Class of 2017

There may be no more capable doctor to have at ringside than Tony Alessi, who has worked hundreds of bouts since coming to Connecticut after completing his residency and neuromuscular fellowship at the University of Michigan.

A graduate of the University of Rome in Italy, Alessi is a neurological consultant to the Connecticut State Boxing Commission as well as the NFL Players Association and the New York Yankees Player Development.

Dr. Alessi become involved in boxing in 1997 when he began working with then commissioner John Burns and Dr. Michael Schwartz. Dr. Alessi’s efforts to make boxing safer lead to requiring annual neurologic examinations of boxers. He was also able to change the position of the largest organization of neurologists in the US, the American Academy of Neurology, from banning boxing to encouraging more neurologists to become involved as advocates for boxers.

A familiar figure ringside for big fights at the Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods casinos, Alessi is based out of Norwich, Conn., where he is the CEO for a medical management company.

A longtime member of the boxing-rich community of Norwich, Ct., before he died in 1988, Hugh Devlin Sr. had boxing in his blood from a young age. Devlin was just 18 when he made his professional debut as a fighter in September of 1927, when he knocked out Johnny Lorenzo in New Beford, Mass. Devlin would fight in New Haven, West Haven, Waterbury and New London as he established himself as one of the top featherweights in Connecticut and New England.

He finished with a modest career record of 22-13, but it was his contributions to the boxing communities in Norwich and New London that made him an icon in southeastern Connecticut.

He would later open a restaurant in New London where the menus were shaped like boxing gloves, offering more proof that the sport remained in Devlin’s blood until he passed away at the age of 79.

An accomplished referee and judge residing in Glastonbury,CT, Flaherty has worked many notable bouts involving the likes of Bernard Hopkins, Chad Dawson, Vernon Forest, Canelo Alvarez, Marvin Hagler, Mickey Ward and Sugar Ray Leonard.

In 1967 Dick started refereeing amateurs for the AAU (now USA Boxing) and in 1968 was licensed as a professional referee. Since then Dick has refereed many top fighters in New England and the world, as well as present contenders and former and present world champions.

For the past 22 years, Dick has refereed and judged on the world championship level. He has worked bouts in Asia, Europe, Canada, Mexico and numerous cities throughout the United States. Here in Connecticut he has worked many shows for Mohegan Sun, Foxwoods and the State of Connecticut Boxing Commission. In 1998 he was appointed Chief of Officials at Mohegan Sun, a position he still holds.

One of Flaherty’s most memorable bouts was working as a judge for the legendary first fight between Arturo Gatti and Mickey Ward held at the Mohegan Sun Arena in May of 2002. The bout was voted Fight of the Year by Ring Magazine and the Boxing Writers Association of America. Dick had Ward winning 94-93. Ward won a split decision.

Doing most of his fighting out of his adopted hometown of Bridgeport, Connecticut, “Professor” Charles Hadley was the reigning World Colored Heavyweight Champion from 1881-1883.

Hadley, who was born in Nashville, Tenn., in 1846, would fight professionally from 1869 to 1891.

After his boxing career, Hadley moved to Minnesota to continue work as a trainer and one of his charges was the World Colored Middleweight Champion “Black Pearl” Martin.

His final record was 25-13-6 with 14 knockouts. The exact date of his death is unknown, but he is believed to have died in the early 1900s.

Born in Waterbury, Conn., in 1893, Parker would first go on to become a sports writer at the Waterbury American. But he found his niche at the New York Daily Mirror, where he was known for his articles that exposed the corruption in boxing.

He earned high praise for exposing the International Boxing Club as a crooked organization that was sullying the name of the sport with its corrupt promotions. The IBC eventually was disbanded in large part due to Parker’s crusade.

Parker died in 1967, but his brilliant writings and strong moral fiber was finally recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame, which inducted Parker in 1996. He is also in the National Sportswriters and Sportscasters Hall of Fame.

In his heyday as a judge, Clark Sammartino would average 100 bouts a year, with 10 of those usually being of the world championship variety.

The Providence native and graduate of Brown University spent a lot of his time after retiring as an oral surgeon judging bouts involving the likes of legends such as Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Oscar De La Hoya, and Julio Cesar Chavez.

Sammartino remains in demand as a judge. In June, he worked the IBF world bantamweight title fight between Ryan Burnett and Lee Haskins in Belfast, Northern Ireland.