Tocco loses part of a leg

Dean Juipe

Thursday, June 26, 1997 | 11:48 a.m.

Longtime boxing trainer Johnny Tocco, who turns 88 Tuesday, has had a portion of his left leg amputated.

However, he said Wednesday he was in good spirits and was looking forward to his release from Valley Hospital.

"They won't release me just yet," he said, adding that the hospital was trying to arrange for a full-time nurse to tend to him when he returns home. "But the doctor said I was improving and that the other leg was looking real good."

Circulation problems in each leg have dogged Tocco for several months.

"The doctor said he had to do it," Tocco said of losing his left leg above the knee. "I knew I was in trouble because I couldn't stand on my own without having my arm wrapped around somebody."

Both legs were swollen when Tocco entered the hospital although he said the swelling in the right leg "has gone way down. The doctor said it was an amazing improvement."

He said he would be getting a prosthetic leg and an electric wheelchair.

Tocco, who got involved in boxing at the age of 8 as a waterboy in a St. Louis gym, owned the Ringside Gym on Charleston Boulevard near Main Street until selling it for $100,000 earlier this year. The gym has been a training home for numerous champions, including heavyweights like Sonny Liston, Larry Holmes and, earlier in his career, Mike Tyson.

Tocco said he hopes Tyson wins Saturday's fight with Evander Holyfield at the MGM Grand Garden, although "he has to get to him early. He can't let the fight go too many rounds."

Las Vegas' April "Citizen of the Month," Tocco is being pushed on several fronts for inclusion in the International Boxing Hall of Fame in upstate New York.