DIRECTOR,
ARCHIVAL DIVISION (BOXING BURIAL AND MEMORIAL ARCHIVE)
John L. Barbella is a boxing historian and author who has been following the Sweet Science since the age of 13. A former New York City Police Sergeant, he also successfully boxed in that city’s annual Police “Smokers” contests. His expert investigative abilities were put on display in his book Who Killed “Bummy” Davis,? released in 2021 by Dorrence Publishing Co. The book established John as the premier expert on the life, career and death of welterweight contender Al “Bummy” Davis.
John’s passion for Davis has also lead to his accumulation of the World’s largest known memorabilia collection on the boxer. A fixture at the annual IBHOF weekends for the past quarter of a century, he also maintains a Facebook Page, John Barbella: The Final Bell, which posts photographs of burial sites of those involved in the sport of boxing. Not surprisingly, John is perfectly suited to head this genome archive.
Periodically, photographs from the Final Bell will be added to the Burial Site and Memorial Archive of the Boxing Genome Project. However, don’t miss viewing the latest gravestone photographs accumulated by John and his followers as they are released – follow his Facebook Page mentioned above. His book may be obtained from the publisher’s website.
