Pettway

WILLIAM W. PETTWAY, Sr., age 63, of Rising Sun, MD, passed away Saturday, October 27, 2007 at home. Mr. Pettway was born on November 17, 1943 in Baltimore, MD. He was a builder and renovator of homes. He gave his extra time to his family and friends and was a role model and mentor to many in the Essex area. He is survived by his wife, Barbara Patricia Pettway of Rising Sun, MD; sister, Dolores Pettway Battaglia of Grandy, NC; children, William W. Pettway, Jr. of Newark, DE, Christopher James Pettway of Aberdeen, MD, Michelle Pettway Auffarth of Hanover, PA and Rebecca Pettway Wright of Michigan; step-children, Noelle Anuszkiewicz of Annapolis, MD, Kenya Overstreet of Brooklyn Park, MD, Brittany Anuszkiewicz of Baltimore, MD and Jason Anuszkiewicz of Ballwin, MO; 11 grandchildren; numerous nieces and nephews; aunt and uncle, Helen and Harold Cash; life-long friend, James Cook and mother of his children, Kathey Pettway Gorton.

WILLIAM W. PETTWAY, Sr., age 63, of Rising Sun, MD, passed away Saturday, October 27, 2007 at home. Mr. Pettway was born on November 17, 1943 in Baltimore, MD. He was a builder and renovator of homes. He gave his extra time to his family and friends and was a role model and mentor to many in the Essex area. He is survived by his wife, Barbara Patricia Pettway of Rising Sun, MD; sister, Dolores Pettway Battaglia of Grandy, NC; children, William W. Pettway, Jr. of Newark, DE, Christopher James Pettway of Aberdeen, MD, Michelle Pettway Auffarth of Hanover, PA and Rebecca Pettway Wright of Michigan; step-children, Noelle Anuszkiewicz of Annapolis, MD, Kenya Overstreet of Brooklyn Park, MD, Brittany Anuszkiewicz of Baltimore, MD and Jason Anuszkiewicz of Ballwin, MO; 11 grandchildren; numerous nieces and nephews; aunt and uncle, Helen and Harold Cash; life-long friend, James Cook and mother of his children, Kathey Pettway Gorton.

Baltimore junior middleweight Vincent Pettway will get his first title shot on Feb. 19 when he battles Gilbert Baptist of San Diego for the vacant United States Boxing Association title.Stuart Satosky, who will promote the 12-round championship match at the Pikesville Armory, received official sanctioning yesterday from International Boxing Federation president Bob Lee.The IBF has Pettway (34-4, 25 KOs) ranked eighth in the world and Baptist (23-12, 8 KOs) rated No. 9 behind world champion Gianfanco Rosi of Italy.

This past Halloween, on an unseasonably warm evening, the new Mack Lewis Boxing Gym, nestled in the shadows of Johns Hopkins Hospital in the 900 block of North Bond Street, was alive with its usual activity. The night's soundtrack: the thud of padded fists crashing into heavy bags, a buzzer that sounds every three minutes, the grunts and groans of men pushing themselves to their physical limits and the staccato wisp of jump ropes. Seated in a corner near the entrance, wearing a radiant smile, was Lewis himself.

Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke won a pair of Washington Redskins tickets from Washington Mayor Marion Barry after Baltimore's Vincent Pettway successfully defended his International Boxing Federation junior middleweight title at USAir Arena on Saturday by knocking out Simon Brown of Mount Airy.Schmoke, who had wagered a bushel of crabs, declared yesterday Vincent Pettway Day in Baltimore. He presented Pettway with a pewter plate and his manager-trainer, Mack Lewis, with a glass plate.But a bigger reward may be coming.

Vincent Pettway of Baltimore and Simon Brown of Mount Airy have agreed to fight for Pettway's International Boxing Federation junior middleweight title, but the site and date have not been determined.Abe Pollin, president of USAir Arena, offered promoter Don King the use of his Landover building rent-free to stage the championship match April 1. But a King spokesman said the promoter favors holding the fight as part of a cable television show in Boston on St. Patrick's Day, March 17, featuring Irish heavyweight Peter McNeeley.

He had to know. He had to climb in the ring and give it a shot against Vincent Pettway. He now knows, Eddie Van Kirk does, and at least there's a certain satisfaction in that."

Boxing returned to Baltimore last night. I mean, really returned, harkening back to the days when Leo Saenz, Larry Middleton and Buddy Boggs used to pack them in at Steelworker's Hall.At 9:30, they were still queueing up for tickets for a show that started two hours earlier. The capacity for Pikesville Armory is 1,800, but maybe a few more than that squeezed in to see:* Vincent Pettway get by a final obstacle to a world title shot in a bruising split-decision victory over Gilbert Baptist.

