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Takin' care of business: IBC world super-middleweight champion Dan Musico dons some power suits for spring

Men's Fitness, Feb, 1999 by Jim Rosenthal

Somebody up there likes me

The comeback story of Dan Musico, pugilist extraordinaire

Dan Musico drives home a point on the head of Frank Charles to win his first pro fight via a bloody first-round knockout. The date is February 14, 1993. Very weird. A surreal bump-on-the-head trip through the rigors of fate and fortune for this International Boxing Council supermiddleweight world champ from West Paterson, New Jersey.

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Only two years earlier, in March 1991, it looked as if Musico would never walk again after a cab driver ran over him at 40 mph. "I was leaving a bar in Hoboken after watching a college basketball game, and before I knew what was happening, a taxi drove up on the sidewalk in pursuit of a couple of fare-beaters," says Musico. "I was thrown against a bus kiosk and I went through a wall of sheet metal and Plexiglas - I was basically ripped to shreds. I had two discs removed from my back, my left shoulder had to be reconstructed and my left leg was badly damaged."

After undergoing surgery, Musico regained his strength in rehab, in what he describes as the longest year of his life. Having traveled to the brink, he returned for a second chance to fulfill the promise he'd displayed in childhood as a pugilist-in-short-pants.

"My grandfather had been a fighter, and he saw a lot of potential in me as far back as my 10th birthday," remembers the 30-year-old Musico. "He started working with me in my basement, and I first started to train in a boxing gym when I was 11 years old."

Musico teamed with famous "cut man" Ace Marrata early in his boxing career, steamrolling over Jersey wannabes and top prospects alike. After that initial bout against Charles in '93, he went on to defeat Nelson Garcia, the reigning supermiddleweight champ at the time, en route to a successful title fight in Switzerland in February 1998 - the big brawl with Adam Garland that culminated in Musico's acquisition of the title he holds so proudly.

Dubbed "Glamour with the Hammer" for his man-about-town attire and ability to end a fight in a heartbeat, Musico will not rest until he achieves all of his goals in and out of the ring.

"The best thing a boxer can do between fights is to market himself effectively," says Musico, who's currently weighing offers from Kenneth Cole and Calvin Klein to work as a model. "Boxing is still number one in my life, but I'm going to explore all of my opportunities to stay one step ahead for the future."

Takin' care of business: IBC world super-middleweight champion Dan Musico dons some power suits for spring

Men's Fitness, Feb, 1999 by Jim Rosenthal

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