Professional Boxing Promoter. Born Daniel Salvator Duva, he was one of boxing's dominant promoters, along with Bob Arum and Don King. Those who have fought under the Main Events banner include Pernell Whitaker, Evander Holyfield, Sugar Ray Leonard, Tommy Hearns and Lennox Lewis. Dan Duva founded Main Events as a small family business and began making his mark in boxing in the late 1970s by showcasing fighters who at the time were relatively unknown. Introduced to the boxing world in a monthly series of bouts televised from Ice World at Totowa, N.J., were the likes of Livingstone Bramble, Rocky Lockridge, Bobby Czyz, Johnny Bumphus, Vinny Pazienza, Tony Tucker and Mike McCallum. All became world champions. After the 1984 Olympics at Los Angeles, Duva signed medalists Holyfield, Whitaker, Meldrick Taylor, Mark Breland and Tyrell Bigs, helping to establish Main Events as a premier promoter. Taylor became a junior welterweight and welterweight champion; Breland won a welterweight title; Whitaker won the lightweight, junior welterweight, welterweight and junior middleweight titles, and Holyfield became undisputed cruiserweight and heavyweight champion. As the head of Main Events, Duva promoted or co-promoted more than 100 world championship bouts, including 12 heavyweight title fights that accounted for more than $300 million in gross revenue. He was posthumously inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2003.
Professional Boxing Promoter. Born Daniel Salvator Duva, he was one of boxing's dominant promoters, along with Bob Arum and Don King. Those who have fought under the Main Events banner include Pernell Whitaker, Evander Holyfield, Sugar Ray Leonard, Tommy Hearns and Lennox Lewis. Dan Duva founded Main Events as a small family business and began making his mark in boxing in the late 1970s by showcasing fighters who at the time were relatively unknown. Introduced to the boxing world in a monthly series of bouts televised from Ice World at Totowa, N.J., were the likes of Livingstone Bramble, Rocky Lockridge, Bobby Czyz, Johnny Bumphus, Vinny Pazienza, Tony Tucker and Mike McCallum. All became world champions. After the 1984 Olympics at Los Angeles, Duva signed medalists Holyfield, Whitaker, Meldrick Taylor, Mark Breland and Tyrell Bigs, helping to establish Main Events as a premier promoter. Taylor became a junior welterweight and welterweight champion; Breland won a welterweight title; Whitaker won the lightweight, junior welterweight, welterweight and junior middleweight titles, and Holyfield became undisputed cruiserweight and heavyweight champion. As the head of Main Events, Duva promoted or co-promoted more than 100 world championship bouts, including 12 heavyweight title fights that accounted for more than $300 million in gross revenue. He was posthumously inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2003.
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