Carmine Basilio better known in the
boxingBoxing, 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...
worldWorld is a common name for the whole of human civilization, specifically human experience, history, or the human condition in general, worldwide, i.e. anywhere on Earth....
as
Carmen Basilio, is an American former professional boxer who was a two weight world boxing champion. Some reports have suggested that Basilio changed his name from
Carmine to
Carmen before he began boxing, to sound more masculine.
Biography
Basilio began his
professional boxingProfessional boxing, or prizefighting, emerged in the early twentieth century as boxing gradually attained legitimacy and became a regulated, sanctioned sport. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse which is divided among the fighters and promoters as determined by contract...
career by meeting
Jimmy EvansJimmy Evans is a pastor, Bible teacher, and best-selling author. He is the president and co-founder of MarriageToday with his wife Karen.He and his wife, Karen, are the hosts of MarriageToday with Jimmy & Karen, a marriage ministry and a national award-winning broadcast television program...
on November 24 of 1948 in
Binghamton, New YorkBinghamton is a city in the Southern Tier of New York in the United States. It is near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the confluence of the Susquehanna and Chenango Rivers...
. He knocked Evans out in the third round, and five days later, he beat
Bruce WaltersBruce Walters , is an artist who has exhibitioned digital artworks, graphite drawings and paintings primarily in the American Midwest. He received his MFA from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and BA from the University of Iowa...
in only one round and by the end of 1948 had completed four bouts.
He started 1949 with two draws, against
Johnny CunninghamJohnny Cunningham was a Scottish folk musician. He was a founding member of Silly Wizard, as well as a member of Relativity, The Raindogs, and Nightnoise. Throughout his career, Cunningham was also a fiddler, composer and producer. His younger brother, Phil Cunningham, is a multi-instrumentalist...
on January 5, and against Jay Perlin 20 days later. Basilio campaigned exclusively inside the state of
New YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
during his first 24 bouts, going 19-3-2 during that span. His first loss was at the hands of Connie Thies, who beat him, by a decision in 6 on May 2 of '49. He and Cunningham had three more fights during that period, with Basilio winning by knockout in two on their second meeting, Cunningham by a decision in eight in their third and Basilio by decision in eight in their fourth.
In the middle of that 24 bout span, 1950 rolled over, and Basilio met former world champion
Lew Jenkins, winning by a 10 round decision.
For fight number 25, it was decided that it was time to campaign out
WestWest is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.West is one of the four cardinal directions or compass points. It is the opposite of east and is perpendicular to north and south.By convention, the left side of a map is west....
so Basilio went to New Orleans, where he boxed his next six fights. In his first bout there, he met Gaby Farland, who held him to a draw. He and Farland had a rematch, Basilio winning by a
knockoutA 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...
in the first round. He also boxed Guillermo Giminez there twice, first beating him by knockout in eight, and then by knockout in nine. In his last fight before returning home, he lost by a decision in 10 to Eddie Giosa.
For his next seven bouts, Basilio only went 3-3-1, but he was able to avenge his loss to Giosa by winning a ten round decision over him in
SyracuseSyracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
.
In 1952, Basilio went 6-2-1. He beat Jimmy Cousins among others that year, but he lost to Chuck Davey and Billy Graham. The draw he registered that year was against Davey in the first of the two meetings they held that year.
But things started to change in 1953. Basilio started winning big fights and soon found his name climbing up the Welterweight division's rankings. Soon, he found himself in his first world title fight, against
CubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
's
Kid GavilanGerardo González , better known in the boxing world as Kid Gavilan, was a former world welterweight champion from Cuba...
for Gavilan's world welterweight championship. Before fighting against Gavilan, he beat former world light-weight champion
Ike WilliamsIke Williams was a former lightweight world boxing champion. Williams was known for his great right hand, and was named to the Ring Magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time as well as Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year for 1948.-Professional Career:During his career, Williams faced and...
, and had two more fights with Graham, avenging his earlier loss to Graham in the second bout between them with a 12 round decision win, and drawing in the third. Basilio lost a 15 round decision to Gavilan and went for a fourth meeting with Cunningham, this time winning by a knockout in four. Then, he and French fighter Pierre Langois began another rivalry, with a 10 round draw in the first bout between the two.
In 1954, Basilio went undefeated in eight bouts, going 7-0-1 with 2 knockouts, and defeating Langois in their rematch by decision.
1955 arrived and Basilio began by beating Peter Müller by decision. After that, Basilio was once again the number one challenger, and on June 10 of that year, he received his second world title try, against world Welterweight champion
Tony DeMarcoTony DeMarco is a boxer and world welterweight champion. He was born in Boston and grew up in that city's North End community. Tony DeMarco's actual birth name is Leonardo Liotta. Tony’s father Vincent and mother Giacomina came from Sicily.To box in the league, the minimum age was 18...
. In what has become a favorite fight of classic sports channels such as
ESPNEntertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
, Basilio became world champion by knocking out DeMarco in the 12th round. Basilio had two non title bouts, including a ten round decision win over
Gil TurnerGil Turner was an American folk singer-songwriter, magazine editor, Shakespearean actor, political activist, and for a time, a lay Baptist preacher...
, before he and DeMarco met again, this time with Basilio as the defending world champion. Their second fight had exactly the same result as their first bout: Basilio won by a knockout in 12.
