Vinny Paz Razzmatazz: Boose, Cars, Strippers, Gambling, Bankruptcy, and More
By Robert Brizel, Head Real Combat Media Boxing Correspondent
Vinny Paz, formerly known as Vinny Pazienza, made millions during his professional career as a boxer. Between 1983 and 2004, fighting between 137 and 171 pounds, ‘The Pazmanian Devil’ compiled a ring record of 50-10, with 30 knockouts, a record similar to movie heavyweight Rocky Balboa/ Like Balboa, the symbolic icon of boxing, Paz went broke. How he survived his colorful lifestyle, only he knows.
Paz won world titles at lightweight, light middleweight and super middleweight. Paz also won all 11 of his light heavyweight bouts, though he never fought for a title at that weight. Paz beat Roberto Duran twice, and fought the likes of Hector Macho Camacho, Roger Mayweather, Loreto Garza, Luis Santana, Gilbert Dele, Robbie Simms, Lloyd Honeyghan, Greg Haugen, Roy Jones Jr., Herol Graham, Aaron Davis, Glenwood Brown, Roberto Elizondo, Melvin Paul, Harry Arroyo, Joe Frazier Jr., Ron Amundsen and many others.
Married and divorced to a stripper who appeared in Penthouse, busted for drunk driving, assault and disorderly conduct, gambling debts, Internal Revenue Service debts, stock market losses, and ultimately bankruptcy, Paz is probably one of the most colorful characters in the history of the ring in the lower weight classes. One would think of a heavyweight or similar going broke doing these things, but Paz is not like most others. For we are all mortal souls, as Paz found out after a car accident in which he suffered a broken neck, two broken vertebrae and a dislocated thigh. A halo with four screws was bored into the skull of Paz to hold it place. Undaunted, Paz began working out with the thing only a month after the accident, and did not tell his doctors. He later had a nose job to fix broken bones and cartilage.
Paz fought his life inside the ring with a heart of a lion, and flashed his charismatic personality outside the ring. Rumored by the New York Times to be juiced up on steroids to build muscle mass in 1996 http://www.nytimes.com/1996/08/23/sports/pazienza-lets-fly-with-a-few-jabs-before-entering-ring.html, Paz laughed it off as a compliment, long before Alex Rodriguez, Lance Armstrong, Roger Clemens and other prominent athletes would come under scrutiny, perhaps the best statement which can be made for Vinny Paz is he somehow managed to survive his lengthy boxing career with his faculties intact (if not his wallet), demonstrating an Archie Moore like toughness and durability.
The Rhode Island native helped put Providence, Rhode Island, promoter Jimmy Burchfield, and sporting events at Foxwoods Casino in the map.
Today Vinny Paz sells his ‘Headstrong’ DVD with highlights from his career at his website online at http://www.vinnypaz.com/store. His is available as a public speaker for public events through Prince Marketing Group via ‘Nick’ at [email protected]
A movie about the life of Vinny Paz directed by Martin Scorsese is scheduled for release in 2016. One wonders if the movie will include scenes of Paz cavorting with the ladies at those infamous Playboy Mansion pajama parties. Oh well, some things never change.
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