champion if I stuck with boxing." He further stated in a 2006 interview: "I got married young, at 17, and I had other things on my mind, but I wish I had gone pro, I would have been a good fighter". Zito began studying martial arts at the age of 18 and earned black belts in six different disciplines, including jujutsu. He claims to have broken his nose nine times and his hands eight times. The combat sports reporter Thomas Gerbasi wrote that Zito "has achieved celebrity status in the fight game" as "a fixture at fights in and around the New York Tri-State area", remarking that "to the fighters, he's one of the guys". He developed friendships with Arturo Gatti, Vinny Pazienza and Mike Tyson. Zito was seen with Cuba Gooding Jr. and Dwayne Johnson at the Lennox Lewis vs. Mike Tyson pre-fight party on June 8, 2002 at the Memphis Pyramid. He first met Gatti in 1996 and accompanied the boxer to the ring for several high profile fights. In 2003, Zito began his career as a broadcaster with a role as a sideline reporter on Monday Night Fights broadcasts on HBO. He was also a correspondent at the Affliction: Day of Reckoning mixed martial arts event on January 24, 2009. Hells Angels A motorcycle enthusiast, Zito established the New Rochelle Motorcycle Club in 1974, which merged with the Bronx-based Ching-a-Ling Nomads in 1976. He met Sandy Alexander, the president of the New York City chapter of the Hells Angels and a professional boxer, while they both trained at the Gramercy Gym on East 14th Street in Manhattan. After serving as a club "prospect" for a period of time, Zito was voted in as a member of the New York City Hells Angels in May 1979. Explaining what inspired him to join the Angels, Zito said: "I used to watch their movies like Hells Angels on Wheels and Hell's Angels '69 as a kid. They were the elite of the elite, the No. 1". According to prosecutors, one membership requirement of the Hells Angels' New York City chapter was that prospective members must kill or attempt to kill a target selected by the club as part of an initiation process. Zito allegedly earned his membership in the club by attempting to murder Robert Giangarra, a Queens pizzeria owner who had previously shot and injured Hells Angels biker Cortland