Carmen

I remember the evening of Monday, September 23, 1957 (63 years ago).  My father and I were glued to the radio broadcast of the middleweight (limit 160 lbs./72.5 kg.) championship fight between Sugar Ray Robinson (champion) and Carmen Basilio (contender and reigning welterweight [limit 147 lbs./66.8 kg.] champion).

Our interest in this particular 15 round boxing match was that Carmen (born April 2, 1927) lived in nearby Canastota, New York (a mere 55 miles/88 km from Oswego).  In other words, he was a local favorite.  

The contest took place "outdoors in a ballpark," Yankee Stadium in New York City.  We were listening as the fight was not televised.  Although we were in the same room, my father and I, as usual, didn't exchange too many words.  

At the end of the grueling match, two of the three judges awarded the victory and the middleweight championship to Carmen by scores of 9-5-1 & 8-6-1.  It turned out to be the pinnacle of his career.  Six months later Carmen lost the title back to Sugar Ray.  He tried to regain it three more times (against two different champions) over the next three years, but failed each time.

I saw Carmen once in person at the New York State Fair in Syracuse where he was offering to have his picture taken with you (for a fee).  We made eye contact, but no picture.

Thinking of Carmen made me recall a period (the 1950s) when there were many great Italian-American boxers.

1) Carmen Basilio (Carmine Basilio) won the Welterweight championship on June 10, 1955 when he knocked out Tony DeMarco, lost it March 14, 1956 on a decision to Johnny Saxton, but won it a second time when he knocked out Saxton September 12, 1956.

2) Willie Pep (Guglielmo Papaleo) won the Featherweight (limit 126 lbs. or 57 kg.) championship on November 20, 1942 with a decision over Chalky Wright.  He held the title until 1948 when he was knocked out by Sandy Sandler.  Pep won the title back from Sandler in 1949.  I saw him on TV lose on a second round TKO to Lulu Perez in 1954 (see Willie Pep).  
  
3) Rocky Marciano (Rocco Marchegiano) won the heavyweight (then more than 175 lbs./79 kg.) championship September 23, 1952 with a spectacular one punch knock out of Jersey Joe Walcott (see Arnold and Rocco).  He held the title until April 27, 1956 when he retired from boxing with a perfect record of 49-0.  Rocky is portrayed by Jon Favreau in the film Rocky Marciano.

4) Jake LaMotta (Giacobbe LaMotta) won the middleweight championship on June 16, 1949 with a TKO of the French fighter Marcel Cerdan.  He lost the title to Robinson on February 14, 1951.  LaMotta is portrayed by Robert De Niro in the film The Raging Bull.

5) Rocky Graziano (Thomas Rocco Barbella) won the middleweight championship on July 16, 1947 with a KO of Tony Zale.  He lost it back to Zale on June 10, 1948.  Rocky retired after his last fight in September 1952.  He is portrayed by Paul Newman in the film Somebody Up There Likes Me.

6) Joey Giardello (Carmine Tilelli), who fought throughout the 1950s, won the Middleweight championship on December 7, 1963 with a unanimous decision over the Nigerian fighter Dick Tiger.  I was an eyewitness that night (see Postponed).  He lost the title back to Tiger in 1965.  Giardello is portrayed by Ben Bray in the film The Hurricane.

7) Frank Cappuccino (Frank Capcino) had a long amateur boxing career, but a short professional one (winning all six of his fights).  After his retirement from boxing in 1955, he got a license to be the third man in the ring three years later.  In fifty years, Cappuccino refereed over 25,000 bouts including 94 world championship matches.