Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the Boston Marathon bombing suspect who died early Friday following a shootout with police, was an amateur boxer of some note who had considered turning pro.

He won the New England Golden Gloves tournament in 2009 and 2010, though he only competed in the National Golden Gloves finals in Salt Lake City in 2009.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev (L) fights in the 2009 Golden Gloves (Getty Images)Edwin Rodriguez, a highly-rated professional super middleweight, sparred with Tsarnaev in 2010 and said he broke Tsarnaev’s rib.

“We had a baby [Evan] born on Monday, which was April 15, and we were in the hospital that day, watching the news about the bombing at the marathon,” Rodriguez told Yahoo! Sports. “It’s a strange feeling to know I sparred with this guy and knew him and talked with him. It’s not like we were friends, but we talked and had conversations. It is strange. It’s hard now, knowing what this coward did, to even think about it. He affected so many people, so many families. My heart just goes out to them.”

Rodriguez, who is ranked No. 2 at 168 pounds by the WBC and No. 3 by both the IBF and the WBA, was preparing for a fight in 2010 and was looking for quality sparring partner near his Worcester, Mass., home.

[Related: Massive manhunt ends with capture of Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev]

There are a lot of amateurs in the area, but not many pros. The majority of amateurs aren’t qualified to give a top professional prospect like Rodriguez high-level work.

Carl Williams (R) walks to his corner after being stopped by Mike Tyson. (AP)Carl "The Truth" Williams, one of a core of solid heavyweight contenders in the 1980s, died Sunday of complications from throat cancer at 53, according to the New York Daily News.

Williams, who finished his career 30-10 with 21 knockouts, lost heavyweight title bouts to Larry Holmes by decision in 1985 and to Mike Tyson by first-round knockout in 1989.

Williams fought a veritable who's who of the world's best heavyweights during his era, defeating Trevor Berbick, Bert Cooper, Jesse Ferguson and James Tillis and losing to Tyson, Holmes, Tim Witherspoon, Mike Weaver, Tommy Morrison and Frank Bruno.

Williams was a skilled fighter who fought in a quality era. Randy Gordon, the former chairman of the New York State Athletic Commission, told journalist Lyle Fitzsimmons that Williams would have been a legitimate contender in the current heavyweight divisions.

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To me he was a fighter who came along at the wrong time, right between Larry Holmes and Mike Tyson. I have no doubt that if Williams were fighting today he'd be the one guy capable of upsetting the Klitschko brothers and certainly capable of teaching the rest of the division how a heavyweight should use the jab.

Robert Guerrero (R) and wife Casey with "700 Club" host Pat Robertson (Robert Boag/Hoganphotos)Boxer Robert Guerrero, who is slated to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. on May 4 in the main event of a Showtime pay-per-view card at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas, was arrested Thursday morning at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport for attempting to board an airplane with a handgun.

According to multiple reports, Guerrero, 30, was arrested after trying to bring an unloaded gun onto a Delta flight bound for Las Vegas. The New York Post reported that the gun was a .40-caliber Smith & Wesson semi-automatic. However, the local NBC affiliate reported the gun was a 9 mm Smith & Wesson. Guerrero had no ammunition with him.

Charges against Guerrero, who was in New York to promote his fight with Mayweather, are pending.

Robert Guerrero turned 30 on Wednesday (Getty)The status of the fight is unknown, though the arrest is unlikely to impact it. Luis DeCubas Jr., Guerrero's manager, could not be reached for comment. He was reportedly with Guerrero when the boxer was taken into custody. The voicemail on DeCubas' cell phone was full and could