![]() But Vianello, who would have looked out- of-place on a tennis court in his size-15 shoes, found his niche in boxing. His parents own and manage one of Rome’s leading tennis academies. To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HEREĪs a young boy growing up in Italy, Guido Vianello’s first sport was tennis. She would have been the first to tell you that Tony DeMarco’s fame never went to his head.Ĭheck out more boxing news on video at the Boxing Channel DeMarco’s wife was in the audience and he made certain to have her take a bow. That was enough for me.”Īt the Hall of Fame induction ceremony in June of 2019 (the last of its kind before the pandemic wrecked the last two), DeMarco was introduced by promoter Al Valenti, the son of the late Hall of Fame promoter Rip Valenti. Before that I had a towel on my shoulders. And they bought me my first robe I ever had. His neighbors, he said, “put their 2 cents in, 5 cents in, their change, a quarter, whatever they had. 20, 2012 as part of the city’s Italian Heritage Month celebrations.Īt the unveiling, DeMarco noted that when he started out, he was too poor to afford a robe. He evolved into a great fan favorite and a bronze statue of him now stands in front of a historic Italian restaurant in Boston’s North End near his boyhood home. He had Saxton ahead by two points.ĭemarco had nearly half of his pro fights at Boston Garden, home of the Celtics, and headlined two shows at iconic Fenway Park. The outlier was Tom McNeeley Sr, the grandfather of Hurricane Peter McNeeley. The boys didn’t know Tony DeMarco whose integrity was unimpeachable.Īgainst Saxton, Tony was widely ahead on two of the cards through the 13 completed rounds. ![]() Saxton was managed by notorious Philadelphia numbers baron Frank “Blinky” Palermo and the radical shift in the odds told the wise boys that DeMarco would go in the tank. There was “steam” on the defending champion, the odds soaring from “6/5 pick” to 3/1 at post. Two of his early fights were stopped on cuts and the scar tissue above his left eye was repeatedly ripped open.ĭespite his home field advantage, DeMarco was the underdog when he challenged Johnny Saxton. ![]() He finished 58-12-1, a record that would have been better if he wasn’t a bleeder. ![]() Tony DeMarco was 37 fights into his pro career before he was accorded his first 10-round fight. In retirement, DeMarco and Basilio, both converted southpaws, became great friends. With regional TV blackouts in effect, both bouts drew turn-away crowds. The rematch was a Wednesday night affair on ABC. The first DeMarco-Basilio fight was televised on a Friday night on NBC. The bout was named the Fight of the Year by The Ring magazine. DeMarco was on his feet when the referee waived the fight off, but seconds later he collapsed to the canvas where he remained for almost two minutes.ĭeMarco was ahead on all three scorecards through the completed rounds. Basilio declined and went on to repeat his 12 th-round stoppage. DeMarco hurt Basilio so badly in the seventh that Basilio’s corner, which included cut man Angelo Dundee, shouted for him to take a knee and rest for 8 seconds. The rematch, in November of that same year in Boston, lasted two seconds longer and was even more exciting. The bout, said a ringside reporter, was taut with excitement from the start with a spectacular 10 th round. On June 10, he was stopped in 12 rounds by Carmen Basilio on Basilio’s turf in Syracuse, NY. Saxton was making the first defense of the title he won from Kid Gavilan.ĭeMarco’s title reign lasted only 10 weeks. Former world welterweight champion Tony DeMarco, inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame with the class of 2019, passed away late last night at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston at age 89.Ī Boston native, born Leonardo Liotta to immigrants from Sicily - his father, like the father of Rocky Marciano, was a shoemaker - DeMarco won the title with a 14 th-round stoppage of Johnny Saxton at Boston Garden on April 1, 1955.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |