Brooklyn matchmaker Johnny Bos dead at 61; had congestive heart failure

Johnny Bos, a Brooklyn matchmaker who had a hand in developing the careers of Mike Tyson and Gerry Cooney, died Saturday at the age of 61 at his home in Clearwater, Fla., the New York Daily News reported; he had been suffering from congestive heart failure.

Bos was described in the newspaper as “a towering figure with bleach-blond hair and faux fur coats.”

Promoter Lou DiBella, also of Brooklyn, could not say enough about him.

“It’s the passing of an era,” DiBella told the New York Daily News. “He was a Damon Runyonesque character. Johnny Bos touched a lot of guys. You can go through a laundry list of fighters who have ties to Johnny Bos, a lot of whom also forgot about him and left him in the rear view mirror once they made it.

“But Johnny was a legend. He was like one of the giant characters of the sport. He loved the fighters and he loved boxing and for a time, he was the biggest character and ambassador of the sport in New York.”

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