I had the good fortune to have met Andy “Touch” Touchstone several months ago. Even though I knew of him I was never introduced to him. I wrote him a request to represent a former boxer who has been in prison for over 30 years to help get released knowing he was the boxing manager of Joe Cusumano I asked if he would help. He was the first who agreed to help this fighter after numerous rejections by others.
I was shocked to hear from his boxer Cusumano on Saturday night at a boxing event in North Bergen of Touchstones death last Monday having a heart attack. I saw Touchstone just 2 days before at a boxing event in Philadelphia and talked to him about the former boxer and he was very up on representing him.
There were so many friends who left messages on his facebook. One by his boxer Joe Cusumano posted “I am in shock! My manager Andrew Touchstone has gone to a better place. I will miss him. He believed in me and did so much for me. Thank you and I will miss you. I’m going to do everything in my power to still make our dreams come true! RIP damn I’m gonna miss you man!”
Touchstone had managed Ardrick Butler when I first heard of him. I knew legendary matchmaker Don Elbaum was a good friend of his and helped him get together with Cusumano. “He had incredible class and was helping Joey (Cusumano). He was a friend and even had me over to his house and cooked ribs for me knowing how much I liked them. His son Joey called and said his dad passed. I couldn’t answer him right away because I was stunned for a bit before I could talk. People like him as a manager could show people how good boxing is,” said Don Elbaum.
Touchstone mentioned about me coming on his weekly radio show “Fight Game”. He also coached lacrosse and was a duck hunter. He represented former 2-time world heavyweight champion “Terrible” Tim Witherspoon in his negotiations of his book TIM WITHERSPOON – TERRIBLE TIMES – MY STORY with Ryan Dames.
Touchstone is survived by his wife Teri, two daughters and a son. He was a Lehigh University graduate. If you go to his facebook as I have your heart will go out to this family man who made everyone he touched a better person! Please send all questions and comments to Ken Hissner at: Kenhissner@gmail.com
