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Boxer Mike Quarry Died at 55

Younger brother of heavyweight boxer Jerry Quarry, Mike Quarry, has died at 55 this week. Quarry died at The Seasons in La Habra, one of the nursing homes that he was staying at in recent years. Quarry died from the same illness that his big brother, Jerry, died from. Their deaths were considered to be harsh cases of pugilistic dementia. "His brain was atrophying in many areas," said Robert Pearson, Quarry`s brother-in-law.

Quarry held a professional record of 63-13-6 including 17 knockouts. The late boxer fought between 1969 to 1982, with the biggest fight of his career taking place in Las Vegas on June 6, 1972. Quarry brought a 36-0 record into the fight against Foster, but was knocked out in the forth round. "He felt like he never reached success because he never won the light heavyweight championship," said Robert Pearson, who recalled attending a Boxing Hall of Fame induction for Foster several years ago.

Quarry was always hunted by his big brother`s shade and didn`t feel like he had his own position in the boxing world. "He always felt like he didn`t have his own identity," Pearson said. "At one time, Michael said, `They might as well put on my epitaph: Here lies Jerry Quarry`s little brother.` He would always look at his brother and feel like the public treated him like he`s not Jerry."