A Throwback to the Glory Days:
A classic Chicago boxing story begins the same way. “As far back as I can remember, a fighter is the only thing I ever wanted to be,” recounts colorful boxer turned promoter Bobby Hitz. Born on the West Side of Chicago, Hitz started boxing as an amateur in 1978 and won a Golden Gloves title before turning pro. Extremely popular among his fellow Chicagoans, “Hitman” Hitz went on to face George Foreman and former world title challenger Pierre Coetzer while going a respectable 21-4 18 KOs. He retired in 1989. With the notoriety that came from being as quick with his wit as he was with his jab, Hitz soon found success as the owner of Nana’s Café, a Chicago hotspot for celebrities and musicians. But with boxing in his blood he returned to the sport in 1991, this time on the promotional side of things. Hitz Boxing’s first show featured future all-time-great James Toney. Now the longest running promoter in the Chicagoland area, Hitz single-handedly revived boxing in his beloved city by hosting its first world championship fight in 25 years and staging a badly needed bi-monthly boxing series at the Ramada Hotel in Rosemont, Illinois, for 12 years called the “Ramada Rumble.” He has also promoted shows at venues such as the Hollywood Casino, the All State Arena, the UIC Pavilion, the Bismarck Hotel, and the Luimiere Casino in St. Louis and has co-promoted shows in venues all over the country and worked with boxing notables such as Oscar De La Hoya, Cedric Kushner and Art Pellulo, to name a few. Over the years, featured fighters have included such local and international stars as heavyweight champions Oleg Maskaev and Ruslan Chagaev, light heavyweight champions Antonio Tarver and Reggie Johnson, Detroit middleweight standouts Dwight Davidson and Anthony “Baby” Jones, Roy Jones conqueror Montell Griffin, heavyweight champion Greg Page, light heavyweight champion Dwight Muhammad Qawi, Julio Cesar Chavez conqueror Frankie Randall, exciting sluggers Teddy Reid and JC Candelo, Angel “El Diablo” Manfredy, Thomas Hearns conqueror Iran Barkley, future lightweight king David Diaz, “The Foul Pole” Andrew Golota, longtime heavyweight contender and world title challenger “Fast” Fres Oquendo, future cruiserweight king O’Neil Bell and many others. Surprisingly multi-dimensional given his old-school tough guy persona, Hitz’s hobbies include riding his Harley, spending time with his son (a high school football player), motocross racing and performing with his band “Hitz”. He has also dabbled in acting and been a fixture on Chicago radio and television for many years. Hitz began his latest successful venture, the “Fight Night at the Horseshoe” boxing series at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana, in 2010. |
The opening line of the all-time-classic movie Goodfellas goes “As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster.” 
