Longtime New Orleans boxing promoter Les Bonano passes away

NEW ORLEANS — Famed New Orleans boxing promoter Les Bonano died Saturday night, according to reports.

Bonano began working with the NOPD in 1965. In 1974, while working at the Orleans Parish Prison, Bonano started an athletic program which focused on a variety of sports including boxing.

Over the course of his career as a promoter, Bonano managed many notable fighters. He managed world champions Dominick Carter and Paul Whittaker, as well as title challengers John Duplessis, Anthony Stephens, and Melvin Paul, among others.

Bonano was inducted into the Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame in 2021.