Fightnews.com® is sad to report the passing of heavyweight title challenger Pete Rademacher, famed trainer and cutman Jim Strickland, and former Philly lightweight Sidney “Sweet Pea” Adams.

Rademacher, 91, won the heavyweight gold medal at the 1956 Olympics. He then made history in his professional debut by ambitiously challenging heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson. Rademacher knocked down Patterson but was later stopped. He went on to have a solid pro career.

Strickland, 90, was the trainer of three world champions (Lee Roy Murphy, William Guthrie, David Diaz), as well as a renowned cutman. He was Evander Holyfield’s cutman in the infamous “Bite Fight” against Mike Tyson.

Adams, 84, was a popular lightweight in the early 1960s and a beloved personality on the Philadelphia boxing scene for many years.