Ramil "Ray" Arcel (August 30, 1899 – March 7, 1994) was an American boxing trainer who was active from the 1920s through the 1980s. He trained 20 world champions.

Life and career

Arcel was born in

Terre Haute, Indiana Terre Haute ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, about 5 miles east of the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a ...

, the son of Rose (Wachsman) and David Arcel. His parents were

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

immigrants from Russia and Romania. He moved to New York City before he was six years old. He grew up in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...

and graduated from

Stuyvesant High School , motto_translation = For knowledge and wisdom , address = 345 Chambers Street , city = New York , state = New York , zipcode = 10282 , country ...

in 1917. He began training fighters at Stillman's Gym, near the old location of

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylv ...

on 8th Avenue, in the 1920s. The champions he trained were

Benny Leonard Benny Leonard (born Benjamin Leiner; April 7, 1896 – April 18, 1947) was a Jewish American professional boxer who held the world lightweight championship for eight years, from 1917 to 1925. Widely considered one of the all-time greats, he was r ...

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Jim Braddock James Braddock may refer to: * James J. Braddock (1905–1974), American boxer * James Braddock (cricketer) (1852–?), English cricketer * Jamie Braddock, fictional character in Marvel Comics * Colonel James Braddock, fictional character in the ...

Barney Ross Barney Ross (born Dov-Ber "Beryl" David Rosofsky; December 23, 1909 – January 17, 1967) was an American professional boxer. Ross became a world champion in three weight divisions and was a decorated veteran of World War II. Early life Dov- ...

Bob Olin Robert Lous Olin (July 4, 1908 – December 16, 1956) was an American boxer who became the World Light Heavyweight champion on November 16, 1934, against Maxie Rosenbloom at Madison Square Garden. He was trained by Ray Arcel and managed by Haro ...

Tony Zale Anthony Florian Zaleski (May 29, 1913 – March 20, 1997), known professionally as Tony Zale, was an American boxer. Zale was born and raised in Gary, Indiana, a steel town, which gave him his nickname, "Man of Steel", reinforced by his reputat ...

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Teddy Yarosz Thaddeus Jarosz (June 24, 1910 – March 29, 1974) was an American boxer. He held the world middleweight boxing championship from 1934–1935. Early life Yarosz was born the second of eight children on the North side of Pittsburgh, but ...

Freddie Steele Freddie Steele (December 18, 1912 – August 22, 1984) was a boxer and film actor born Frederick Earle Burgett in Seattle, Washington. He was recognized as the National Boxing Association (NBA) Middleweight Champion of the World between 1936 ...

Jackie Kid Berg Judah Bergman, known as Jack Kid Berg or Jackie Kid Berg (28 June 1909 – 22 April 1991), was an English boxer born in the East End of London, who became the World Light Welterweight Champion in 1930. Biography Judah Bergman was born in Rom ...

, Alfonso Frazier,

Abe Goldstein Abe Goldstein (September 10, 1898 – February 12, 1977) was an American bantamweight boxer from New York. He defeated Joe Lynch to become World Bantamweight champion on March 21, 1924, in Madison Square Garden, and was ranked the #5 bantamweight ...

Frankie Genaro Frank "Frankie" Genaro (born DiGennaro, August 26, 1901 – December 27, 1966) was an American former Olympic gold medalist and a 1928 National Boxing Association (NBA) World flyweight Champion. He is credited with engaging in 130 bouts, recordi ...

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Charley Phil Rosenberg Charley Phil Rosenberg (Charles Green; August 15, 1902 – March 12, 1976) was an American boxer. He was the World Bantamweight Champion from 1925 to 1927. His trainers were the legendary Ray Arcel, and Whitey Bimstein, and his manager was Harry ...

Roberto Durán Roberto Durán Samaniego (born June 16, 1951) is a Panamanian former professional boxer who competed from 1968 to 2001. He held world championships in four weight classes: lightweight, welterweight, light middleweight and middleweight, as ...

and

Larry Holmes Larry Holmes (born November 3, 1949) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1973 to 2002 and was world heavyweight champion from 1978 until 1985. He grew up in Easton, Pennsylvania, which led to his boxing nickname of the "Ea ...

. After some disputes with Jim Norris and the International Boxing Club in the 1950s, Arcel retired from training, after being injured with a lead pipe during an attack in Boston, in a case that was never solved by police, returning in the 1970s to work with Alfonso Frazier and

. After Durán quit in his second fight against

Sugar Ray Leonard Ray Charles Leonard (born May 17, 1956), best known as "Sugar" Ray Leonard, is an American former professional boxer, motivational speaker, and occasional actor. Often regarded as one of the greatest boxers of all time, he competed professional ...

, Arcel helped prepare

for his fight against

Gerry Cooney Gerald Arthur Cooney (born August 24, 1956) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1977 to 1990, and challenged twice for world heavyweight titles in 1982 and 1987 (for the WBC and lineal title in 1982 and 1987, and for the ...

. He retired from training after that fight, having returned to Durán's corner in January 1982 for Durán's fight against

Wilfred Benítez Wilfred "Wilfredo" Benítez (born September 12, 1958) is an American-born Puerto Rican former professional boxer and the youngest world champion in the sport's history. Earning his first of three career world titles in separate weight division ...

. Arcel died on March 7, 1994, at the age of 94. His first wife, Hazel, died on August 8, 2014 and his daughter Adele Arcel Bloch died on February 8, 1990. His second wife and widow, Stephanie Arcel, died in 2014. Actor

Robert De Niro Robert Anthony De Niro Jr. ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor. Known for his collaborations with Martin Scorsese, he is considered to be one of the best actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of various accolades ...

portrayed Arcel in the 2016 film ''

Hands of Stone ''Hands of Stone'' is a 2016 American biographical sports film about the career of Panamanian former professional boxer Roberto Durán. It is directed and written by Jonathan Jakubowicz. It stars Édgar Ramírez, Robert De Niro, Usher, Ruben Blad ...

'', about Roberto Durán, with actress

Ellen Barkin Ellen Rona Barkin (born April 16, 1954) is an American actress and a producer. Her breakthrough role was in the 1982 film '' Diner'', and in the following years, she had starring roles in films such as '' Tender Mercies'' (1983), '' Eddie and t ...

portraying his wife Stephanie.Hands of Stone film
accessed 12-26-2015

References

External links

*
Ray Arcel at Wabash Valley Profiles
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arcel, Ray American boxing trainers American Jews International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees Stuyvesant High School alumni 1899 births 1994 deaths International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame inductees