The Brief Career of Dino "Casino" Berkowitz

Dean Allan Watt was born on January 20, 1957 in Mount Holly, New Jersey to Raymond Watt and Beryl Berkowitz Watt. Dean came from a big family with five siblings. In his early twenties, he became a barber and hairstylist. He worked hard and eventually owned multiple salons.

Around this time, Watt added boxing to his busy schedule. He was trained by Joe Tete, a decorated bodybuilder and boxing coach. They worked out of the Moorsetown Gym in New Jersey, a hotbed for fighters in the area at the time. Watt assumed his mother's maiden name, Berkowitz, for his boxing career. Dean was an avid gambler and loved to make the hour drive southeast to Atlantic City, so his nom de box was Dino "Casino" Berkowitz.

"He just wanted to be a fighter," Coach Tete told The Jewish Boxing Blog. "He never had any amateur fights, just a lot of guts and some training."

Berkowitz turned pro on June 26, 1983 at the age of 27. Fighting just above the lightweight limit, he faced fellow debutant Joey Whitfield at the Cherry Hill Inn in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. A writer at the Courier-Post was unimpressed. "Believe it or not," the scribe wrote, "a Mount Holly hairdresser named Dean Allan Watt will make his pro debut on the bill, fighting under the moniker Dino 'Casino' Berkowitz. C'mon, give me a break." Whitfield didn't give Berkowitz a break and stopped him in the third round.

Casino Berkowitz next fought on October 9, 1984 on a card promoted by Don Elbaum. He took on Charlie Briscoe of Philadelphia at the Tropicana Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City. Berkowitz knocked out Briscoe at the end of the first round. He was in tough in his next fight on November 20 at the same venue. Casino's opponent was Johnny Bizzarro Jr. of Youngstown, Ohio. Bizzarro was only 1-1 at the time but would go on to have a very good career. He stopped Berkowitz fifty seconds into the second round.

Berkowitz floored by Bizzarro

Berkowitz retired from the ring with a record of 1-2, all three fights ending early. "I love that guy. He was a real character," Coach Tete remembered. "He was a tough guy, a good guy, and had a great following." Dino loved the beach and was always spotted with a tan. He lived in Florida for a time, but moved back to New Jersey where he always made it a point to visit the casinos in Atlantic City.

On November 20, 1995 Dean Watt died under tragic circumstances. He was just 38 years old.

Sources

Interview with Joe Tete.

Marder, Phill. "Rossman Readies for 'step two' in his attempt to regain the title." Courier-Post. Jun. 11, 1983. Pg. 9.

Snyder, Craig. The Boxers of Youngstown, Ohio. 2018.

Watt, David. "Dean Allan Watt." Find a Grave.

"King" David Malul Back in Action in August

"King" David Malul is scheduled to make his fourth pro start on August 23 at the Suffolk Theater in Riverhead, New York, USA. Malul, a 22 year old native of Queens, is 3-0 with 2 KOs.

Malul has shown tremendous power early in his career as a prizefighter. He exhibited improved skill in his last fight, a unanimous decision victory over Shaquille Rushing last March. This fight will be about an hour's drive east of the Paramount Theatre, the venue for Malul's first three fights.

David observes Shabbat, so his fight won't start until after sundown, which will arrive at 7:37pm on August 23 in Suffolk. Its eastern location benefits David, because the sun will set earlier in the day than in a more western city in the same time zone.

No opponent has been announced as of yet, but whoever he faces can expect an assault to the body.

Danielle Cohen's Fight Cancelled

Danielle Cohen was scheduled to fight tomorrow in Fort Lauderdale, but the entire card was cancelled to due several unforeseen events. Next LVL Promotions announced that it hoped to have a show in August. Cohen, whose fight was scheduled to take place in the junior featherweight division, is 2-0 with one KO.

Unfortunately, multiple Jewish boxers had fights cancelled this month. After an exciting four month period for Jewish boxing, it seemed as if the trend would continue in June, but it was not to be. July currently looks like a slow month, but the in-ring action should heat back up in August.

Israel-Iran Hostilities Affecting Jewish Boxers

The fallout from the current Israeli-Iranian conflict has affected the world of boxing. Not only did the hostilities force Igor Lazarev to forego a big opportunity in Canada this week, but it has impacted Brooklyn "The Big Deal" Barwick's merchandise as well. She was advised by a third party that an international warehouse would not make her merchandise if it contained "any Israeli flags or anything alluding to Judaism." She was told that it would be "destroyed in transit by workers."

Barwick, who wore an Israeli flag on her trunks last fight, is devastated. "It hurts," she told The Jewish Boxing Blog. "Censoring the Star of David is wrong. I wouldn't care if the opposite side had their symbols because it's what they represent. I proudly represent a lot of things and respect others who represent their culture and religious beliefs." As of this writing, a ceasefire is holding between Israel and Iran. The hope is the ceasefire will help usher in a swift end to the conflict.

A junior featherweight, Barwick is scheduled to fight on August 16. She is 2-0 with 2 KOs.