Bob "Bobcat" Montgomery, a native of Sumter, South Carolina, had one of the most storied boxing careers in the history of American boxing. In his professional career, Montgomery had a total of 97 fights. Of that, he had 75 wins, which included 37 knockouts, 19 losses and 3 draws. Montgomery began boxing in Battle Royales. Seeing more opportunity up north, the South Carolina native moved to Philadelphia, where he started fighting the likes of Lou Jenkins and Sammy Angott. Montgomery went undefeated in his first 23 fights, going 22-0-1 and winning the Pennsylvania State Lightweight Title.  Three times, Montgomery beat Julie Kogon. Their first fight was at the Broadway Arena in Brooklyn on January 28, 1941, which Montgomery won by decision. They fought again on October 24th that same year, this time at the Chicago Coliseum, a fight Montgomery again took by decision. The two squared off for the last time on June 2, 1947 in Kogon's hometown at the New Haven Arena, but the result was still the same.   At Shibe Park on July 7, 1942, Montgomery lost to former lightweight champ Sammy Angott in a split decision. In 1942, Montgomery had two battles with Maxie Shapiro. In the first fight Montgomery lost by decision in Philadelphia, but he won the rematch two months later by unanimous decision in the same arena.  Montgomery also beat Petey Scalzo by TKO in Philadelphia, but he lost to Al "Bummy" Davis at Madison Square Garden by KO.  On May 21, 1943, Montgomery battled Georgia shoe shiner named "Beau Jack" for the lightweight title. Beau Jack was one of the toughest fighters of the day, but it was Montgomery who won in a 15-round decision. In the rematch, Beau Jack took the title back, but in the rubber match, Montgomery won the title back from Beau Jack. Fights with Ike Williams and Beau Jack set Montgomery apart as one of the all-time greatest fighters in American history.  And the fight Montgomery will always be known for was the War Bond Fight in 1944 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Even though Bob lost the fight to Beau Jack, the country was the real winner, as the fight raised $35 million dollars for the U.S. Army.  In 1995, Montgomery was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.  Montgomery was a promoter at the end of his career.

Joe Lee Sill began boxing at the age of 15, winning championships all over the Carolinas. These included the 1935 and 1938 Open Bantamweight AAU Championships in Charlotte, N.C. Another Hall of Famer, Marion Diehl was fighting during this time. The two split the fights.  Joe Lee Sill amassed 125 wins and 7 losses as an amateur. His pro record was 37-6-1.  Even in his late 30s and early 40s, Sill was fighting pro, winning bouts in Louisville, Cincinnati and St. Louis, as well as several preliminary bouts in the St. Nick's Arena and Madison Square Garden, New York.  In 1943, Joe was drafted into the Navy and that ended approximately 11 years of boxing. After the war, Joe returned to Spartanburg and worked for Southern Railway until a heart attack took his life in 1972.

Few boxers can say they have about as many knockout trophies as they wins, but that is the case with Gastonia, North Carolina's Rick Russell. Russell's amateur career spanned between 1977 and 1983. During that time, Russell had 92 wins with 12 losses and half of his wins were by knockout. It's a fact that Russell was never ever knocked out or stopped in any bout. One of his greatest claims to fame was defeating an all-Marine champion named James McDonald. McDonald went on to meet Michael Spinx for the World Championship.  Russell is a graduate of North Gaston High and attended Gaston College. These days, Russell is self-employed as the owner of Rick Russell Construction in Gastonia.

Bruce Cantrell was one of the greatest Middleweight southpaws to ever come out of the Palmetto State. His amateur record was 21-6-1. As a pro, his record was 34-20-1.  Cantrell's pro career started in 1971 where he won 10 straight bouts, including the SC title, defending it, and he never lost it.  In 1973, Cantrell fought John "Bo Jack" Magnum in Las Vegas. Some say that was the best fight ever fought in Sin City. Bruce lost in a controversial 10-round decision, which was talked about for months after the fight.  Some of the Ring Magazine all-ranked fighters that Cantrell fought included:  #2 Vito Antuofermo in 1975 at Long Island, NY. It was a close fight. The next year Antuofermo won the title;  John "Bo Jack" Magnum, 1973 best fighter of the year in Las Vegas; Perry Abney in The Spectrum Philadelphia, PA in 1974; #10 rank Leo "The Kid" Saenz in Capital Center, Maryland in 1974; #14 Roy Dale in Ft. Wayne, Indiana in 1973;  #9 Rocky Cudney at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 1973. The bout was so close they thought Cantrell won the fight. In lieu of that, he was given an honorary membership in the Canadian hall of fame in 1973.

