Restaurateur and boxing manager Murray Wilson, who helped junior middleweight Yuri Foreman become a world champion, has died after an apparent heart attack. He was 72.
Wilson died late Wednesday, his publicist said in an e-mail.
The man behind Campagnola, a popular Italian restaurant in New York City, Wilson recently became involved in boxing when he read a New York Times article about Foreman, an aspiring rabbi.
Wilson met the young fighter and eventually bought out his contract, becoming his manager.
He guided Foreman to a 154-pound title last November, becoming the first Orthodox Jew in 70 years to win a world championship. He landed Foreman a lucrative payday against Miguel Cotto this past summer, the first fight at Yankee Stadium in more than three decades.
