Carmen Basilio Archives - The Fight City

Top 12 All-Time Greatest Welterweights

November 25, 2021November 25, 2021 Robert Portis 22 Comments Barney Ross, Carmen Basilio, Curtis Cokes, Emile Griffith, Felix Trinidad, Fritzie Zivic, Henry Armstrong, Jack Britton, Jimmy McLarnin, joe walcott, Jose Napoles, Kid Gavilan, Luis Rodriguez, Manny Pacquiao, Mickey Walker, Oscar De La Hoya, Pipino Cuevas, Roberto Duran, Shane Mosley, Sugar Ray Leonard, Sugar Ray Robinson, Thomas Hearns, Wilfred Benitez

Our ratings of the all-time greatest fighters in each of the traditional eight weight classes continues with a look at

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Oct. 14, 1949: Gavilan vs Jack

October 14, 2021October 16, 2021 Robert Portis 0 Comments Beau Jack, Billy Graham, Carmen Basilio, Fritzie Zivic, Henry Armstrong, Kid Gavilan, Sugar Ray Robinson

It was the classic clash of the old king vs the future king when the once-great Beau Jack met Kid Gavilan

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Sept. 23, 1957: Robinson vs Basilio

September 24, 2021September 26, 2021 David Como 4 Comments Carmen Basilio, Floyd Mayweather, Gene Fullmer, Jake LaMotta, Randy Turpin, Sugar Ray Robinson, Tony DeMarco

The great Sugar Ray Robinson had retired from boxing, had been singing and tap-dancing for three years. He didn’t have

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Sept. 12, 1951: Robinson vs Turpin

September 12, 2021September 14, 2021 Robert Portis 0 Comments Carmen Basilio, Gene Fullmer, Jake LaMotta, London, New York City, Polo Grounds, Randy Turpin, Robinson vs Turpin, Sugar Ray Robinson

The first Robinson vs Turpin battle took place in London, England just two months before the second, and it will

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Aug. 10, 1963: Tiger vs Fullmer III

August 10, 2021August 13, 2021 Michael Carbert 1 Comment Carmen Basilio, Dick Tiger, Gene Fullmer, Sugar Ray Robinson

It is often the case with dynamic brawlers who rely on physical strength, constant aggression, and a seemingly inhuman ability

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June 4, 1971: Napoles vs Backus II

June 4, 2021June 7, 2021 Patrick Connor 1 Comment Billy Backus, Carmen Basilio, Cuba, Danny Lopez, Emile Griffith, Jose Napoles, Kid Chocolate, Kid Gavilan, Mexico

Cuba’s messy political issues in the last half-century have made for countless stories of struggle and triumph, though more the

Lee Wylie

The Genius Of Sugar Ray Robinson

May 6, 2021May 6, 2021 Lee Wylie 1 Comment Carmen Basilio, Fritzie Zivic, Gene Fullmer, Harry Greb, Henry Armstrong, Jake LaMotta, Randy Turpin, Rocky Graziano, Sam Langford, Sugar Ray Robinson, Tommy Bell

This past Monday was a boxing anniversary with a difference, one that, were life not on hold due to COVID-19,

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May 1, 1957: Robinson vs Fullmer II

May 1, 2021May 4, 2021 Michael Carbert 7 Comments Bobo Olson, Carl Olson, Carmen Basilio, Gene Fullmer, Robinson vs Fullmer, Sugar Ray Robinson

May 1st, 1957. Chicago Stadium. The rematch between young, tough Gene Fullmer, and the living legend, Sugar Ray Robinson. Pre-fight

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April 20, 1960: Fullmer vs Giardello

April 20, 2021June 1, 2021 Michael Carbert 4 Comments Billy Graham, Bobo Olson, Carmen Basilio, Gene Fullmer, Harry Kessler, Joey Giambra, Joey Giardello, Johnny Saxton, Montana, Rubin Carter, Spider Webb, Sugar Ray Robinson, Utah

As most boxing fans know, they made a movie about wrongly imprisoned middleweight contender Rubin “Hurricane” Carter with Denzel Washington

The Top Twelve

Top 12 All-Time Greatest Chins

April 9, 2021April 12, 2021 Robert Portis 12 Comments Barney Ross, Carlos Monzon, Carmen Basilio, Earnie Shavers, George Chuvalo, George Foreman, Jake LaMotta, Jerry Quarry, Joe Frazier, Kid Gavilan, Marvin Hagler, Muhammad Ali, Panama Al Brown, Randall "Tex" Cobb

A pugilist’s last line of defense is the durability of his mandible and of course no one doubts that a

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April 2, 1954: Olson vs Gavilan

