Heavyweight pro had 15-1 record

Fan favorite boxer and former Lange Street resident Mike Dietrich, 26, was found dead in his home Tuesday.
    Dietrich’s body was found in the basement of a home in the unit block of Shipway at 5:15 p.m. by someone who lives in the house, according to Cpl. Michael Hill, a spokesman for the Baltimore County Police Department.
    The cause of death was still under investigation pending the results of an autopsy, Hill said Wednesday morning, but was ruled a cardiac arrest by medics on the scene.

"Mike had been in a fight the night before," said  his trainer, Jake “the Snake” Smith. "When I saw his body, he had blood caked over his face like someone had hit him in the head. I think that may have had something to do with it."  

Smith was still in shock. “He had a good training day at the gym,” he said.  “I was completely devastated when I heard the news. I couldn’t believe it. He was like a son to me.”
  

Dietrich’s 15-1 pro record could be credited to his hard-hitting style, which left several opponents lying on the canvas after only one round.
    He knocked out Baltimore resident Kevin Johnson (3-1) in less than a minute into the first round in November. 
    Dietrich’s career in the ring progressed in fits and starts. But the troubled Berkshire heavyweight’s  life reached a turning point after a potentially deadly confrontation.
    In December 2005,  Dietrich  was stabbed in the stomach by a man who was staying with the boxer at a house in the 7800 block of Charlesmont Road, after a quarrel over a woman.
    A charge of first-degree assault against David Elam in connection with the stabbing was dismissed in March 2006, according to Baltimore County District Court records.    
    The wound left Dietrich out of action until June 2007, when he knocked out New Jersey boxer Darryl Holly (5-4).
    After getting jail time for reportedly hitting a man with a bottle during a  bar fight in Edgemere in 2004, Dietrich was approached by Merritt Park Baptist Church pastor Dr.  Ronald Wright, who wanted Dietrich to be part of a  youth group for troubled teens at Wright’s church on Merritt Boulevard in 2008.                
   A benefit for Dietrich will be held at Jimmy’s Famous Seafood, 6526 Holabird Ave., on Saturday from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.
    Donations are being collected to offset the cost of the funeral, which will take place at Connelly Funeral Home of Dundalk on Sollers Point Road. Viewings there are scheduled for Sunday from 3 to 5 p.m. and 6 to 8  p.m.
    For more information about donations, call Denise Dietrich at 410-294-4193.