I've heard stuff to that effect - they did the bulk of the work, and Angelo would come in the last few weeks of camp to "fine tune" strategies and such. He was paid informally without a contract, but was ultimately fired when he asked for a more formal agreement and more money. It went back and forth - Leonard felt Dundee wasn't worth what he was asking, Dundee just wanted better treatment (and something in writing) after 10 years of loyalty. Personally, I thought it was a bit petty from a multi-million dollar athlete like Leonard. He made more money than God, and what Dundee was asking wouldn't cut significantly into his take-home. His advice was often sound - he did make the difference with Duran, Hearns and Hagler - and IMHO, I think SRL's performance suffered after he left. Just my .02 ...
Entirely possible - he did a masterful job of managing Leonard's career and made him one of the wealthiest boxers in history; and I believe he honestly had Ray's best interests at heart when he made deals (the same can't be said of other camps - I'm looking at you Herbert Muhammad). If he was the reason behind Dundee's firing, it was to let SRL keep as much of his purse as possible, not an unreasonable action to take. But at that point - it was after Hagler and before Lalonde - Leonard had already made the bulk of his paydays. If he snorted a lot of it away, that was his poor choice. A steady, proven hand in the corner to look after the fighter - especially an older fighter with diminished skills - would have been worth the added expense.
Duva was a joke as a trainer but people loved his personality. GEORGE BENTON was the one who trained the Duva boxers and he is vastly underrrated. He was very quiet and did not like the limelight as where Duva did and he got all the attention. Steward was a GREAT trainer. He took boxers from the ground up and created champions .MULTIPLE champions. Angelo was a student of the game but a much better cornerman then trainer.
Never liked Duva. Thought he was a brash motormouth. My thoughts about the first Chavez v Taylor fight have shifted over the years. One thing I've not changed my mind about: Duva cost Taylor that fight with his brainless distracting antics at the most critical moment of the bout.
Agree Steward like D'Amato built fighters from the ground up or improved on their skills I don't remember very many others with that legacy....Lou Duva as crazy as he was always had great stables
He was an excellent trainer I guess…he proved himself in several moments through his career. But to me he proved he didn’t give a damn about his fighters. Letting Ali go out against Holmes should have been a crime. The fact that he went along with it for a check took him down several notches in my book. I see many knocking him over coming in the last couple of weeks. Most good trainers do that. Charlie Goldman wasn’t to dissimilar and he was a great trainer as well. Good trainers will have a stable of fighters to tend too and may not be able to spend six weeks in a training camp.
Angelo Dundee was a great motivator, a very skilled experienced trainer who has seen it all, could have his fighters make the necessary adjustments during a fight. He handled a lot of great ones.
Good trainer, great cornerman. Outside of Ray Arcel there is nobody i would want in my corner than Angelo. He's sharp, knows what to tell his fighter and he got through.
