Naazim Richardson (November 26, 1965 – July 24, 2020) was an American

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

trainer from

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. Richardson is most notable for training

Bernard Hopkins Bernard Hopkins Jr. (born January 15, 1965) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 2016. He is one of the most successful boxers of the past three decades, having held multiple world championships in two weight class ...

and "Sugar" Shane Mosley, in addition to

Steve Cunningham Steven Ormain Cunningham (born July 15, 1976) is an American professional boxer who held the IBF cruiserweight title twice between 2007 and 2011. His nickname, "USS", is a reference to his US Navy service on the aircraft carriers and betwee ...

and Karl Dargan. He is also known for catching

Antonio Margarito Antonio Margarito Montiel (born March 18, 1978) is a Mexican-American former professional boxer and cheater who competed between 1994 and 2017. He held multiple welterweight world championships, including the WBO title from 2002 to 2007, the ...

with plaster knuckle pads in his hand wraps prior to Margarito's fight with Mosley. This led to Margarito's one-year suspension from boxing.

Early life

Richardson was raised in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, and left home when he was 14. He was jailed as a teenager. According to ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', "Boxing took Richardson from the streets that almost swallowed him in north Philadelphia, gave him energy and purpose." He was a head trainer in the Concrete Jungle in Philadelphia, and was also a trainer in several gyms across Philadelphia. Richardson worked under Bouie Fisher for a while. His son Rock Allen was a boxer prior to a car accident.

Career

A devout Muslim, Richardson was often acknowledged as "Brother" Naazim. In 2007, Richardson suffered a stroke that temporarily left him unable to walk or speak. Soon after returning to boxing, Richardson became "Sugar" Shane Mosley's trainer for three of the biggest fights of the boxer's career: his win over

and his losses to

Floyd Mayweather Jr. Floyd Joy Mayweather Jr. (né Sinclair; born February 24, 1977) is an American boxing promoter and former professional boxer who competed between 1996 and 2017. He list of undefeated boxing world champions, retired with an undefeated record a ...

and

Manny Pacquiao Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao Sr. ( ; ; born December17, 1978) is a Filipino politician, businessman, and professional boxer. Nicknamed "PacMan", he is widely regarded as one of the greatest professional boxers of all time. He previously serv ...

Notable fighters trained or advised by Richardson

Shane Mosley Shane Mosley (born September 7, 1971), often known by his nickname "Sugar" Shane Mosley, is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2016. He held multiple triple champion, world championships in three weight classes, incl ...

* Karl Dargan (nephew of Naazim Richardson) *

Badr Hari Badr Hari (Arabic: بدر هاري; born 8 December 1984) is a Moroccan-Dutch professional kickboxer and Muay Thai fighter. Born in Amsterdam, Hari made his professional kickboxing debut in 2000, and quickly rose to fame with his aggressive and ...

Yusaf Mack Yusaf Mack (born January 20, 1980) is an American former professional boxer. Professional boxing career On November 17, 2000, in his professional boxing debut, Mack defeated Willie Lee via TKO in the second round. He has held regional titles fr ...

(worked the corner) * Sergio Martinez (corner adviser for fight vs. Julio César Chávez Jr.) *

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Richardson, Naazim 2020 deaths Boxers from Philadelphia African-American Muslims Muslims from Pennsylvania American boxing trainers American male boxers 1965 births 20th-century American sportsmen