Louis John DiBella Jr. is 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 ...

promoter,

minor league baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

team owner and television/film producer.

Education

DiBella was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, and he is a graduate of Regis High School later having continued his education at

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, as well as Talloires, France. Tufts also has several Doctor of Physical Therapy p ...

before pursuing a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

degree at

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

Career

Boxing promotion

DiBella currently promotes the fighters Regis Prograis, Tevin Farmer, Sergiy Derevyanchenko, Ivan Baranchyk, Richard Commey, George Kambosos Jr. as well as prospects Oleksandr Teslenko and US Olympian Charles Conwell, among others. DiBella is an ardent supporter of women's boxing and his expanding roster of female fighters includes world champions Amanda Serrano and Alicia Napoleon as well as Heather Hardy, Shelly Vincent, Raquel Miller and Tiara Brown. He also promoted events that

Deontay Wilder Deontay Leshun Wilder (; born October 22, 1985) is an American professional boxer. He held the World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight title from 2015 to 2020. By winning the title, Wilder became the first American world heavyweight champion si ...

, the former WBC heavyweight champion, fights on. Past boxers represented by '' DiBella Entertainment'' include former WBC Middleweight champion Sergio Martínez, former middleweight world champions

Jermain Taylor Jermain Taylor (born August 11, 1978) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2014. He remains the most recent undisputed champion in the middleweight division, having defeated Bernard Hopkins in 2005, and in doing s ...

and

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 ...

, former junior welterweight titlist

Paulie Malignaggi Paul Malignaggi (; ; born November 23, 1980) is an Italian-American former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2017 and has since worked as a boxing commentator and analyst, currently with BYB Extreme Bare Knuckle Fighting Series and P ...

, former WBC welterweight champion

Andre Berto Andre Michael Berto (born September 7, 1983) is a professional boxer who holds dual Haitian and American citizenship. A two-time former welterweight world champion, he held the World Boxing Council, WBC and International Boxing Federation, IBF t ...

and "Jo Jo" Dan. DiBella was inducted into the International Women's Boxing Hall of Fame in the non-boxer category in 2024.

Producer

DiBella expanded his boxing empire producing television content and films. In 2007, he produced the documentary ''Magic Man'', which depicted the life of

and his rise in the world of boxing. The documentary had its television premiere on Showtime and was later aired in the United Kingdom leading up to the Malignaggi vs. Lovemore Ndou fight, where Malignaggi retained his title. In 2008, DiBella added the credit of executive producer to his list of accomplishments with the 2009 film '' Love Ranch'' starring

Helen Mirren Dame Helen Mirren (; born Ilyena Lydia Vasilievna Mironov; 26 July 1945) is an English actor. With a career spanning over six decades of Helen Mirren on screen and stage, screen and stage, List of awards and nominations received by Helen Mirre ...

and

Joe Pesci Joseph Frank Pesci ( , ; born February 9, 1943) is an American actor and musician. He is best known for portraying tough, volatile characters, in a variety of genres, and for his collaborations with his best friend, Robert De Niro in the films ' ...

. The film was directed by

Taylor Hackford Taylor Edwin Hackford (born December 31, 1944) is an American film director and former president of the Directors Guild of America. He won the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film for '' Teenage Father'' (1979). Hackford went on to dire ...

. DiBella was also the associate producer on the film ''

The Fighter ''The Fighter'' is a 2010 American Biographical film, biographical sports drama film directed by David O. Russell, and stars Mark Wahlberg (who also produced), Christian Bale, Amy Adams, and Melissa Leo. The film centers on the lives of profes ...

'', which was released in 2010 and based on the life of former DBE fighter "Irish" Micky Ward, starring

Mark Wahlberg Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg (born June 5, 1971), formerly known by his stage name Marky Mark, is an American actor, producer, and former rapper. Mark Wahlberg filmography, His work as a leading actor, leading man spans the Comedy film, come ...

as Ward and

Christian Bale Christian Charles Philip Bale (born 30 January 1974) is an English actor. Known for his versatility and physical transformations for his roles, he has been a leading man in films of several genres. List of awards and nominations received by C ...

as his trainer and brother Dickie Ecklund. The film won two

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

for Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress. DiBella then established the television and film production company BK Blu. In its first year, the company premiered the film ''Tapia'' at the LA Film Festival then later, premiered the documentary ''Maravilla'' at the Tribeca Film Festival, premiered the documentary ''Hardy'' at the DOC NYC Film Festival, and acquired the rights to a number of television and film projects currently in development. The ''Tapia'' documentary, which was co-executive produced by DiBella and Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, premiered on

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

in December 2014.

Other ventures

As of May 5, 2017, DiBella also owns two

teams,

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

Double-A Southern League affiliate, the

Montgomery Biscuits The Montgomery Biscuits are a Minor League Baseball team based in Montgomery, Alabama. They are the Double-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays and play in the Southern League. The team was founded in Orlando, Florida, in 1973 as the Orlando Twins ...

, and

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

Double-A Eastern League affiliate, the

Richmond Flying Squirrels The Richmond Flying Squirrels are a Minor League Baseball team based in Richmond, Virginia. The team, which is a part of the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants major league club, and plays at The Diamond. Th ...

. The Biscuits' home field is

Montgomery Riverwalk Stadium Montgomery Riverwalk Stadium is the home of the Montgomery Biscuits of the Southern League. The minor league baseball ballpark A ballpark, or baseball park, is a type of sports venue where baseball is played. The playing field is divided ...

, while the Flying Squirrels play their home games at Richmond's The Diamond.

References

External links

DiBella Entertainment
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dibella, Lou Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American people of Italian descent Tufts University alumni Harvard Law School alumni Baseball executives American boxing managers American boxing promoters American boxing trainers People from Brooklyn People from New York City Regis High School (New York City) alumni American chief executives