This feature originally appeared in the January 1993 issue of KO Magazine.

By Jeff Ryan

He is probably the first devil who spent more time waring a halo than a pair of horns. Vinny “The Pazmanian Devil” Pazienza wore the horns for a few minutes when he posed for our cover five years ago. He wore the halo, a metal device literally screwed into his head, to help promote the healing of cracked bones in his neck for three torturous months following a car accident last November. The accident left Paz with cracked and dislocated vertebrae, and an uncertain future in the game.

Uncertain to everyone but Paz, that is. He began training a month after being injured, hitting the bag, hitting the treadmill, and hitting the weight room, all while wearing a bulky hunk of metal on his head. He was the only guy who could have walked around with four bolts tightly adhered to his skull and still made people wonder if he had a screw lose.

At the time of his near-tragedy, Paz was at the highest point of his nine-year career. A month earlier, he had knocked out Gilbert Dele in 12 rounds to capture the WBA junior middleweight crown. While most Americans had never heard of France’s Dele, the win was nonetheless an eye opener. Paz, a former IBF lightweight titlist, had made a successful jump of 19 pounds and three weight classes between titles. And he won this second crown by boxing, moving and exhibiting a tight defense, aspects of the game that were hardly Pazienza trademarks during his lightweight days.

Defying the doctors who predicted the end of his career, Paz has been training, sparring, and preparing for a comeback since early this year. The bout, a defense against mandatory contender Julio Cesar Vazquez, is tentatively scheduled for December in Providence, Rhode Island, or Atlantic City. It would mark yet another incredible comeback from adversity for a man who has specialized in such returns from the brink.

In September, Pazienza sat down with Editor-in-Chief Jeff Ryan in Manhattan’s Bryant Park, and the two men relived the tests of character that have molded Pazienza into one of the toughest tough guys in the sport. With his girlfriend Leigh Anderson by his side, the 29-year-old champion also spoke of his new fighting style, his feelings about colorful one-time rival Greg Haugen, his relationship with stablemates Evander Holyfield, Meldrick Taylor and Pernell Whitaker, his future assault on the middleweight ranks, his financial situation, those scary first days after the accident, and a variety of other topics. As always, Paz never failed to entertain.

No question, in fact, ever seems to catch him off guard. Pitchfork at the ready, the Devil will take a stab at anything.

KO Magazine: Let’s get to the most important thing first. We know that you’re a friend of Sylvester Stallone, and everyone is aware that you were inspired to become a boxer by the film Rocky. Earlier today, we learned that the American Heritage Dictionary is officially recognizing the word “Yo” as a part of the English Language. Give us your reaction to this stunning news development.

Vinny Pazienza: Yo, Jeff, that’s a pretty crazy question. Is this how this interview is gonna go?

KO: It can only get worse.

VP: I believe it.

KO: Briefly and succinctly summarize for our readers exactly what your medical progress has been since you were injured in a car accident last November, and tell us what point you are at now.

VP: The accident happened November 14^th. I was as close to being a paraplegic as possible. The doctor told me that I’d never fight again. I cracked two bones in my neck and dislocated one, and I was a hair away from the spinal cord. If the bone hit the spinal cord, I would have had some form of paralysis.

I refused to give in to the worst. I waited about a month to see what would happen. The doctors told me everything was a little bit better, and I’d have a small chance to fight again. That’s all I needed. With even a small chance, I knew I’d make it. I started working out a month after the accident. It was like a freak show, I had the halo on my head and I was lifting weights. I kept getting stronger and stronger.

KO: What was the saddest point for you in the aftermath of the accident? When did you have your doubts about continuing your career?

VP: The saddest time was shortly after the accident happened. I was lying on the X-ray table and the doctor was giving me a whole bunch of medical talk, saying terms I didn’t understand. So finally I just said, “Doc, look, let’s just cut through the s___. Can I box or not?” He looked at me and took his glasses off. He said to me “Son, I’m sorry, you’ll never box again.” That hit me harder than any punch I ever received. I was floored. I started kicking my legs and my arms and saying “Nah, you’re wrong! I’ll be fine!” He just looked away like I was really wrong.

I was in a fit of rage. They had blocks on the side of my head to support it. I grabbed the blocks and said “What’ll happen if I twist my neck right now? That would have ended it. I probably would have hit the spinal cord, and I wouldn’t be here right now. My brother in law and my dad came over and grabbed me and tried to calm me down.

