Dundee, Angelo

Dundee, Angelo, 1921–2012, American boxing trainer, most famous for his work with Muhammad Ali, b. Philadelphia as Angelo Mirena, Jr. After serving in World War II he moved to New York City, where he joined his brothers Chris and Joe, who had changed their surname to Dundee and worked in boxing. He soon adopted the Dundee name too, and became (1946) an apprentice trainer at Stillman's Gym. In the early 1950s he and Chris opened the Fifth Street Gym in Miami Beach, Fla., and in 1960 he began training Cassius Clay, guiding the young heavyweight to the championship over Sonny Liston in 1964. He remained with Clay, who soon became a Muslim and changed his name to Muhammad Ali, throughout most of his career. A skilled cornerman who excelled at handling pro boxers, Dundee also trained other successful fighters, most notably Sugar Ray Leonard when he won the welterweight title in 1979, 1980, and 1981 and George Foreman when he won the heavyweight title in 1994.

See his memoir My View from the Corner (with B. R. Sugar, 2008).

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

See more Encyclopedia articles on: Sports: Biographies