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Remembering Billy Craparo

by admin on Jul.03, 2009, under Uncategorized

billy

Billy Craparo (1977-2009)

Billy Craparo passed away Tuesday June 30th at his home in Middletown, NJ. He was the former Ring of Combat Super Middleweight champion with a 1-1 professional record, and a 6-1 record as an Amateur. He competed frequently in the BAMA Fight Nights which were notorious for shaping the sport of MMA in NJ in the late 1990’s.

As a friend and former training partner of Billy, I can say that he represented a lot of what I feel it means to be a “New Jersey Fighter”. He loved to fight, occasionally making trips down to Virginia to compete in unsanctioned underground fights. In the gym, Billy was someone who pushed you to your limit. Billy was never the one to spar lightly, not for any vindictive reason, but because he knew what it takes to make it in the game. He was as passionate in the gym helping people learn, as he was outside of the gym.

Billy Craparo defeats Jay Coleman for the ROC Super Middleweight Championship

RIP Billy Craparo… thanks for all you’ve taught me

Please feel free to leave comments. I am personally in touch with members of the family and any support is greatly appreciated.


6 Comments for this entry

  • John
    July 4th, 2009 on 7:59 am

    Great tribute to Billy. You’re right – he really did have a passion for helping others learn in the gym and pushing himself and others to their max potential.

    Reply
  • admin
    July 4th, 2009 on 1:35 pm

    Here is a great post from Jim Genia of Full Contact Fighter about Billy.

    http://mmajournalist.blogspot.com/2009/07/rest-in-peace-billy-craparo.html

    Reply
  • sammy
    July 4th, 2009 on 5:56 pm

    Rest in peace Billy…the brother I never had and the person that got me into MMA 13 yrs ago…love you man

    Reply
  • Monty
    July 4th, 2009 on 6:24 pm

    Great writeup….. Couldn’t have worded it any better, as far as im concerned he is the definition of not just a “New Jersey Fighter” but a straight up fighter in and out of the ring. He helped us out so much in the gym and wouldnt let us stop until we got it down perfect. His fiery passion for fighting and training is always going to be burned into me and i’ll never forget him. He helped me out in the gym as a trainer, in the cage as my corner man and in life in general as the brother that i never had…. I love you and miss you man

    “I’ll swallow my blood before I swallow my pride”

    Reply
  • billy connors
    July 7th, 2009 on 4:45 pm

    billy was like a broher to me. I was fortunate enough to have been with him every day for the last week of his great life. as much as billy loved stepping into the ring the only thing he loved more was training others to do the same. whether it was his brother anthony or monty or guys from the early days like chris ligouri nothing made him happier than seeing these guys succeed. with that for now on when you guys that knew him step into a fight do it knowing you are making him proud and win or lose he would be happy for you. also appreciate every chance you get to shine when you are in that cage cause you never know when it will be your last.

    Reply

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