Vinny Pazienza (L) lands a punch against Greg Haugen during a fight at Trump Plaza Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Vinny Pazienza won by a UD 10. (Photo by: The Ring Magazine/Getty Images)

KO: When you were injured, you were at a career-high point, having just beaten Gilbert Dele for your second world championship. Had you retired, you would have left on a high, not on the low that most boxers exit on. Why is it so important for you to come back?

VP: Because I’m 29-years-old and I’m in the prime of my career. The accident happened, but I look at it like that’s just life. S___ happens, and I am just treating the accident like it was one bad fight. Right now I’m fast, I’m strong, and I feel like I’m one of the best boxers in the world. I’m a world champion. I have too much to give my fans and myself for me to quit now. It would be ridiculous. I’ll bounce back from this.

KO: You want to make your return against the mandatory contender, Julio Cesar Vazquez, not fight a safe tuneup to get the feel of the ring back. That wouldn’t be an advisable strategy if you had merely laid off since November, but it is an especially risky move considering that you’ve had to overcome a career-threatening injury. Are you letting your heart overrule your head at this point?

VP: When I first got in the accident, Jimmy Binns (the WBA’s legal counsel) got in touch with me and told me he’d give me a year-and-a-half to defend my title. Then I started reading things that you guys would write, and I started hearing from Aaron Davis’ people and Julio Cesar Vazquez’s people that I would be stripped of the title and the top two contenders should fight for it. When Pazienza comes back, he can fight the winner. While I still had the halo on my head, I called up (my promoter) Danny Duva. I said “You tell those guys I’ll fight the number-one contender in my first fight back. Aaron Davis is number two, so after I beat Vazquez I’ll fight him next. That’s the way I love to live.

KO: As impartial as the media is supposed to be, I don’t think there are too many writers who don’t like you and hope that this all ends happily for you. Allay some of the fears we have. Tell the media, your fans, and your friends why we shouldn’t be as worried about your comeback as we are.

VP: I’m gonna make one of the greatest comebacks in the history of sports, not just boxing. The progress I’ve been making has been unbelievable. My doctor is a great neurosurgeon who’s 70-years-old, and he’s never seen anything like it. He can’t believe how well the bones are healing and how much improvement I’m making on the muscles of the neck itself. I tortured myself into shape. I’ve been working my ass off doing things that the average guy wouldn’t do. I’m very confident. I’m really excited.

KO: Have you sparred at all?

VP: I sparred a little before the doctor wanted me to. He read about it in the paper. He told me, “You’re crazy,” but after he saw the X-rays, he said, “Whatever you’re doing, keep doing it ‘cause you’re doing fine.”

KO: Last year, much of the boxing world was saddened to learn that Rhode Island Central Credit Union, in which you had deposited most of your life savings, had gone out of business. Update us on the status of your money.

VP: See, this is another situation in my ups and downs. I always take things in stride. I always look for the better side of things. When that happened, I figured that I’d somehow win a title and make the money back. I’ve been lucky. I got 90 percent of the money back now.

KO: You had invested about $300,000 there?

VP: Yeah.

KO: How did you get it back?

VP: They just worked something out with the banking system. The Presidential election is just around the corner and, boy, it’s funny how that money got released.

KO: How devastating is it to fight so hard for that money, and then learn one day that it’s gone? Where did you hear the news, and what was your immediate reaction to it?

VP: When the doctor told me I couldn’t box anymore, that was the hardest blow of my life. The second hardest was when I came home from a trip I was on and my mother told me that Rhode Island Central Credit went down the tubes. I don’t think any fighter has come close to hitting me as hard as those shots. I just couldn’t believe it.

KO: Would you be secure enough financially to retire today and not have to worry about finding work?

VP: I could retire on the money that I have now, but there’s a million things I could do. I have job offers already from people, offers to do promotions, radio, TV commentating. There’s many opportunities there for me, but it’s not even a thought in my mind to stop boxing right now. My doctor told me I couldn’t box, my father told me that I shouldn’t box, and my fans and friends didn’t want me to box. People were just happy that I was able to walk. But that’s not the way I like to live. Boxing is something that I have to do, I want to do. I’ve worked at it for 15 years. No way I’m gonna stop now.

KO: Just like Joey Gamache, one of your New England boys, you have been quoted as saying that you still don’t wear a seatbelt when you drive or ride in a car. “I’m crazy, I’m a fighter,” you said. “I take punches. I don’t think bout accidents.” That’s not cute or funny, it’s downright dumb. Don’t these accidents teach you guys anything?