April 2, 2021May 19, 2021 Michael Carbert 0 Comments Beau Jack, Carl Olson, Carmen Basilio, chicago, Chicago Stadium, Ike Williams, Joey Maxim, Johnny Bratton, Kid Gavilan, Randy Turpin, Sugar Ray Robinson, Tommy Bell

Kid Gavilan, aka “The Cuban Hawk,” had been a top ranked boxer for years before he won the world welterweight

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March 25, 1958: Robinson vs Basilio II

March 25, 2021March 28, 2021 Michael Carbert 0 Comments Carmen Basilio, chicago, Chicago Stadium, Gene Fullmer, Joey Giardello, Johnny Saxton, Sugar Ray Robinson, Tony DeMarco

Sugar Ray Robinson, regarded by many as pound-for-pound the greatest boxer of all time, rarely found himself the underdog, but

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March 4, 1961: Robinson vs Fullmer IV

March 4, 2021March 7, 2021 Michael Carbert 0 Comments Carmen Basilio, Gene Fullmer, Las Vegas, middleweight, Robinson vs Fullmer, Sugar Ray Robinson

Let us journey back, boxing fans, to a time when the best fought the best and did so not once

The Top Twelve

Top 12 All-Time Greatest Welterweight Fights

December 4, 2020December 6, 2020 Rafael García 4 Comments Carmen Basilio, Emile Griffith, Errol Spence Jr, Henry Armstrong, Jack Britton, Jimmy McLarnin, Jose Napoles, Julio Cesar Chavez, Kid Gavilan, Manny Pacquiao, Mickey Walker, Miguel Cotto, Oscar De La Hoya, Pernell Whitaker, Roberto Duran, Shane Mosley, Shawn Porter, Spence vs Porter, Sugar Lay Leonard, Sugar Ray Robinson, Tommy Bell, Tommy Hearns, Tony DeMarco, welterweights, Wilfred Benitez

No matter how you break it down, Errol Spence vs Danny Garcia has one major thing going for it: it’s

The Top Twelve

Top 12 All-Time Greatest Catchers

July 10, 2020July 12, 2020 Robert Portis 0 Comments Ad Wolgast, Archie Moore, Arturo Gatti, Bobby Chacon, Carmen Basilio, Dick Tiger, Fritzie Zivic, Gene Fullmer, Ike Williams, Jake LaMotta, Joe Gans, Joe Grim, Joey Giardello, John L. Sullivan, Kid Gavilan, Matthew Saad Muhammad, Rocky Graziano, Rocky Maricano, Sugar Ray Robinson

On this day way back in 1922, the man they would come to call “The Bronx Bull” was born. Jake

The Top Twelve

Top 12 All-Time Biggest Middleweight Fights

September 15, 2017October 4, 2020 Robert Portis 3 Comments Bernard Hopkins, Bob Fitzsimmons, Carmen Basilio, Gene Fullmer, Harry Greb, Jake LaMotta, Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Mickey Walker, Randy Turpin, Rocky Graziano, Sugar Ray Robinson, Thomas Hearns, Tiger Flowers, Tony Zale

A couple years ago, when everyone was getting set for the long-awaited confrontation between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, we

Features

Gene Fullmer: 1931-2015

April 28, 2015April 28, 2015 Robert Portis 0 Comments Benny Paret, Carmen Basilio, Emile Griffith, Gene Fullmer, Joey Giardello, middleweight champion, Sugar Ray Robinson

For middleweight champion Gene Fullmer, no nickname really stuck. Some tried to give him the moniker of “Cyclone” or “The

Features

Angelo Dundee: 1921-2012

February 2, 2012December 6, 2018 Michael Carbert 0 Comments angelo dundee, Carmen Basilio, George Foreman, Jimmy Ellis, Lucian, Luis Rodriguez, Marvin Hagler, Muhammad Ali, Roberto Duran, Sugar Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns

In the long history of boxing, few trainers have had the impact of Angelo Dundee who died of an apparent

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Dec. 26, 1908: Burns vs Johnson

December 26, 2020December 29, 2020 Rafael García 4

The late, great comedian Bill Hicks once quipped that the first Gulf War was not actually a “war.” Instead it was

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April 11, 1981: Holmes vs Berbick

April 11, 2021April 13, 2021 Robert Portis 0

In 1981 few doubted that Larry Holmes was one of the best boxers in the world, but rarely had the

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August 23, 1997: Lopez vs Sanchez

August 24, 2016August 24, 2016 Patrick Connor 1

“Before each round Ricardo looks up at the heavens, then goes out to kill, kill, kill. It’s like he’s asking

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June 22, 1938: Louis vs Schmeling II

June 22, 2021June 25, 2021 Robert Portis 1

Former world champion Max Schmeling was a solid 10-to-1 underdog when he faced rising contender and awesome knockout artist Joe