Larry Boyles was one of the toughest North Carolina fighters of the day. His amateur career consisted of 75 wins and 15 losses. A native of Cherryville, NC, Boyles fought for the Lincolnton (NC) Boxing Team. At 135 pounds, he was a lightweight fighter.  Early in his amateur career he fought Al Wilson (1995 inductee) and Bearl Davis (2008 inductee.)  In 1954, Boyles boxed his way to the top of the Tar Heel State, winning the North Carolina Golden Gloves Championship. In 1956, Larry represented North Carolina in the National Golden Gloves Championship in New York.  After boxing, he went to work in the hosiery mills and the cotton mills. Eventually, he ended up in the antique business.  These days Larry Boyles is a devout member of his Presbyterian Church and the owner of an antique business in Cherryville.

Jo-Anne Newman raised the bar for officiating in boxing and helped break the glass ceiling for women in the sport as one of the first female referees.  Newman was one of the first female referees to referee in the Olympic trials beginning in 1996. She was South Carolina's first certified female referee, the first female national referee, the first international female referee and the first continental female referee.  Newman officiated in Olympic trials in Atlanta in 2000 and again in 2004.  A certified Level 3 coach on the national basis, Newman is currently a Master AIBA. Newman also conducts certification credits for South Carolina boxing officials and coaches.  Outside of the ring, Newman was a paralegal from 1974 to 2004. She has been a Cub Scout and Girl Scout leader. She is married to Noah Newman and has two adult children.  Newman is also the administrator for the North Augusta PAL Boxing Club. The club serves young people ages 8 to 18 in Aiken and Edgefield Counties and has some 60 registered boxers.

BRUCE HAYES

Bruce Hayes grew up in Erlanger Village, a bustling community built around the Erlanger textile mill which was built in the early 1900s in Lexington, NC. This mill was known for manufacturing BVD underwear and military uniforms.  In his young life, Hayes trained daily for the sport he loved, boxing. He lifted weights and ran five miles a day, something he still does even at age 76. Much of the training was done in his own back yard, where other young people from the community would gather to spar and jab and see who had the better boxing skills. Hayes also spent a lot of time at the Erlanger YMCA Gym where he played basketball and boxed in the gymnasium. Soon, boxing became the focus of Bruce's life. At Lexington High School, he gave up football and baseball and every other sport just to box. In fact, when coaches at Lexington High School told Bruce he had to make a choice, boxing or other sports, Bruce chose boxing.  In addition to boxing in Lexington and at the Erlanger mill, Bruce traveled all over the state boxing in armories and at YMCAs. He traveled to nearby Virginia (Fieldale) to fight in other textile mills. He also went to Kannapolis, NC, Charlotte and places throughout the Carolinas. He also started fighting in the Carolinas Golden Gloves Tournaments.  Like other young men of that era, Hayes had his boxing heroes like Rocky Graziano, Tony Zale and Rocky Marciano, and he couldn't wait to buy the next issue of Ring Magazine. As high school ended, Bruce won a scholarship to Dartmouth University in Hanover, New Hampshire but instead chose to go to Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, where he played basketball, ran cross-county and played tennis.  After his college years, Bruce came back to Lexington to work in his father's jewelry store, Hayes Jewelers, which was also located in the Erlanger community. Bruce's father, Delmar, opened the store in 1939.  With growing responsibilities, Hayes stayed in boxing, only instead of being in the ring himself, he would become a promoter and a coach. One of those he helped train was boxing standout, Jimmy Hester, and he expressed his thankfulness in a letter to Hayes.   SPECIAL AWARDS -- 2011 DOMINIC ROBINSON-NEAL 2011 Carolinas Boxing Contributor of the Year On the afternoon of October 3, 1993, a military raid made up of a task force of Delta Force Soldiers, Army Rangers and 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment attempted to capture two of Warlord Mohamed Farah Aidid's senior subordinates in the Mogadishu neighborhood of Bakaara Market. The mission is supposed to take no more than a half hour. The extraction by the Delta team is successful, but the Somali Militia, armed with RPG's, shot down two Black Hawk helicopters. The resulting rescue extends the mission to over 18 hours. And Dominic Robinson-Neal was there.  "Dominic Robinson-Neal is a hero in anyone's book," said Billy Stanick, owner of White Rock Boxing in Columbia, SC. "He was running two miles down the road while all the guns were shooting at him. He's one tough guy."    After serving as an Army Ranger for 20 years, Robinson-Neal retired and returned to his passion in the sport of boxing.  In his young life, Robinson-Neal fought as an amateur, where he had 85 wins and 5 losses. Then, he turned pro and he was damned good. In his 10 professional bouts, he won every one. Then life happened, his Army career took off and boxing was shelved at least for a time.  After leaving the military, Robinson-Neal returned to Columbia, where he took over as head coach at White Rock Boxing, training young fighters to become their best.  Now, coach Dominic Robinson Neal for the Palmetto boxing group is considered to be one of the greatest boxing coaches in the Southeast. In his time at White Rock, he's had two National Championships. He trained his own son, DeAndre Robinson-Neal, who won the National Ringside Championship and he took TJ Hunter to his own National Title Championship.