Battling Battalino
Encyclopedia
Christopher Battaglia better known as Battling Battalino, was an American former world featherweight
Featherweight
Featherweight is a weight class division in the sport of boxing. There are similarly named divisions under several Mixed Martial Arts organizations and in Greco-Roman wrestling.-Professional boxing:...

 boxing champion. Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Battalino engaged in 87 bouts during his career, of which he won 57 (23 knockouts), lost 26, drew 3, and he fought 1 No Contest.

Amateur boxing career

A good amateur boxer, Battalino won the National AAU featherweight championship in 1927. He had fifty-nine amateur bouts, knocking out forty-six of his opponents.

Professional boxer

Battalino became a professional boxer in June 1927. His first big win came on July 26, 1929, when he upset bantamweight
Bantamweight
Bantamweight is usually a class in boxing for boxers who weigh above 115 pounds and up to 118 pounds . However, in Mixed Martial Arts it is 134-136 pounds . Wrestling also has similar weight classes including bantamweight...

 champion "Panama" Al Brown
Panama Al Brown
Alfonso Teofilo Brown , better known as Panama Al Brown, was a bantamweight boxer from Panama who made history by becoming boxing's first Hispanic world champion. Brown was a native of the city of Colón....

 on a 10-round decision. The fight made him a contender and garnered him a title match with featherweight champion Andre Routis
Andre Routis
Andre Routis was a French professional boxer. He fought 86 times between 1919 and 1929; winning 54 , losing 25 and drawing 7. After a victory over Tony Canzoneri he held the world featherweight title from 1928 to 1929...

. The 21-year old Battalino made the most of his opportunity and defeated Routis over 15 rounds to win the world title.

During the next two years he successfully defended his crown by defeating Ignacio Fernandez, Earl Mastro, and Hall of Famers Kid Chocolate
Kid Chocolate
For the boxer of the same nickname see Peter Quillin.Eligio Sardiñas Montalvo , better known as Kid Chocolate, was a Cuban boxer who enjoyed wild success both in the boxing ring and in society life during a span of the 1930s.-Biography:Eligio Montaldo, also nicknamed The Cuban Bon Bon, learned how...

, Fidel LaBarba and Freddie Miller
Freddie Miller
Freddie G. Miller was a broadcaster and television personality in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Miller worked for Atlanta television station WXIA-TV from the 1950s to the 1970s...

. Among his non-title victories during this time were wins over Bud Taylor
Bud Taylor
Charles Bernard "Bud" Taylor was an American boxer from Terre Haute, Indiana. He was nicknamed the Terre Haute Terrier and the Blonde Terror of Terre Haute.-Pro Boxing Career:...

, Bushy Graham
Bushy Graham
Bushy Graham was an Italian-American boxer from New York. He held the bantamweight championship in 1928.-Boxing career:...

, Lew Massey, Eddie Shea and Al Singer
Al Singer
Al Singer was an American boxer. He was born in the Lower East Side in New York City....

.

In January 1932 Battalino once again defended the title against Freddie Miller
Freddie Miller
Freddie G. Miller was a broadcaster and television personality in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Miller worked for Atlanta television station WXIA-TV from the 1950s to the 1970s...

. The champion came in three pounds overweight and did not put up a good fight. After Battalino went down in the third round from an apparently harmless punch, the referee stopped the fight and declared Miller the winner. The National Boxing Association
World Boxing Association
The World Boxing Association is a boxing organization that sanctions official matches, and awards the WBA world championship title at the professional level. It was previously known as the National Boxing Association before changing its name in 1962...

 and the New York State Athletic Commission, however, overruled the referee and declared the bout a "no contest." They also declared that the title was vacant due to Battalino's inability to make the featherweight limit. To end any confusion about his championship status, Battalino voluntarily relinquished the title in March and began to fight at the lightweight limit. As a lightweight, he lost bouts with Hall of Famers
International Boxing Hall of Fame
The modern International Boxing Hall of Fame is located in Canastota, New York, United States, within driving distance from the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown and the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta...

 Billy Petrolle
Billy Petrolle
William Michael Petrolle was a world lightweight boxing title contender.-Personal:Brother of fellow boxers Pete Petrolle and Frank Petrolle...

 and Barney Ross
Barney Ross
Barney Ross , born Beryl David Rosofsky, was a world champion boxer in three weight divisions and decorated veteran of World War II.-Early life:...

. His final bout was in 1940.

After boxing

When Battalino retired, he settled in Hartford, Connecticut, and worked as a construction laborer. He died in Hartford on July 25, 1977.

External links

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