THE ORIGINAL COBRA

Doug Dewitt was a ferocious contender who struck gold during the early days of the WBO, winning a world title and revitalising a fading career. Jack Hirsch catches up with the now-55-year-old who, while struggling to adjust to the scars fighting left behi

SOMETIMES Doug Dewitt thinks he’s in a bad place. The former WBO middleweight champion occasionally has balance issues, and his speech, while clear, is nevertheless a little bit slower than he would like it to be. When you have had as many tough fights as Dewitt had it becomes almost inevitable that the years in the ring will ultimately take a toll. Dewitt acknowledges this, but has not fully come to grips with it.

“I enjoy the company of women,” says Dewitt “and it bothers me that they sometimes comment that I seem tired while I speak.”

Reminded that he is now at an age (55) where women might be a little more tolerant that he is not quite as debonair as when younger, Dewitt laughs. He is conscious of how he appears outwardly, which perhaps explains, in part, why until recently he had disappeared from public view.

Dewitt, nicknamed “The Cobra”, boxed from 1980-1992, compiling a 33-8-5 (19) record. For all the bad breaks he might have received they pale in comparison to the good one he got which changed his life forever. Dewitt’s career was at its lowest point when the WBO came into existence and asked him to box for their inaugural crown on April 18, 1989 in Atlantic City, against Robbie Simms, to whom he had previously lost. Dewitt won the rematch and a world title, which put him in the select company that all fighters strive for.

Last April, Dewitt was inducted into the New York State Boxing Hall of Fame. However, as the date of the induction ceremony grew near there was concern, as no one had been able to locate him. Eventually that was resolved and Dewitt’s career was given the ultimate validation.

It has been more than a quarter of a century since I did a feature story on Dewitt for Boxing

News and referred to him as a noble warrior. On reflection calling him the ultimate overachiever would have been a more accurate assessment. He was not big, did not have impressive power, and wasn’t particularly quick, yet found a way to win a world title and compete admirably against the best of his era. Yet Dewitt is dissatisfied, feeling he could have accomplished so much more if not for the personal problems he says were created by being in a relationship with a woman 14 years his senior.

“We met when I was 20 and she was 34,” he explains. “She was a good woman, but did not understand the demands on a boxer’s life. The two of us had a lot of fights.” Today Doug is unattached. His full-time job is being a dad to his 10-year-old son from another relationship. Both parents work diligently in sharing responsibilities in the boy’s upbringing. Dewitt, who boxed out of Yonkers, now resides in the Scarsdale section of New York.

With the rave reviews he was getting on the way up it is understandable why Dewitt feels he short changed himself. Said Dewitt, “After I beat Mike Tinley (Atlantic City – 1984), Cus D’amato told me, ‘You should have been champ already.’ Mike Tyson came up to me and told me I had fought fantastically. Teddy Brenner commented that I had reminded him of Joey Giardello.”

Dewitt’s favourite performance came before that, when late in 1982, he became the first to stop veteran Teddy Mann, doing it in six rounds at the Westchester County Center.

“I was just a kid coming up and thought they were rushing me,” Dewitt admits. “Mann had just been in with Bennie Briscoe who he gave a tough fight. After we fought he was matched with Juan Roldan, won the fight but was not given the decision. Roldan