Billy Backus


Billy Backus, is a former World Welterweight Champion professional boxer. In the summer of 2006 Backus retired from his correctional facility job and moved to South Carolina.

Early boxing career

Backus, who is the nephew of boxing legend and former world champion Carmen Basilio, started his career by winning only 7 of his first 19 bouts. In 1964, things looked promising when he won four bouts in a row, but then he suffered a three fight losing streak. At this point of his career, he had a record of 8 wins, 7 losses and 3 draws and he retired from boxing. To make things worse, he had lost his last fight, against Rudy Richardson, on his twenty-second birthday.

Rise to prominence

Backus resumed his boxing career in 1966, but probably never in his wildest dreams could he have envisioned what happened next: in his comeback bout, he knocked out Tod Purtell in the first round, and that marked his embarkment on a seven fight winning streak that included avenging an earlier loss to Dick French. That streak was broken by a defeat at the hands of Percy Pugh in New Orleans, but soon he started on another winning streak, eight in a row, including two over Pugh. Then, Pugh broke his winning streak once again, beating him over 15 rounds, once again at New Orleans. After splitting two fights with Jerry Pellegrini and drawing in four rounds with Ricky Ortiz, Backus embarked on another winning streak, including an eight-round knockout over Ortiz in a rematch.

World Welterweight Title Bout

After that last streak, Backus was ranked among the top ten Welterweight challengers of the world at number 10. The year was 1970 and Mexico's José Nápoles had earned the right to make an optional defense of his world title. His management, figuring they'd have an easy fight ahead of them, picked Backus as the challenger for this optional title bout. But Backus landed a punch that opened a cut over Nápoles' eye in round one, causing Nápoles to bleed profusely, and the fight was stopped in round four. Since the cut had been ruled to be caused by a punch, Backus was declared winner by a technical knockout, and he had realized a dream that many fans never thought he would: he had become the world's Welterweight champion. His uncle Basilio, watching from ringside, said: "Billy winning the world title is the best thing ever to happen in my life, even better than me winning the world title."
Billy won two non-title fights, including one over Robert Gallois in Paris, and then had a rematch with Nápoles in Los Angeles. This time Nápoles returned the favor, knocking Backus out in the eighth round and regaining his title.

