John “The Heat” Verderosa, Rooney and Al Tobe’s P.A.L. stablemate when the three Stapleton teenagers won New York Golden Gloves titles at Madison Square Garden on the same night in 1975, was 16-2 and a three-time Gloves champion as an amateur, 28-3 and a one-time USBA Super Featherweight champion as a pro, and a promoter’s dream.
True to his nickname, the 2022 New York State Boxing Hall of Fame inductee brought the heat every night, most famously in the 1983 TKO victory that ended former Featherweight champion Sean O’Grady’s career.
Class of 2024