VP: (Laughing) Are you calling me dumb? I’ll tell you why…

Vinny Pazienza (R) lands a punch against Jose Ortiz during the fight at the Ice World in Totowa, New Jersey. Vinny Pazienza Won by a KO 6.
(Photo by: The Ring Magazine/Getty Images)

KO: You’re going to have a very hard time justifying those quotes.

VP: Rhode Island is just about to pass a law for seatbelts to be used. My people in Rhode Island – the state troopers and the police – have been great to me, so I don’t want to make it hard for them. I’ll start wearing the seatbelt. I haven’t worn it since the accident because I never expected bad things to happen. I don’t go in the ring and expect to be knocked out, even though that can always happen.

KO: But you do take precautions in the ring.

VP: I take precautions when I drive, too. I just don’t use the seatbelt.

KO: Nobody is going to buy that explanation. Anyway, you were moonlighting earlier this year as a radio talk show host on WICE in Providence. How much fun was that?

VP: It was a lot of fun. The Vinny Paz Show. I just had to end it recently because I’m getting a little too serious with my training now. It was taking up a lot of my time, but it was a great experience. It would be great for me to do it in the future, when I don’t have to concentrate on defending my title. I had some great guests on. Larry Holmes was my first guest, and he was beautiful. I had Bob Guccione from Penthouse magazine. I had him on with one of the Penthouse Pets. I had Sugar Ray Leonard, “Boom Boom” Mancini, Roger Clemens. (My trainer) Kevin Rooney had a weekly spot called “The Kevin Rooney Minute.” I billed him as the most controversial, comedic trainer in the world.

KO: The wit and wisdom of Kevin Rooney?

VP: Yeah.

KO: No wonder it was only a minute.

VP: (Laughs) Believe me, he tried to stretch that minute out pretty long.

KO: Is it true that you sometimes talked about world affairs?

VP: (Smiling) I talked about everything. I’m a well-rounded individual, Jeff. Maybe you don’t know that. I talked about whatever was in the paper: abortion, politics. I let it fly.

KO: It’s hard to picture a guy who wore a devil’s tail into the ring talking about the fall of Communism.

VP: (Laughs loudly)

KO: That must have been a show not to miss.

VP: I had some great shows, but it was very taxing. It took a lot of time. Now I just want to devote my time to defending my title. I got a couple of years to be the best.

KO: Terry Norris, the WBC champion in your weight class, has dismissed you, saying “Vinny’s a small guy and he doesn’t have a punch. He’s tough, but I think he’s overrated. At the same time, he has said that he won’t come to Providence to fight you. What do you read into a contradictory message like that?

VP: Everybody thinks I’m overrated until they get in the ring and box me. Everybody has something to say. I think Terry’s a good fighter. I want to defend against the number-one contender, then me and Terry can unify the title. Eventually, I want to move up and become the middleweight champion of the world. Terry thinks I’m a small guy. I’ll dwarf Terry Norris.

KO: What do you mean?

VP: He doesn’t compare to me in size.

KO: You mean upper body?

VP: Upper body… lower body… let’s be careful with that one, Jeff.

KO: You and Greg Haugen were once bitter enemies while engaging in two lightweight title fights. You then became friends, and he even invited you to Tacoma, Washington, for one of his bouts. Later, the two of you were enemies again when you fought a third time. Before that third fight, he claimed, you tried to pick a fight with him in the men’s room. Taking everything that the two of you have been through into consideration, evaluate the feelings between the two of you today. 

VP: I like Greg. I’ve got no problem with him. We’re both warriors and we both have a strong desire to win. I’m not going to take any of his s___ and he doesn’t want to take any of mine. When we got in that scuffle in the bathroom, I felt great that day. I beat him easy in the third fight ‘cause I felt good. I went to his dressing room to get under his skin a little bit, and somebody in his room said he went to the bathroom. I was walking in as he was walking out, and I was able to walk him into a stall because I’m twice as strong as the guy. I said “Okay, Greg, let’s go right in this bathroom now.” I was only busting him. Nothing happened. Mike Quinn jumped in between us.

KO: Who is that?

VP: My friend.

KO: Is he the big guy Haugen called “a steroid monkey”?

VP: The big guy, yeah. He jumped in between us. I just laughed and walked out. And then it was a great fight.

KO: If you and Haugen saw each other today, would the inclination be to sit down for a beer or shove him out of the way?                  

VP: (Smiles) I don’t know. I guess (‘d talk to him and see what’s happening. I’m fine with him. If we signed for another fight, the feud would begin again. If he wants to get his title camel-jockey ass up to 154 pounds, we can get it on again.