Career decline

He finished 1971 with a ten-round decision win over Jose Gabino, and went 3–2 in 1972, losing two fifteen-round decisions to world title challenger Hedgemon Lewis. He lost 3 of 4 bouts in 1973, and went on a European tour in 1974, winning 2 and losing 2 in Paris and Berlin. In 1975, he went to Australia and lost by a knockout in five to Rocky Mattioli, and then he came back to the States, where he beat Marc Gervais by a knockout in ten. This marked the start of another 9 fight winning streak, which led the WBA to make him their number one challenger. After drawing in twelve rounds with Everaldo Acosta Acevedo, he had a chance at regaining the world welterweight title when faced against world champion Pipino Cuevas of Mexico, once again in Los Angeles. After losing by a knockout in the first round, Backus then announced his retirement from boxing for good.
Although he isn't a member of the International Boxing Hall Of Fame, in 1990, Ed Brophy and some Canastota businessmen came up with the idea to build the hall of fame in Canastota, to honor Canastota's two native world champions: Basilio and Backus.
In 2010, the award nominated "Title Town USA, Boxing in Upstate New York" by noted historian Mark Allen Baker 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 Backus. The introduction was written by Edward P. Brophy, Executive Director of the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
Backus had a final record of 48 wins, 20 losses and 5 draws, with 22 wins by knockout.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
74Loss49–20–5 Pipino CuevasTKO2 May 20, 1978 Forum, Inglewood For WBA welterweight title
73Draw49–19–5 Everaldo Costa AzevedoSD12Nov 19, 1977 War Memorial Auditorium, Syracuse
72Win49–19–4 Joe GrierUD10Aug 25, 1977 War Memorial Auditorium, Syracuse
71Win48–19–4 Rafael RodriguezUD12Jun 03, 1977 War Memorial Auditorium, Syracuse
70Win47–19–4 Roy BarrientosUD10Apr 08, 1977 War Memorial Auditorium, Syracuse
69Win46–19–4 Justice OrtizUD10Jan 27, 1977 War Memorial Auditorium, Syracuse
68Win45–19–4 Tony LopesTKO9 Nov 20, 1976 War Memorial Auditorium, Utica
67Win44–19–4 Pablo RodriguezUD10Sep 11, 1976 Utica Memorial Auditorium, Utica
66Win43–19–4 Jose Papo MelendezUD10May 28, 1976 Colonie Coliseum, Latham
65Win42–19–4 Angel Robinson GarciaUD10Apr 03, 1976 War Memorial Auditorium, Utica
64Win41–19–4 Pablo RodriguezUD10Jan 24, 1976 War Memorial Auditorium, Syracuse
63Win40–19–4 Marc GervaisKO10 Aug 23, 1975 Broome County Arena, Binghamton
62Loss39–19–4 Rocky MattioliTKO5 Apr 11, 1975 Festival Hall, Melbourne
61Loss39–18–4 Eckhard DaggeTKO3 Jun 20, 1974 Germany
60Win39–17–4 Jacques KechichianRTD5 Apr 30, 1974 Paris
59Loss38–17–4 Roger MenetreyPTS12Mar 18, 1974 Palais des Sports, Paris
58Win38–16–4 Roger ZamiTKO9 Jan 21, 1974 Palais des Sports, Paris
57Loss37–16–4 Zovek BarajasTKO3 Dec 06, 1973 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles
56Win37–15–4 Al RomanoKO3 Aug 04, 1973 Three Rivers Inn, Syracuse
55Loss36–15–4 Miguel BarretoMD12Aug 04, 1973 Felt Forum, New York
54Loss36–14–4 Jack TillmanUD12Feb 13, 1973 Civic Center, BaltimoreFor WBA North American welterweight title
53Loss36–13–4 Hedgemon LewisUD15Dec 08, 1972 War Memorial Auditorium, Utica For NYSAC welterweight title
52Win36–12–4 Dorman CrawfordTKO8 Sep 23, 1972 War Memorial Auditorium, Utica
51Loss35–12–4 Hedgemon LewisUD15Jun 06, 1972 War Memorial Auditorium, Utica For vacant NYSAC welterweight title
50Win35–11–4 Danny McAloonUD12Apr 14, 1972 War Memorial Auditorium, Utica
49Win34–11–4 Irish Pat MurphyTKO7 Feb 12, 1972 War Memorial Auditorium, Utica
