A tribute to Rocky Marciano’s legendary boxing trainer, Allie Colombo, will be held tomorrow night at Joe Angelo’s Café in Brockton.

Both Marciano (49-0, 43 KOs), who retired in 1956 as the only undefeated heavyweight champion in boxing history, and Colombo were born and raised in “The City of Champions” and they became friends at a young age.

“The Brockton Blockbuster,” a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame who was selected fighter of the year by Ring Magazine on three separate occasions, was a terrific athlete and he particularly flourished on the baseball diamond during his youth.

However, Marciano eventually decided to quit baseball because he wanted to focus all of his efforts on the sport of boxing.

Colombo observed Marciano as he trained and sparred and he knew that “The Rock” could develop into an elite prizefighter if he was correctly mentored.

“He (Colombo) devoted his life to Rocky,” Brockton native Denis Marrese said of Colombo. “He knew Rocky had the ability and he wrote letters to promoters once Rocky got into boxing. He knew.”

In January 1969, Colombo tragically died at the age of 49 in an industrial accident on a loading dock where he was employed.

In a sad twist of irony, Marciano was killed only seven months later on the eve of his 46th birthday when a private plane that he was a passenger in struck a tree near a small airfield outside Newton, Iowa.

Before Marciano’s terrible misfortune occurred, the great pugilist raved about Colombo as both his friend and trainer.

“It was Allie’s contention that I could make it very big in the professional ranks, so we talked it over together and decided to give it a try,” recalled Marciano, who Ring Magazine ranked as the twelfth greatest fighter of the last 80 years in 2002.

“Allie was a real buddy. He kept my interest in boxing alive through all the difficult moments. Prize fighting is a very serious business, but Allie was very witty and when we got too serious he’d use his sense of humor to relax the atmosphere.”

Veteran boxing trainer Roger “Pit” Perron will serve as master of ceremonies at Saturday’s celebration for Colombo.

“He (Colombo) was a real easy going, laid-back kind of guy, easy to talk to and willing to talk anytime,” said Perron, 73, also a product of Brockton who managed to defeat bladder cancer in 2004.

In order to be admitted, all attendants must purchase a ticket for $25 and they will be served a hot and cold buffet by Chef Henry Tartaglia.

All proceeds collected from the event will be utilized to pay for a statute of Colombo.

Ideally, the statue of Colombo will be situated near a bronze sculpture of Marciano where it will overlook Rocky Marciano Stadium at Brockton High School.

“Allie did something great for this city,” said Marrese. “He never forgot about Brockton and we shouldn’t forget about Allie. He did something great for all of us. He discovered raw talent in a guy named Rocky Marciano.”

“The Brockton Blockbuster” was once quoted as saying, “I don’t want to be remembered as a beaten champion.”

Ultimately, Marciano would never be “remembered as a beaten champion.”

In many ways, Allie Colombo helped make Rocky Marciano the athletic icon that he is today.

Provided that a bar mitzvah doesn’t prohibit it from occurring, WBA super welterweight champion Yuri Foreman is expected to defend his crown against former WBO welterweight titlist Miguel Cotto on June 5 at Yankee Stadium.

“The Yankees want to make a deal, we know we can make a deal, they’re just working through a problem at Yankee Stadium,” promoter Bob Arum told the Associated Press on Tuesday.

“But you wouldn’t believe it if I told you. They’ve leased out some lounges for this bar mitzvah and part of the deal was for a half hour or so, they could use the big screen in center field to show pictures and all that sort of stuff. Obviously you can’t do that if there’s a fight going on.”

Cotto (34-2, 27 KOs) last fought on Nov. 14 when he relinquished his belt to Manny Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 KOs) by a brutal 12th round TKO.

On the undercard of the Pacquiao versus Cotto bout, Foreman (28-0, 8 KOs), who is ironically an aspiring rabbi, defeated Daniel Santos (32-4-1-1, 23 KOs) by unanimous decision to become Israel’s first ever world boxing champion.

Foreman, 29, the winner of the New York Golden Gloves in 2001, was considered as a potential opponent for Pacquiao after the WBO champion’s proposed matchup with Floyd Mayweather, Jr. (40-0, 25 KOs) deteriorated earlier this month.

