Dwaine Simpson
January 26, 1935 – August 3, 2023
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IBRO’s Dwaine Simpson, who ran the Miami Dade County Parks amateur boxing program for 42 years, died August 3 at his Weston home after a brief illness. He was 89.
Dwaine was born in Asheville, North Carolina, on January 26, 1934, and was an active professional boxer from 1956 to 1970, compiling a record of 55-23-8 (KO 10/KO by 12). Nine losses, seven by Kayo, occurred in his last eleven fights. BoxRec
Dwaine was a basketball star, professional fighter, administrator, and trainer who did it all and did it very well. A three-sport star from Camp Lejeune High School, he attended Western Carolina University on a basketball scholarship and later served on the college’s alum board.
But it was boxing that Simpson loved most; moving to Miami, he had a 9-2 record as an amateur. As a pro, Simpson shined, fighting from 1956 to 1970. From 1970 to 1977, Simpson trained and managed fighters as a hobby.
In 1977, he was appointed director of amateur boxing for the Miami-Dade County Parks and Recreation Department by the mayor. He held onto the position until his retirement in 2003.
During the 1980s and 1990s, he was the senior USA official taking US fighters overseas to fight in Moscow and Yugoslavia. Elected to the Gold Coast Boxing Hall of Fame in 1996, he was recognized as one of the three “outstanding” Dade County administrators and leaders selected from over 30,000 employees. He was elected to the Florida Boxing Hall of Fame in 2014.
To enlarge, click the above photo
IBRO Director Don Cogswell released the following remembrance.
Dwaine Simpson has passed away at 89 years of age. Over 60 of those years was dedicated to boxing. His contributions to IBRO provided us with a window into a unique period in mid-century boxing. Barnstorming in Florida.
Dwaine tallied his pro fights at 142 bouts. Many of those fights were never entered into the official results. Venues ran from VFW halls to a church. The fighters, under a one year contract, caravanned to the next site and set up the ring and whatever else was needed. Then they fought each other, a fighter outside their group, or Dwaine’s favorite, a local tough guy. Then they broke down the ring and left. All this happened during a Golden Age for prizefighting in the U.S.
The IBRO Journal and Newsletter has archived some of his activities both in the ring and his personal connections with South Florida’s biggest names in the sport.
IBRO Journal # 141 brings to members’ attention his autobiography, Mr Calamity.
In the IBRO Remembrances, Dwaine contributed his thoughts:
- IBRO Newsletter # 25, an IBRO Remembrance of Muhammad Ali.
- IBRO Newsletter #32, an IBRO Remembrance of Ferdie Pacheco
- IBRO Newsletter #33, an IBRO Remembrance of Murray Gaby
Dwaine Simpson had been a member of IBRO since 2015.
I was lucky to have known him much longer.
DS Cogswell