48Win33–11–4 Jose GabinoUD10Dec 10, 1971 War Memorial Auditorium, Utica
47Loss32–11–4 José NápolesTKO8 Jun 04, 1971 Forum, Inglewood Lost WBA, WBC, The Ring, and lineal welterweight titles
46Win32–10–4 Robert GalloisMD10Mar 15, 1971 Palais des Sports, Paris
45Win31–10–4 Bobby WilliamsUD12Jan 23, 1971 War Memorial Auditorium, Syracuse
44Win30–10–4 José NápolesTKO4 Dec 03, 1970 War Memorial Auditorium, Syracuse Won WBA, WBC, The Ring, and lineal welterweight titles
43Win29–10–4 Denny StilettoKO8 Oct 03, 1970 War Memorial Auditorium, Syracuse
42Win28–10–4 Manuel GonzalezUD10Jul 22, 1970 War Memorial Auditorium, Syracuse
41Win27–10–4 Frank SteeleUD10Jun 15, 1970 War Memorial Auditorium, Syracuse
40Win26–10–4 Manuel BurgoUD10Mar 24, 1970 War Memorial Auditorium, Syracuse
39Win25–10–4 Ricky OrtizTKO8 Jan 30, 1970 War Memorial Auditorium, Syracuse
38Draw24–10–4 Ricky OrtizMD10Oct 31, 1969 War Memorial Auditorium, Syracuse
37Win24–10–3 Jerry PellegriniUD10Sep 19, 1969 War Memorial Auditorium, Syracuse
36Loss23–10–3 Jerry PellegriniUD10Jul 21, 1969 Municipal Auditorium, New Orleans
35Loss23–9–3 Percy PughUD15Jun 16, 1969 Rivergate Exhibition Hall, New Orleans
34Win23–8–3 Percy PughUD12Apr 25, 1969 War Memorial Auditorium, Syracuse
33Win22–8–3 CL LewisTKO7 Mar 17, 1969 War Memorial Auditorium, Syracuse
32Win21–8–3 Percy PughSD12Jan 24, 1969 War Memorial Auditorium, Syracuse
31Win20–8–3 Freddie CobbTKO5 Dec 14, 1968 War Memorial Auditorium, Syracuse
30Win19–8–3 Vince ShomoTKO8 Nov 16, 1968 War Memorial Auditorium, Syracuse
29Win18–8–3 Johnny BrooksUD10Oct 07, 1968 Municipal Auditorium, New Orleans
28Win17–8–3 Curtis PhillipsTKO7 Sep 14, 1968 War Memorial Auditorium, Syracuse
27Win16–8–3 Jerry PellegriniSD10Jul 29, 1968 Municipal Auditorium, New Orleans
26Loss15–8–3 Percy PughUD10Jun 03, 1968 Municipal Auditorium, New Orleans
25Win15–7–3 Dick FrenchTKO6 May 19, 1968 War Memorial Auditorium, Syracuse
24Win14–7–3 Danny AndrewsUD10Apr 06, 1968 War Memorial Auditorium, Syracuse
23Win13–7–3 Juan RamosUD10Feb 10, 1968 War Memorial Auditorium, Syracuse
22Win12–7–3 Gene HerrickTKO6 Nov 30, 1967 Portland
21Win11–7–3 Curtis PhillipsTKO6 Nov 24, 1967 War Memorial Auditorium, Syracuse
20Win10–7–3 Ernie RobbinsKO3 Oct 23, 1967 Mechanics Hall, Worcester
19Win9–7–3 Tod PurtellKO1 Oct 16, 1967 Worcester
18Loss8–7–3 Rudy RichardsonUD8May 05, 1965 War Memorial Auditorium, Syracuse
17Loss8–6–3 Billy AndersonPTS10Oct 30, 1964 War Memorial Auditorium, Syracuse
16Loss8–5–3 Genaro SotoPTS6Jul 17, 1964 Madison Square Garden, New York
15Win8–4–3 Colin FraserUD10May 19, 1964 War Memorial Auditorium, Utica
14Win7–4–3 Lew AndersonTKO5 Apr 18, 1964 War Memorial Auditorium, Syracuse
13Win6–4–3 Dave HiltonKO7 Feb 29, 1964 War Memorial Auditorium, Syracuse
12Win5–4–3 Colin FraserRTD5 Feb 01, 1964 War Memorial Auditorium, Syracuse
11Loss4–4–3 Billy AndersonUD8Dec 19, 1963 Mechanics Hall, Worcester
10Loss4–3–3 Fernand ChretienUD10Aug 02, 1963 Saint Anthony's Club, New Castle
9Loss4–2–3 Dick FrenchUD8Feb 28, 1963 Mechanics Hall, Worcester
8Draw4–1–3 Marcel BizienPTS8Jan 23, 1963 Plaza Ballroom, Paterson
7Draw4–1–2 Mike CortezPTS4Dec 22, 1962 Madison Square Garden, New York
6Loss4–1–1 Luis Aponte OrtizPTS4Nov 24, 1962 Gladiators' Arena, Totowa
5Win4–0–1 Barney BarnezPTS4Jun 22, 1962 Totowa
4Win3–0–1 Steve GesslerPTS6Jun 06, 1962 Saint-Jerome
3Draw2–0–1 Sugar LawsonPTS4Apr 27, 1962 Gladiators' Arena, Totowa
2Win2–0 Randy SandersPTS4Mar 09, 1962 Gladiators' Arena, Totowa
1Win1–0 Ike AnthonyTKO2 Sep 16, 1961 War Memorial Auditorium, Syracuse