KO: When you look back on the feud you guys had, and the colorful press conferences, do you get a kick out of it?                   

VP: Oh, I don’t know, sometimes it gets a little sickening.

KO: Really?               

VP: Yeah, looking back on it.

KO: It was a lot of fun for the fans. What was the sickening part?                     

VP: Well, after you read some of the things we said, it sounds like baby talk. But I like to entertain my fans, so I go with it.

KO: It is rare that a fighter goes through his entire career with the same manager and promoter, but especially rare when he goes an entire career without any serious managerial problems. You and the Duva family, however, have had a strong relationship for nine years. What has been the key?                     

VP: The key to that is that I’m a very loyal guy. I’ve had plenty of offers from other people, but I like the Duvas, and I would enjoy staying with them ‘til my boxing career is over. I think they’re wonderful people, great businessmen. I’m a friend to them, but at the same time I’m a product. I know that, and I understand that part of the game. There have been times when Lou Duva’s told me I should retire, and I just think he’s retarded. It’s not like we’re lovey-dovey all the time, believe me. After I got in my car accident, Lou was one of the ones who thought I should quit. I said “I’ll be the judge of that, Lou, not you.” But I know when I fight again, he’ll be in my corner.

KO: Although you get along well with Dan and Lou, we sense that you are not particularly close with the rest of the camp.                     

VP: Why, because I don’t go to their training camps? I have my own training camp in Rhode Island.

KO: You have been somewhat critical of Pernell Whitaker and Meldrick Taylor in the past, and although you always talk about Holyfield, we almost never hear those guys mention your name. Is there some jealousy there, or have you just never been friends?                  

VP: I’m friends with all of them, but they have their lives and I have mine. I don’t train with them. They can’t fight for me. They’re just good fighters. They’re with my managers, so we’ll never fight each other. That’s the bottom line.

KO: Why don’t they ever talk about you to the press?                  

VP: Maybe they don’t like the fact that I get a little more attention than they do, but who gives a s___? They make more money than I do, you know. If I were them, I wouldn’t worry about who gets the media attention. I would rather make the money. So I don’t know what they’re jealous about. They should be a little more colorful when they box.

KO: Isn’t it unfair, though, that a Pernell Whitaker is so dominant – he rarely ever loses a round – and yet, a lot of people don’t know who he is?                     

VP: Yeah, well, he’s just a good, slick left-hander. Can’t take that away from him.

KO: Do you think it bothers him when he’s the lightweight champion and he has to fight on the undercard of Pazienza-Camacho?                   

VP: Do I think it bothers him? Probably. But I don’t hear nothing from those guys. I live my life and they live theirs. Meldrick Taylor sent me a card after I got in the accident, and I thought that was very big of him. I sent him a thank you card back. I like Meldrick. But, you know, it’s a tough racket. They got their things to do and I have mine. Only the strong survive in this game. I’m a friendly guy. I’ll make friends with anybody who’s nice to me. Sometimes people don’t want to make friends with you.

KO: You were an outstanding athlete in high school, and now, in the last year or two, you have displayed your athletic side more in the ring. You are moving and boxing now, slipping punches better than ever before. It has been highly successful. Why weren’t you employing this strategy for most of your career?                     

VP: I didn’t have the strength to do it. I had to lose too much weight to make lightweight and junior welterweight. I didn’t cry about it to the media because I’m not a crybaby, Jeff. I didn’t cry about this accident, about losing my money in the bank, about losing the fights. I lost to four world champions. I ain’t cried once about anything. My only regret is the Loreto Garza fight (Paz was disqualified for trying to pick up Garza and toss him). If I would have watched one more WrestleMania and learned a little bit more, I would have sent him over the top rope.

Losing the weight back then hurt me a lot, it’s as simple as that. Now I’m able to fight with a lot of my ability because I feel much better. I’m able to keep more size and more muscle and strength. I’m not small, like Pernell Whitaker or those guys, I was never a small lightweight. I told you, I want to move up to middleweight. I boxed six rounds the other day, ran five miles, lifted weights, I’ll beat anybody right now, broken neck and all.

Vinny Pazienza (R) lands a punch against Lloyd Honeyghan during the fight at Convention Center in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Vinny Pazienza won TKO 10. (Photo by: The Ring Magazine/Getty Images)

KO: Right here in this park.                    

VP: (Laughing) Get up, Leigh. Let’s show ‘em.

