Carmen Basilio

Born Carmine Basilio in Canastota, New York, in 1927, Carmen Basilio began boxing at age 22, winning 19 of his first 24 bouts. In 1950 he defeated former world welterweight champion Lew Jenkins, and Basilio's management decided it was time to broaden his horizons and leave the New York area, where he had been boxing exclusively, and head west. His next six fights took place in New Orleans, and he won four, all by knockouts. He went into somewhat of a slump when he returned home, with a 3-3-1 record, but in 1953 he hit a winning streak and began climbing up the welterweight rankings. He soon had a world title fight with reigning champ Kid Gavilan, but lost in a 15-round decision. In 1954 he went undefeated (seven wins, one draw) and in 1955 he got another chance at the world title again, against Tony DeMarco, and this time he took it with a 12th-round knockout. Although he successfully defended his title against DeMarco in a return match in 1955, he lost it to Johnny Saxton in Chicago in 1956, in a very controversial decision fueled by Saxton's known ties to the Chicago underworld, leading to much speculation about the judges having been paid off, as many observers agreed that Basilio won the match easily. In many minds these suspicions were confirmed when Basilio knocked out Saxton in the ninth round in a rematch held in Syracuse, New York, and in another rematch Basilio knocked him out again, this time in the second round. For his next bout Basilio graduated to Welterweight and went up against champion Sugar Ray Robinson on September 23, 1957, and beat him. However, the next year Robinson took back the championship in a rematch by a 15-round decision. After that match, Basilio only fought occasionally, and retired in 1961. He has a career record of 56 wins - 27 by knockout - 16 losses and seven draws.