[2] He suffered a helmet strike to his knee which abruptly ended any football career. A few months later, after he successfully rehabilitated his knee, Esa heard that boxing legend Muhammad Ali was training at a local gym, so he headed down for the opportunity to meet his hero. While at the gym watching Ali, Esa hung out in the back and worked on the heavy bag. Angelo Dundee was impressed with Esa's technique and power and introduced himself. The next day Esa met with the Dundee brothers to discuss his professional career.^[2]

Dundee introduced Esa to Murray Gaby who became his manager and Dwayne Simpson who became his trainer.^[3] Esa fought under the Mendoza Group, who he credits for helping his professional boxing career. A few weeks later, on July 22, 1975, Esa made his professional debut at the Miami Beach Convention Hall against James Edwards. Esa won his first five fights, all by first-round knockout, before suffering his first loss in April 1976. Esa came back and won 13 of 15 fights with one draw and one loss by unanimous decision.

In October 1977, Esa fought a six-round undercard bout in Las Vegas against the newly turned professional and future heavyweight champion John Tate. Esa, who had been arrested in his hotel room and had spent the previous night in jail, was knocked out in the third round. The fight's promoters Lou Duva and Bob Arum were criticized for promoting a mismatch.^[4]

Following losses in three of four fights during the next three years, Esa's career ended in 1981.^[2] According to his cornerman, Ferdie Pacheco, Esa had a precarious reputation as a journeyman who "couldn't take a hard rap" and was "never in shape" enough to last more than a couple of rounds.^[3]

In 2012, Lou Esa was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame.

Professional boxing record

19 Wins (16 knockouts, 3 decisions), 6 Losses, 1 Draws[5]
Res.	Record	Opponent	Type	Rd., Time	Date	Location
Loss	19-6-1	Fossie Schmidt	KO	1	1981-08-18	Blaisdel Center, Honolulu, Hawaii
Loss	19-5	Barry Funches	KO	5	1980-04-18	Felt Forum, New York City
Win	19-4	David Starkey	KO	2	1980-03-16	Jai Alai Fronton, Miami, Florida
Loss	18-4	Bill Connell	UD	8	1979-07-31	Ice World, Totowa, New Jersey
Loss	18-3	John Tate	KO	3	1977-10-22	Aladdin Theater, Las Vegas, Nevada
Loss	18-2-1	Roger Russell	UD	8	1977-07-17	Convention Hall, Miami, Florida
Win	18-1-1	Tommy Howard	KO	2	1977-06-29	Gainesville, Florida
Win	17-1-1	John L. Johnson	KO	2	1977-06-14	Orlando, Florida
Win	16-1-1	Roger Russell	UD	6	1977-05-11	Madison Square Garden, New York City
Win	15-1-1	Willie Goodman	KO	2	1977-04-28	Tampa, Florida
Win	14-1-1	Jimmy Phillips	KO	2	1977-03-25	Orlando, Florida
Win	13-1-1	Leroy Diggs	KO	4	1977-03-15	Miami Beach, Florida
Win	12-1-1	Phil Fritz	UD	6	1977-03-11	Orlando, Florida
Win	11-1-1	Fred Wallace	KO	1	1977-02-16	Sports Stadium, Orlando, Florida
Win	10-1-1	Leroy Keane	KO	1	1977-01-25	Sports Stadium, Orlando, Florida
Win	9-1-1	Billy Grant	UD	4	1976-10-15	Sportatorium, Hollywood, Florida
Draw	8-1-1	Tom Prater	Pts	8	1976-07-20	Miami Beach Convention Center, Miami Beach, Florida
Win	8-1	Moses Harrell	KO	2	1976-06-08	Miami Beach, Florida
Win	7-1	George Holden	KO	4	1976-06-01	Miami Beach, Florida
Win	6-1	Angelo Garafolo	KO	2	1976-05-21	Paterson, New Jersey
Loss	5-1	Sylvester Bump Kelly	KO	4	1976-04-30	Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland
Win	5-0	Gene Idelette	KO	1	1975-12-16	Convention Hall, Miami Beach, Florida
Win	4-0	Mike Green	KO	1	1975-11-25	Miami Beach Convention Center, Miami Beach, Florida
Win	3-0	Hydra Lacy	KO	1	1975-10-28	Miami Beach Convention Center, Miami Beach, Florida
Win	2-0	Clarence Morris	KO	1	1975-08-05	Miami Beach, Florida
Win	1-0	James Edwards	KO	1	1975-07-22	Convention Hall, Miami Beach, Florida

References

Further reading

• Kaplan, Hank (August 1977). "Lou Esa: The Sunshine State Mammoth". Boxing Illustrated: 24.