Jim Amato
Jim Amato is a native of Cleveland, Ohio. He is a longtime avid fan of the Browns and Indians. Although he enjoys baseball and football his true passion is boxing.
Jim was born in 1954 and raised in Warrensville Heights the hometown of Oakland A's star, Sal Bando. He became interested in boxing in the mid 1960's and started buying Ring magazines on a regular basis. As he got older he expanded his interest by buying Ring Record books and collecting memorabilia. When the Beta and VHS film craze hit in the 1980's, Jim began collecting fight films. His collection is closing in on close to 2000 bouts and fight highlight clips. He also has a accumulated a vast collection of boxing magazines, books and autographed photos. He has started his own outlet, Amato Family Sports Memorabilia.
Jim began covering fights in 1992 reporting on the Roberto Duran-Ken Hulsey fight in Cleveland for Boxing Illustrated. He has since contributed articles to Boxing World, Boxing Times, Heavyhitters, Cleveland's East Side Daily Newspaper, The Neutral Corner and the IBRO Journal. He has also had articles posted on several on line boxing sites including East Side Boxing, Inside Boxing, The Sweet Science, Let's Talk Boxing and Boxing In Las Vegas. Jim launched his own site,"Legends Of Leather" in May of 2005.
Several fine writers have contributed to Legends Of Leather including Frank Lotierzo, Tom Donelson, Greg Smith, Mike Casey, Armando Cabrera, Mike Dunn, John Bardelli, and Ted Luzzi. Many others as well. Some of the most respected writers in the business.
Jim is a member of the Boxing Writers Association Of America (BWAA) and is also a member of the International Boxing Research Organization (IBRO), that was once directed by Hall Of Famer Ralph Citro. Boxing notables Hank Kaplan and Harold Lederman are among IBRO's members.
Jim was on the Publicity Committee for the American Association For The Improvement Of Boxing (AAIB) that was co-founded by Steve Acunto and the late Rocky Marciano. He is a member of the Ohio State Former Boxers And Associates and the Trumbull County Of Ohio Legends Of Leather,Past President,the late Sal Marino.He is also a past member of the Society For American Baseball Research (SABR) and has contributed baseball related articles to the At Home Plate and Around The Diamond websites.
(Jim slugs away with Ernie Shavers in the above pic)
