SPORTS
Mike Rossman
drops John
Pinney in the
second round of
a scheduled
eight round bout
Nov. 22, 1974,
at Madison
Square Garden
in New York.
Rossman
stopped Pinney
in the fifth
round to remain
undefeated. The
loss was
Pinney's first
defeat.
r_
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO
'THE JEWISH BOMBER'?
DAN HIRSHBERG
Special to The Jewish News
T
0 most people, even
boxing enthusiasts,
the name Albert
Michael DiPiano doesn't ring
a bell. But mention the name
Mike Rossman and the bell
signifying the start of a box-
ing match tolls in their
minds.
DiPiano and Rossman are
one and the same.
It seems like only yester-
day that Rossman, who
promoted himself as "The
Jewish Bomber," was on top
of the world, having won the
Dan Hirshberg is a
contributing editor for Boxing
Scene, writes for Boxing
Monthly, and is the sports
editor of the Hackettstown
(N.J.) Star-Gazette. He also
teaches communications at
Centenary College in N.J.
Since his moment of glory as light heavyweight
champion 12 years ago, Mike Rossman has
fallen on some hard times.
World Boxing Association
(WBA) light heavyweight
championship by knocking
out Victor Galindez in the
13th round in New Orleans.
Actually, it was Sept. 15,
1978 when Rossman, who
sported Jewish stars on his
trunks and shoes, took the
title from Galindez.
That night, Rossman,
from Turnersville, N.J., be-
came the first Jewish light
heavyweight champion since
"Slapsie Maxie" Rosen-
bloom held the title in the
Thirties. But in many ways,
Rossman's life has been
in a tailspin the last 12
years, and he reflected on his
career and troubled personal
life during a rare interview.
"The hardest thing in the
world for me has been ad-
justing to life outside of box-
ing," he noted. "If you're
not ready for it, it's tough.
Life after boxing sucks if
there is nothing for you."
Rossman, who has been
living in Atlantic. City with
his Jewish mother (under
whose last name he fought)
for almost six years, says he
found out, like many boxers
do, that the end of a career
can sneak up on you. "I won
my last four [fights], so who
would think it's over? But it
started getting to be a has-
sle fighting. Everybody's
making big money, but I
was fighting guys for little
money."
Rossman's championship
reign was brief. After de-
feating the more experi-
enced Galindez, considered
one of the top light heavies
to come along in several
decades, he successfully de-
fended his belt by stopping
Aldo Traversaro in the sixth
round of their scheduled 15
rounder in Philadelphia on
Dec. 5, 1978. He then lost
the championship in his sec-
ond title defense, a rematch
against Galindez on April
14, 1979.
Rossman, a popular fight-
er with a large following in
the Jewish community, saw
his career and his life hit
troubled times after the sec-
ond Galindez match.
Rossman fell five months
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
55