For his next fight, in 1956, Basilio lost the title in Chicago to
Johnny SaxtonJohnny Saxton was an American professional boxer in the welterweight division. He was born in Newark, New Jersey, learned to box in a Brooklyn orphanage and had an amateur career winning 31 of 33 fights, twice becoming World Welterweight Champion.- Professional career :Saxton turned professional...
by a decision in 15. It has always been commented that the reason that Saxton got the nod was because he supposedly had ties with Chicago's underworld, which, according to the suggestion, might have paid off the fight's judges to give Saxton the fight. This has been an unverified rumor which many magazines, Ring Magazine included, have talked about in the past. In an immediate rematch, which was boxed in Syracuse, Basilio regained the crown with a nine round knockout, and then, in a rubber match, Basilio kept the belt, by a knockout in two.
After that, he went up in weight and challenged aging 37 year old world Middleweight champion
Sugar Ray RobinsonSugar Ray Robinson was an African-American professional boxer. Frequently cited as the greatest boxer of all time, Robinson's performances in the welterweight and middleweight divisions prompted sportswriters to create "pound for pound" rankings, where they compared fighters regardless of weight...
, in what perhaps may have been his most famous fight. He won the Middleweight championship of the world by beating Robinson in one of the most exciting 15 round decisions in middleweight history, September 23, 1957. The day after, he had to abandon the Welterweight belt, according to boxing laws. In 1957 Basilio won the
Hickok BeltThe S. Rae Hickok Professional Athlete of the Year award, known as the Hickok Belt, was a trophy awarded for 27 years to the top professional athlete of the year in the United States...
as top professional athlete of the year.
In 1958, he and Robinson met in a rematch on March 25 and Robinson barely regained the title with a 15 round controversial decision. Basilio's left eye was totally swelled shut from the 6th round on and still many of the ringside press thought Basilio won this second fight. This too as a split decision just as their first fight was.
From that moment, and until his retirement in 1961, he fought only sporadically, but 3 of his last fights were attempts to recover the world's Middleweight title, losing twice to
Gene FullmerGene Fullmer is a former American middleweight boxer and world champion.-Professional career:Fullmer began his professional career in 1951 and won his first 29 fights, 19 by knockout...
; by a knockout in 14 at San Francisco; and by a knockout in 12, in Fullmer's home state of
UtahUtah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
(in Salt Lake City), and then also later, when he lost a 10 round decision to defending world champion
Paul PenderPaul Pender was an American middleweight boxer.-Early life:He was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, the son of William and Anna Pender...
.
In between those fights, he was able to beat
Art AragonArthur Benjamin Aragon was an Mexican-American boxer in the lightweight from New Mexico.-Early and later life:...
, by knockout in eight, and former world Welterweight champion
Don JordanDon Jordan was a boxer born in Los Angeles, California and was the undisputed Welterweight Champion of the World from 1958 to 1960. His nickname was ‘Geronimo’...
, by decision in ten. His fight with Pender for the title, was also his last fight as a professional boxer.
Basilio, who was also a member of the
United States Marine CorpsThe United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
at one point of his life, was able to enjoy his retirement. During the 1970s, his nephew
Billy BackusBilly Backus, born March 5, 1943 in Canastota, New York, is a former world boxing champion. In the summer of 2006 Backus retired from his correctional facility job and moved to South Carolina.- Early boxing career :...
became world's welterweight champion after having a shaky start to his own boxing career, and Basilio declared on the day that Backus became champion, that to him, Billy winning the title was better than when he won it himself.
In 1990, Ed Brophy decided to build the
International Boxing Hall Of FameThe 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...
in Canastota, to honor the two world champions who were born there: Basilio and his nephew. Although Backus isn't a member of the Hall Of Fame, Basilio is, along with many of the fighters he met inside the ring.
In the late 1990s, Basilio became seriously ill, and he required triple bypass heart surgery. Doctors were able to repair his heart.
Basilio had a ring record of 56 wins, 16 losses and 7 draws, with 27 wins by knockout.
Following his esteemed career as a fighter, Basilio worked for a time at the Genesee Brewery in Rochester, NY.
Basilio was interviewed for an HBO documentary on Sugar Ray Robinson called "The Dark Side Of A Champion". He mentioned that although he respected Robinson's talents in the ring, he did not like him at all as a person. He called him a "son of a bitch" and said he was the most arrogant, unpleasant person that you would ever want to meet.
In 2010, the award nominated "Title Town USA, Boxing in Upstate New York" by noted historian
Mark Allen BakerMark Allen Baker is a former business executive, and American author, historian, and writer of over 200 articles and 16 books[1]....
was published by The History Press in 2010 and supports Canastota, New York as the epicenter of Upstate New York's rich boxing heritage. The book includes chapters on both Carmen Basilio and
Billy BackusBilly Backus, born March 5, 1943 in Canastota, New York, is a former world boxing champion. In the summer of 2006 Backus retired from his correctional facility job and moved to South Carolina.- Early boxing career :...
. The introduction was written by Edward P. Brophy Executive Director of the
International Boxing Hall of FameThe 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...
.
External links
- Eastside Boxing
- Carmen Basilio's bio at the Internet Movie Database
- Carmen Basilio interviewed by Mike Wallace
Myron Leon "Mike" Wallace is an American journalist, former game show host, actor and media personality. During his 60+ year career, he has interviewed a wide range of prominent newsmakers....
on The Mike Wallace Interview October 26, 1957