However, Pacquiao rejected the offer mainly because Foreman, at five feet and eleven inches, is quite tall for a welterweight. As evidenced by his paltry knockout percentage, Foreman does not possess tremendous power in either of his fists.

Still, Foreman is a tactician in the ring and his height has posed problems for his opponents in the past.

“Foreman is a solid boxer,” said Brad Sherwood, a personal trainer at Gold’s Gym in Medford, Massachusetts. “He is way taller than Cotto and Cotto has been through so many wars that he is old for a 29-year-old. But, I still think Cotto will win though because he is such a powerful warrior. I would take Cotto by a stoppage in the later rounds.”

Foreman was born in Gomel, Belarus.

At age nine, Foreman immigrated with his family to Israel and it was in the Holy Land where he began to box at a local Arab gym.

“The first time I walked in, I saw the stares. In their eyes, there was a lot of hatred,” said Foreman. “But, I needed to box; and boy, did they all want to box me.”

Particularly because of the pounding he received at the hands of Pacquiao, Cotto is going to “want to box” and bludgeon Foreman as well.

Foreman’s vast size advantage and relatively cautious style will keep him competitive in the fight.

Nevertheless, expect Cotto to ultimately brawl his way to a decisive knockout victory over Foreman whenever the two finally meet in the Bronx.

Photo by Chris Farina/Top Rank

Former WBC heavyweight champion Oliver “The Atomic Bull” McCall was arrested on Saturday night for possession of cocaine and a crack pipe in Fort Lauderdale Saturday.

McCall (54-9, 37 KOs), who upset Lennox Lewis (41-2-1, 32 KOs) by second round TKO for his title in September 1994, was scheduled to fight Zuri Lawrence (24-15-4-1, 8 KOs) this week at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in nearby Hollywood, Florida.

“The Atomic Bull,” who was raised on the South Side of Chicago, has amassed an extensive criminal record outside of the ring and last weekend’s infraction is a direct violation of his probation.

Inside the ring and at his peak, McCall was a slightly above average pugilist who possessed formidable power in both of his fists.

Unfortunately, the two-time Golden Gloves champion from “The Windy City” is a longstanding dope fiend whose emotional state has made him a pathetic laughingstock.

“My neighbor used to smoke crack,” said Quincy native Mike Cardello, 28. “It was truly sad because he was such a good guy. But, he never could overcome his personal demons. He died two years ago at only 49.”

More than two years after McCall shockingly knocked Lewis onto Queer Street, the combatants fought in a February 1997 rematch in Las Vegas.

The first three rounds between McCall and Lewis were nine minutes of uneventful and lackluster “action.”

When the fourth round began, McCall flatly refused to defend himself against Lewis.

If McCall’s lack of guard and retaliation wasn’t bizarre enough, the Chicagoan subsequently started to uncontrollably bawl like a woman watching Beaches as the round came to a close.

Ultimately, McCall’s loopy behavior forced referee Mills Lane to stop the match and award Lewis with a fifth round TKO victory.

“In the third round, he (McCall) got in close, and then seemed frustrated, and then he just back off and put his arms down,” said Lane. “I thought he was playing possum but then I saw his lips started to quiver and I thought ‘My God, is he losing it?’ I wanted to fix the fight for him, but he started crying, so I had to stop the fight.”

At an old 44, McCall has absolutely zero business trying to box again.

Oliver McCall is an unstable man who is in dire need of both psychological and substance abuse rehabilitation centers.

Impressively, McCall has never been knocked down as a professional prizefighter.

However, if he doesn’t receive immediate help, Oliver McCall will never rise and survive the count of life.

Unfortunately, very little news of interest has emerged so far this week in the world of boxing.

Considering the relative dearth of recent activity in The Sweet Science, I decided to rank the five most skilled boxers to enter the ring over the course of the past quarter-century.

It is imperative that I emphasize the word “skilled.”

The forthcoming list is not comprised of the most accomplished or decorated pugilists since 1985.