KO: You’ve probably lost track of how many times you’ve been cut, and what the total number of stitches is, but when you look in the mirror in the morning and see the scars or the nose that has been broken and rearranged, does it bother you?                   

VP: Cuts and bruises heal. They heal when the check clears. I’ve never been badly beaten physically like Donald Curry or “Boom Boom” Mancini. I’m a warrior. Warriors have bruises and cuts. They’re battle scars. No big deal. Maybe later I’ll get everything fixed.

KO: Do you plan to do that?              

VP: Why not? Michael Jackson does (Laughs).

KO: You have fought through the blood so many times. DO you almost expect to get cut? Does it help to motivate you?                     

VP: No, I can get motivated no matter what. Once I get in the ring, that’s it. I’m there to stay, no matter what happens. I’ve broken my hand in fights, broken my nose, got cut, been bleeding, but you never see me quit. I’m in there until the end. If the fight ends early, it’s because the other guy’s down. I’m not going down for nobody.

KO:  Now you’re repeating Jake LaMotta’s lines.                 

VP: (Breaking into a LaMotta imitation) My hands, my hands ain’t big enough. That means I’ll never get a chance to fight Evander Holyfield!

KO: Because of your warrior mentality, do you have a lack of respect for guys who give up easily in fights, or do you conclude that everybody is just different?                      

VP: No, it aggravates me. (Roger) Mayweather in the second (Julio Cesar) Chavez fight pissed me off. He was beating Chavez and he quit because he’s a dog, a front-running dog. I can’t stand people like that. He’s got a lot of ability, but he doesn’t have any heart. And if he doesn’t like what I say, he can move up to middleweight and fight me.

KO: You’re calling for everyone to move up. (Imitating Pazienza) “If Michael Carbajal doesn’t like what I said, let him put on 50 pounds and fight me!”      

VP: (Laughs) These guys don’t have the balls to gain the weight. Half of ‘em don’t have the balls to fight me at my natural weight.

KO: Do you feel that your winning the lightweight and junior middleweight crowns, while skipping over junior welterweight and welterweight, has been an overlooked accomplishment?

VP: I’m proud of the fact that I’m only one of two boxers in the history of the fight game (myself and Roberto Duran) to ever win the lightweight and junior middleweight title. I had the balls to do it. A lot of guys don’t. As far as getting attention, maybe you should call the Duvas and talk to them about getting me more publicity. Since they like you so much, you should give them a call.

I plan on moving up one more time and fighting for the middleweight title. I really want to do that. Fight Julian Jackson, James Toney. After I make this comeback from this accident, I think I’m gonna get the respect and the attention that I deserve. Then we’ll see what happens from there. It’s a crazy game. Anything can happen.

KO: We know that you are very proud of your Italian-American heritage, and that a few years ago you were annoyed that a Sports Illustrated article portrayed your family in what you thought was a very stereotypical way. How important is it to follow in that Marciano, Graziano, Basilio, LaMotta tradition?                     

VP: Well, I want to move up and fight for the middleweight title, and I think it’ll be great because I’ll be the first Italian-American to win a middleweight championship since Jake LaMotta (Actually, it was Joey Giardello). That’s just unbelievable. “The Raging Bull” and “The Pazmanian Devil.”

KO: Have you ever met Jake LaMotta?                    

VP: I was with Leigh at a sports bar in New York about a month ago, and some kid walked in and said, “Vinny, how ya’ doing? Jake’s here.” I said, “I don’t know any Jakes, just Jake Corollo, they guy I knocked out in the second round.” Finally, he says, “Jake LaMotta, he’s right over there.” I went over and met him. He hugged me, and he was grabbing me and feeling my muscles. Then he grabbed Leigh. He said she was beautiful and he was hugging her and kissing her. I said “Jake, chill out.”

KO: He didn’t hit her, did he?                    

VP: (Laughing) No, he didn’t do that.

KO: Since that time when you left the theater after watching Rocky, a lot has happened in your life and career. If you were to play a tape of it all, what would be the most fascinating thing you’d see?                     

VP:  The most incredible thing would be the highs and lows in my life, and how they took me from one point to another. You can’t get any higher than I’ve been, and you can’t get any lower. I like that. I love the challenge of always climbing back up the hill, climbing back to the top. I’ve been very fortunate to be around great people. I’ve got the best family. I have wonderful friends. My fans have been great to me. Now it seems important for me to continue the path that I’ve outlined. It’s important to me. I’m sure there are going to be a couple more low points. But, like in the past, I’m gonna bounce back from them, too.

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