Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara, who represents the Amsterdam area in the New York State Assembly, will host a special recognition for Amsterdam Boxing Legend, Robert “Bobby” Stewart with a New York State Assembly Proclamation at the State Capitol on Thursday.

Robert “Bobby” Stewart worked full time at the Tryon School for Boys, a juvenile detention center in Johnstown, where he met a 13-year-old from Brooklyn named Mike Tyson. Bobby became Mike’s sparring partner and mentor, introduced him to D’Amato and even helped arrange Mike’s housing in Catskill with “Cus”. Bobby considers the time he spent with Mike Tyson during his formative years to be his greatest accomplishment aside from his own 1974 national championship.

Bobby won the Adirondack AAU Golden Gloves Tournament in the Novice Heavyweight Class in 1969, 1970 and 1971. Bobby also won the National AAU Junior Boxing Championship, the Western Massachusetts Golden Gloves Tournament and New England Golden Gloves Tournament. He trained with legendary coach Constantine “Cus” D’Amato. He won the Western Massachusetts and New England tournaments again in 1973 and 1974, and defeated WBA Champion Michael Dokes to become the 1974 U.S. National Golden Gloves Light Heavyweight Champion becoming the first Western Massachusetts champion to win the national title and was the number one amateur fighter in the country. Bobby retired as an amateur with a 45-5 career record and began a three-year professional career and finishing with an impressive 13-3 record.