Universally respected combat sports writer Thomas Gerbasi passed away suddenly earlier this week. His death came just days after the publication of his latest book, The 100 Greatest Fighters. Fellow journalist Kevin Iole wrote this tribute to Gerbasi: "I am devastated by the unexpected passing of my long-time friend Thomas Gerbasi He was one of the greatest men I knew, and we shared so many common interests: The Steelers, boxing, MMA, music, Italian food and good burgers. I never managed to get into roller derby, but hey…  We traveled the world together and had so much fun. He was stricken on Sunday and passed on Monday. He was a devoted father and if you looked at his Facebook page just once, you know what an incredible grandfather he was. The world is a lot darker now without him in it. My deepest condolences to his wife, Sonia, his daughter, Jordan and his entire family and many, many friends."

Promoter Lou DiBella offered these kind words, "I am crushed right now. Writer/editor Tom Gerbasi has been a trusted friend and someone I've admired for decades. We just caught up on life, reminisced, and commiserated on boxing for over an hour on Saturday. He was great and we were talking about life being good ... and now he is gone. He was a talent, a total professional, a funny, kind, and honest guy, a great husband, father, and grandfather. There is not a negative word I can say, or have heard said, about Tom Gerbasi. Please pray for the family he was so proud of and leaves behind too soon. This week has hit hard. I will miss another friend; fly with the angels, Tommy."

 

Michael Woods, one of Gerbasi's peers in the New York press community, wrote, "People will remember you by how you made them feel. Tom made you feel like smiling or chuckling, 99% of the time. Really humble and generous with his time and energy. Really rare to see a high level worker encourage others on the come up. He was not insecure, he was an incredibly consistent churner. Lifted people up. Was a genuine good one."

 

Boxingtalk joins everyone who knew Tom Gerbasi in sending our deepest sympathies to Tom's wife Sonia, and all of Tom's friends and family.