Only the thousands of people who know Mack Lewis, most of whom he has trained in the manly art of self-defense in his gym over on Broadway, knew what Vincent Pettway was talking about the other night on television after he won a world title from Italy's Gianfranco Rosi.Pettway, now 37-4 with 30 knockouts, pummeled the former International Boxing Federation junior middleweight titleholder before putting him down for good at the end of the fourth round. Ecstatic with his success after some trying times in his decade-long pro career, Pettway admitted, "I'm more happy for Mr. Mack.

Baltimore junior middleweight contender Vincent Pettway has signed to fight Juan Rondon of Miami at the Pikesville Armory on Oct. 9. But Pettway also is looking at a future title match with Chad Parker of Mississippi or a lucrative bout with former welterweight champion Mark Breland.Stuart Satosky will promote the Pettway-Rondon fight in conjunction with Leonard "Boogie" Weinglass, the millionaire clothing chain owner who is interested in furthering Pettway's ring career.Pettway (31-4) is ranked No. 10 in the junior middleweight class by the International Boxing Council.

Baltimore's Tyrell Samuel will be involved in his first scheduled six-rounder when he fights at Glen Burnie's Michael's Eighth Avenue in tonight's junior lightweight co-main event against Fred Fleming of Cincinnati. If Samuel's three previous bouts are any indication, Fleming isn't likely to see the final round. Trained by former junior middleweight world champion Vincent Pettway, Samuel, 23, is 5-0 with three consecutive knockouts. A fan favorite at Michael's, Samuel is returning to the site of his last fight, when he beat New York's Raul Rivera in four rounds July 16. So Samuel knows he'll be expected to provide an explosive evening, more than likely in the form of a stoppage.

SEATTLE - Coach Mark Gottfried and the Alabama Crimson Tide got their "upset." Alabama survived a comeback by Southern Illinois, 65-64, when Darren Brooks missed a 17-foot jumper at the buzzer in a first-round NCAA tournament game yesterday at KeyArena. Alabama's Antoine Pettway had given the Tide the lead with only five seconds left on a runner in the lane - and that shot came only eight seconds after the Salukis' Brooks drove for a go-ahead basket with 13 seconds left. Alabama (18-12)

After nearly two years of boxing inactivity, former world champion Vincent Pettway of Baltimore had hoped to regain some glory with a victory over New York's Luis Rosado before a hometown crowd at Du Burns Arena last night. Instead, the 35-year-old heard the fans scream, "Stop the fight!" as he absorbed a bloody beating that left him teetering around the ring en route to a sixth-round knockout in a scheduled eight-round junior middleweight bout. Pettway (43-7-1, 32 knockouts) was knocked down in the third round, had his right eye bloodied by a vicious left hook in the fifth round, and generally was beaten around the ring before Dr. Doug Frankel called an end to the fight at 2:05 of the sixth round.

Six years ago, Vincent Pettway was Baltimore's boxing champion, holder of a world junior middleweight title belt. Now, the city can boast the heavyweight champ, Hasim Rahman, and Pettway had receded so far into the background that fight fans -- if they remember him at all -- probably think his ring career is over. But, at 35, Pettway hasn't given up on boxing, and he's ready to chase a world title again, even if it means going back to local undercards. After two years without a bout, Pettway (43-6-1, 32 knockouts)

When Vincent Pettway, the handsome man and superb fighter, knocked out Italy's Gianfranco Rosi in Las Vegas on Sept. 17, 1994, he became Baltimore's first world boxing champion in more than half a century. He made headlines, logged a fair amount of mug time on local television, received official citations and a nice pewter plate from the mayor. But Pettway did not get what Hasim "Rock" Rahman got yesterday - his own motorcade through downtown Baltimore, a joyous rally at City Hall. He settled for a ride as grand marshal of the Thanksgiving Day parade two months later.

Four months ago, Vincent Pettway was on the verge of potential stardom, having been scheduled for a championship bout against Felix Trinidad.How things have changed since then. While Trinidad will be headlining a major fight card in Las Vegas on Saturday against Oscar De La Hoya, Pettway was in Woodlawn at Martin's West trying to get his career untracked.Pettway's return from eye surgery wasn't against a top-notch opponent: Anthony Ivory of Chicago, a last-minute replacement, brought a less than impressive 26-47 record into the welterweight match.