Arthur Lakofsky also known as Art Lasky, was a heavyweight

Heavyweight

Heavyweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Fighters who weigh over 200 pounds are considered heavyweights by the major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Association, the World Boxing Council, and the World Boxing...

 professional boxer

Boxing

Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...

 from Minneapolis

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...

, Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

.

Personal life

Art Lasky was born in Saint Paul

Saint Paul, Minnesota

Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...

, Minnesota in 1909. He called Minneapolis his home. Lasky was married, having two children (Aron and Lana) with his wife, Irma.

Professional career

Lasky made his professional debut with a knockout of Sam Baker in May 1930. Lasky faced his first notable opponent was Jimmy Gibbons of Saint Paul, in January 1931. Lasky knocked the 16-1 Gibbons unconscious in the second round. Lasky remained undefeated until his eleventh bout, a decision loss to 31-13-1 Dick Daniels, also of Minneapolis. Lasky bounced back, however, and by September 1932 was sporting a 14-1 record when he faced Primo Carnera

Primo Carnera

Primo Carnera was an Italian boxer, nicknamed the Ambling Alp, who became the world heavyweight champion.-Biography:...

 in Saint Paul. Carnera decisioned Lasky in a ten-rounder, but the loss did nothing to hamper Lasky's career. He immediately embarked on a six fight winning streak, including a fifth-round knockout

Knockout

A knockout is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, Karate and others sports involving striking...

 of 50-5 Tiger Jack Fox at Chicago Stadium

Chicago Stadium

The Chicago Stadium was an indoor sports arena and theater in Chicago. It opened in 1929, and closed in 1994.-History:The Stadium hosted the Chicago Blackhawks of the NHL from 1929–1994 and the Chicago Bulls of the NBA from 1967–1994....

 in Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

.

Lasky moved to California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 in 1933, and became a regular at Olympic Stadium

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is a large outdoor sports stadium in the University Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, at Exposition Park, that is home to the Pacific-12 Conference's University of Southern California Trojans football team...

 in Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...

 and Legion Stadium

Legion Stadium

Legion Stadium is the main stadium on the Legion Sports Complex. The stadium's capacity is about 6,000, and it was built in the 1930s. It is located in Wilmington, North Carolina. The stadium has 3,500 seats in the grandstand and 2,500 visitor seats. The stadium also has 40 handicapped seats and a...

 in Hollywood. On December 1, 1933 Lasky put away 76-12-11 Fred Lenhart in the third round of a bout at Legion Stadium, part of a 15-fight unbeaten streak that lasted until the fall of 1934. The good times came to a screeching halt with a loss to Steve Hamas in October of that year, beginning an 0-4-1 streak that included a draw with King Levinsky

King Levinsky

King Levinsky , also known as Kingfish Levinsky, was an American heavyweight boxer who fought during the 1930s...

 and losses to Jim Braddock

James J. Braddock

James Walter "The Cinderella Man" Braddock was an American boxer who was the world heavyweight champion from 1935 to 1937....

 and Charley Retzlaff

Charley Retzlaff

Charley Retzlaff, alias The Duluth Dynamiter was a heavyweight professional boxer from Duluth, Minnesota.-Professional career:...

. Lasky fell from top contender status, but continued to fight frequently until June 1936, then sat out all of 1937. He fought twice more in 1938 (both draws) and finished his career with a loss to 44-6 Nathan Mann in Connecticut

Connecticut

Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...

in January 1939.

Lasky retired afterwards with a professional record of 43-9-5 with 32 of his wins coming by knockout.