DIGITAL

Eddie (Esposti) Post: Mr. Spartan Boxing  Jimmy Kinney, left, with Mr. Spartan, Eddie Post Requiem for a Friend of Boxing: Mr. Spartan Boxing  July 6, 2025: The boxing world lost another Champion on June 22, 2025. Eddie Post, a fixture on the NY boxing scene and beyond for over fifty years, passed after suffering a stroke on May 16, 2025. Eddie fought his last fight like he lived his life with dignity, class, and courage. Born on July 6, 1946, in NYC, Eddie was led to boxing by his father. Together, they would watch the old Gillette Cavalcade of Sports on Friday nights, featuring televised boxing shows from Madison Square Garden. Eddie took to boxing, and boxing took to Eddie. Growing up in Brooklyn, you had to know how to defend yourself. Eddie participated in one of the PAL boxing programs and boxed as an amateur. A young Vito Antuofermo, a few years younger than Eddie, came to the same gym after Eddie, and when they sparred, Eddie broke the future World Middleweight Champion’s nose. Just as Eddie’s amateur boxing career was getting started, the military draft interrupted his boxing for good. He went off to serve in the US Army, where he flew as a helicopter door gunner with the 1st Cavalry Division in Vietnam. He flew in over six hundred combat missions. When Eddie returned home from his military combat service, he continued to box as an amateur, earning the ring name “Elegant Ed Post” for his boxing style. He boxed in the NY State Golden Gloves and represented NY in the Eastern Olympic Boxing Trials. He won the Light Heavyweight Championship at the famed NYAC. Eventually, Eddie began his work career, first as a NYC Narcotics Correctional Officer for several years. After being laid off during the 1970s’ City financial and budget crisis, he turned to Wall Street and became a successful licensed commodities associate. He did not forget where he came from. He successfully coordinated and promoted charity boxing events, raising money for children with special needs. Eddie sparred the great five-time World Champion Emile Griffith at one of the fundraisers at Madison Square Garden. It was an enormous success. If Eddie’s life wasn’t whole enough, along the way, he met Al Zimmer, owner of Spartan Boxing Sporting Goods and Apparel. He eventually took over Spartan and ran it for decades, dressing over 130 world boxing champions in Spartan gear and apparel. Personally, I do not remember a time in my boxing life without Spartan Boxing or Eddie Post. He was always just present. Boxing shows pro and amateur, Ring 8 and Ring 10 Veteran Boxers Association (VBA) award dinners, Boxing Halls of Fame, and Friends of the Champ functions. All charity organizations that help Boxers in need. Eddie was not just a member of these and other organizations. He was honored numerous times for his achievements and contributions to the sport of boxing. Some of those awards include the Ring 10 VBA Jose Torres Renaissance Man award (2016), the Ring 8 VBA Long and Meritorious Service award (2022), and was inducted into the NYS Ring 8 Boxing Hall of Fame (2024). Elegant Eddie Post was the first amateur boxer to become a member of Ring 8 VBA NYC in the early 1970s. Previously, you had to have been a professional boxer to be a member of Ring 8, which was founded in 1953. Eddie was always there. Spartan was always there. Look at some famous boxing matches, and you will see Spartan trunks. The now-famous statue of Chuck Wepner, placed on a waterfront park in Bayonne, NJ, is proudly dressed in Spartan Boxing trunks. Eddie was predeceased by his lovely wife, Vivian Nobile Esposti, in 2022. Happy Birthday, Eddie. On what would have been your seventy-ninth birthday today! Thanks for all the memories, laughs, and great times.