This writer remembers seeing Tommy Brooks boxing in the amateurs for the Air Force and he was very impressive. Whether it was his two wins over Michael Spinks or winning the 1975 AAU championship at middleweight I do not quite remember.
There are some 21 boxers per www.boxrec.com that he trained of which some are champions and others contenders. Others I have heard of are also on the list: Heavyweight champions Evander “Real Deal” Holyfield, “Iron” Mike Tyson, Hasim “The Rock” Rahman, Wladimir “Dr. Steelhammer” and Vitali “Dr. Ironfist” Klitschko. Cruiser champ Vassily “The Tiger” Jirov, WBA Lt Middle & Middle & WBC Lt Hvy champ Mike “Body Snatcher” McCallum, Junior Lightweight champ Johnny “Bump City” Bumphus, Welterweight champ Meldrick “The Kid” Taylor, IBF Light Welter champ Charles “The Natural” Murray, WBA & IBF Super Feather champ Rocky Lockridge, 4-division champ Pernell “Sweet Pea” Whitaker, IBF Lightweight champ “Fearless” Fred Pendleton, Samuel “Nigerian Nightmare” Peter, Courage “No Limit” Tshabalala, WBA & WBO Bantam champ Junior “Poison” Jones, WBA Light Middle champ Yuri Foreman, WBA Light Welter champ Vivian “Vicious” Harris, “Big” Michael Grant, Light & Lt Middle champ Vinnie “Pazmanian Devil” Pazienza, Larry “The Legend” Donald, David Sears, Pawel “Raging Bull” Wolak, David Price and Shaun George. What a resume!
Brooks married Donna Duva the daughter of Lou Duva’s Main Events. Brooks is from San Diego, CA. As a professional he won his first 7 fights by knockout before losing his last 3 by decision while being trained by Ace Miller who also trained heavyweight champ John Tate.
Henry Hascup, President of the NJB HOF said: “Tommy is a class act! He is an outstanding trainer as well as an outstanding person. I have been in his company many times and he has always been willing to talk and give advice no matter who you are. I wish we had more Tommy Brooks in our sport!”
Another boxing man from the Duva family was at a show in Whippany, NJ, Friday night and had this to say: “Tommy Brooks is one of the best trainers in the world,” said Dino Duva.
“Tommy’s a great guy in and out of the ring. He maintains a professional corner during the fight. Never created a problem for me. A pleasure to work with”, said Steve “Double SS” Smoger (IBHOF Referee)
“Being mentored from a young age by Archie Moore and then going on to learn from George Benton, Eddie Futch and Lou Duva molded Tommy Brooks into the great trainer he is today. Brooks success with the resume of fighters he guided speaks for itself. He was in Junior Jones corner when he bested the 43-0 Marco Antonio Barrera. Truly one of the best trainers of his era,” said Frank Bartolini (of The USA Boxing News).
Air Force fellow boxer Nick Wells who was the 1972 AAU Champion & Air Force Champion 1972-76: He was always polite, a smart boxer and a good teammate. He won the Nationals in LA, beating Michael Spinks.
“Tommy Brooks in my opinion is one of the best trainers in the sport of boxing. An outstanding amateur champion, who studied and learned his craft as an outstanding trainer working alongside the great Lou Duva and great George Benton who was also an outstanding middleweight contender from Philadelphia. Tommy’s greatest attribute is that he is a teacher of boxing which is something that is greatly missing in the sport today. The sport is absent of the great teachers of yesteryear who knew how to teach the basic rudiments of the sport and knew how to develop talent. Tommy is a throwback to the generations when trainers were also were great teachers who knew how to convey instructions and were able to teach young boxers how to maximize their talents,” said Larry Hazzard, Sr. (Commissioner NJ State Athletic Board, AAU Boxing champion and in both the NJB HOF and the IBHOF)
Brooks was in China but was kind enough to answer some questions.
KEN HISSNER: What kind of amateur record did you have?
TOMMY BROOKS: I can’t remember that far back but I do know I had more wins than losses. As my trainer Archie Moore would say I was “AN EDGE OF THE SEAR KIND OF FIGHTER” meaning somebody wasn’t going to finish the fight standing up!
KEN HISSNER: I have recently interviewed some of your fellow Air Force buddies Jesse Valdez and Nick Wells. How many years did you serve our country in the Air Force?
TOMMY BROOKS: 2 years, 7 months and 23 days. As you can tell I wasn’t that big on the military. It was a way out of the hood.
KEN HISSNER: What were your feelings when inducted into the NJ BHOF in 2003?
TOMMY BROOKS: I was happier than a sissy on an aircraft carrier!
KEN HISSNER: Can I ask what are you doing in China?
TOMMY BROOKS: I’m trying to find the next Holyfield, Tyson or Whitaker. You know they have a lot of people here. Actually, I was hired to train amateurs for the upcoming Olympics.
KEN HISSNER: Todays best P4P boxers seem to come from Eastern Europe like Lomachenko and GGG. Why do you think that is?
TOMMY BROOKS: I think they were just taught good boxing skills and just added what they do best to it.
KEN HISSNER: I want to thank you for taking the time from your busy schedule to answer some questions.
TOMMY BROOKS: Thanks for contacting me Ken, it was a pleasure.