Rather, I ultimately nominated the five fighters below based strictly on their physical gifts and their overall pugilistic capabilities.

1) “Sugar” Ray Leonard- Leonard (36-3-1, 25 KOs), named Fighter of the Decade for the 1980s by Ring Magazine, captured world titles at multiple weight classes.

Leonard managed to defeat legendary fighters Wilfred Benitez (53-8-1, 31 KOs), Thomas Hearns (61-5-1, 48 KOs), Roberto Duran (103-16, 70 KOs) and Marvin Hagler (62-3-2, 52 KOs).

Leonard, the winner of the gold medal as a light welterweight at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, possessed blinding speed and deft agility in the ring.

Furthermore, Leonard was a deceptively powerful puncher who could badly hurt an opponent with one solid shot.

“Leonard was a great fighter,” said promoter Rich Cappiello from Brockton. “But, above all, he was a tremendously gifted athlete.”

“Sugar” Ray, who was rightfully inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1997, is the most skilled boxer since Reagan’s second term.

2) Roy Jones, Jr.– Jones (54-6, 40 KOs) has been on a seeming mission for the past seven years to tarnish his once brilliant legacy.

Jones, named Fighter of the Decade for the 1990s by the Boxing Writers Association of America, has been shellacked by a host of marginal fighters since his career peaked in 2003 when he defeated WBA heavyweight champion John Ruiz (44-8-1-1, 30 KOs) by unanimous decision.

Prior to Jones’ descent, he was a chiseled physical specimen with incredible quickness and power.

Many critics claim that Jones never had a defining victory in his career and that he never defeated any elite opponents.

In actuality, Jones was a sensationally talented pugilist who, at his peak, could have beaten any fighter, from any era.

3) Floyd Mayweather, Jr.- Mayweather (40-0, 25 KOs), the winner of six championships in five separate weight classes, is a very polarizing figure both inside and outside of the ring.

Many onlookers believe that he sidesteps dangerous contenders like Evander Holyfield avoids condoms.

Other Mayweather detractors loathe his defensive-minded mentality.

Nevertheless, despite his litany of faultfinders, Mayweather is a skilled, boxing marvel.

“Pretty Boy,” the winner of the bronze medal in the featherweight division at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, is elusive and speedy and he often makes his adversaries look simply foolish.

Mayweather will never be a universally beloved figure in the sport of boxing.

Still, Mayweather and his incredible talents deserve to be respected and recognized.

4) Mike Tyson– Before he became a cannibalistic, convicted rapist, Tyson (52-6, 46 KOs) was an enormously gifted boxer.

Tyson, the youngest man to ever win the WBC, WBA and IBF world heavyweight titles, combined ferocious power, with extraordinarily rapid reflexes and quickness, to become a dominating prizefighter.

Tyson employed a Peek-a-Boo defensive style that enabled him to deftly dodge his adversary’s punches while he awaited his chance to explode offensively.

There is a widespread belief that Tyson won the bulk of his matches by intimidation alone.

Such a perception is unfair and inaccurate.

Before he squandered his talents, Mike Tyson was one of the most phenomenal forces to ever grace the ring.

At his pinnacle, Tyson could have knocked out any fighter ever on a given evening.

5) Manny Pacquiao– Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 KOs), the first fighter to capture seven world titles in seven different divisions, is currently rated by Ring Magazine as the number one pound-for-pound boxer in the world.

Pacquiao has long been regarded as one of the best boxers in the sport.

However, his recent demolitions of solid scrappers Miguel Cotto (34-2, 27 KOs), Ricky Hatton (45-2, 32 KOs) and Oscar De La Hoya (39-6, 30 KOs) have elevated his status to a newfound superiority.

“The Fighting Pride of the Philippines” is scheduled to battle Joshua Clottey (35-3, 20 KOs) March 13 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington.

Another overwhelming performance by Pacquiao in “The Lone Star State” will only further heighten his iconic reputation.

Pacquiao has been blessed with every necessary tool to become an outstanding prizefighter and he has aptly utilized those abilities.

*Needless to say, this article is predicated off of my opinion.

I look forward to the thoughts and feedbacks of my readers.