Jake LaMotta


Giacobbe "Jake" LaMotta was an American professional boxer, world middleweight champion, and stand-up comedian. Nicknamed "The Bronx Bull" or "Raging Bull", LaMotta was a rough fighter who was not a particularly big puncher, but he would subject his opponents to vicious beatings in the ring. With use of constant stalking, brawling and inside fighting, he developed the reputation for being a "bully"; he was what is often referred to today as a swarmer and a slugger.
Due to his hard style of fighting, LaMotta often got as much as he was giving in an era of great middleweights. With a thick skull and jaw muscles, LaMotta was able to absorb incredible amounts of punishment over the course of his career, and is thought to have one of the greatest chins in boxing history. LaMotta's six-fight rivalry with Sugar Ray Robinson was one of the most notable in the sport, but LaMotta won only one of the bouts. Although each fight was close, LaMotta dropped Robinson to the canvas multiple times. LaMotta, who lived a turbulent life in and out of the ring, was portrayed by Robert De Niro in the 1980 film Raging Bull. He was managed by his brother Joey LaMotta.

Early life

LaMotta was born on the Lower East Side of New York City on July 10, 1922, to Italian parents. Many sources had reported his year of birth as 1921, but his daughter Christi said in a Facebook post immediately following his death that it was in fact 1922. His mother was born in the United States to Italian immigrants, while his father was an immigrant from Messina, Sicily, who came with family including his brother Joseph. The family lived briefly in Philadelphia before returning to New York and settling in the Bronx.
Jake's father forced the boy to fight other boys in order to entertain neighborhood adults, who threw pocket change into the ring. LaMotta's father collected the money and used it to help pay the rent. One of LaMotta’s much younger cousins on his father's side was Richard LaMotta, who became an entrepreneur and creator of the Chipwich ice cream treat.
LaMotta learned to box while in a reformatory in upstate New York, where he'd been sent for attempted robbery. Afterward he fought undefeated in amateur bouts, turning professional at age 19 in 1941. During World War II, he was rejected for military service; he had had a mastoid operation as a child on one of his ears and it affected his hearing.

Boxing career

As a middleweight in his first fifteen bouts, LaMotta went 14–0–1 before losing a highly controversial split decision to Jimmy Reeves in Reeves' hometown of Cleveland, Ohio. Chaos erupted after the decision was announced. Fights broke out around the ring and the crowd continued to boo for 20 minutes. The arena's organist tried to calm down the crowd by playing the "Star Spangled Banner".
One month later, LaMotta and Reeves fought again in the same arena. LaMotta won a much less controversial decision. A third match between the two took place on March 19, 1943 in Detroit, Michigan. The first five rounds were close, though Reeves was struggling in the fourth. In the sixth round, LaMotta floored Reeves, who was only down for a second. Once the fight resumed, LaMotta landed a left on Reeves' chin, sending him down face-first. Reeves was blinking his eyes and shaking his head as the referee counted him out.

LaMotta vs. Robinson I–V

LaMotta fought Sugar Ray Robinson in Robinson's middleweight debut at Madison Square Garden, New York, October 2, 1942. LaMotta knocked Robinson down in the first round of the fight. Robinson got up and took control over much of the fight, winning via a unanimous 10-round decision.
A 10-round rematch took place February 5, 1943, at Olympia Stadium in Detroit, Michigan. The eighth round was historic. LaMotta landed a right to Robinson's head and a left to his body, sending him through the ropes. Robinson was saved by the bell at the count of nine. LaMotta, who was already leading on the scorecards before knocking Robinson out of the ring, pummeled and outpointed him for the rest of the fight. Robinson had trouble keeping LaMotta at bay. LaMotta won via unanimous decision, giving Robinson the first defeat of his career.
The victory was short-lived, as the two met on February 26, 1943, in what was another 10-round fight, once again at Olympia Stadium in Robinson's former home of Detroit. Robinson was knocked down for a nine-count in Round 7. Robinson later stated, "He really hurt me with a left in the seventh round. I was a little dazed and decided to stay on the deck." Robinson won the close fight by unanimous decision, using a dazzling left jab and jarring uppercuts. LaMotta said the fight was given to Robinson because he would be inducted into the army the next day.
A fourth fight, the duo's final 10 rounder, took place nearly two years after the third, on February 23, 1945, at Madison Square Garden, New York. Robinson won again by a unanimous decision.
LaMotta and Robinson had their fifth bout at Comiskey Park, Chicago, Illinois on September 26, 1945. Robinson won by a very controversial split decision, contested over 12 rounds. The decision was severely booed by the 14,755 people in attendance. LaMotta later said in his autobiography that the decision was widely criticized by several newspapers and boxing publishers. Robinson said afterward, "This was the toughest fight I've ever had with LaMotta."

LaMotta vs. Fox

On November 14, 1947, LaMotta was knocked out in the fourth round by Billy Fox. Suspecting the fight was fixed, the New York State Athletic Commission withheld purses for the fight and suspended LaMotta. The fight with Fox would come back to haunt him later in life, during a case with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
In his testimony and in his later book, LaMotta admitted to throwing the fight to gain favor with the Mafia. All involved agreed the fix was obvious and their staging inept.
As LaMotta wrote,
The first round, a couple of belts to his head, and I see a glassy look coming over his eyes. Jesus Christ, a couple of jabs and he's going to fall down? I began to panic a little. I was supposed to be throwing a fight to this guy, and it looked like I was going to end up holding him on his feet... By , if there was anybody in the Garden who didn't know what was happening, he must have been dead drunk.

The thrown fight and a payment of $20,000 to the Mafia got LaMotta his title bout against World Middleweight Champion Marcel Cerdan.

LaMotta vs. Cerdan

LaMotta won the World Middleweight title on June 16, 1949 in Detroit, Michigan, defeating Frenchman Marcel Cerdan. LaMotta won the first round, Cerdan the second, and the third was even. At that point it became clear something was wrong. Cerdan dislocated his arm in the first round, apparently damaged in the knockdown, and gave up before the start of the 10th round. LaMotta damaged his left hand in the fifth round, but still landed 104 punches in the ninth round, whereas Cerdan hardly threw a punch. The official score had LaMotta as winner by a knockout in 10 rounds because the bell had already rung to begin that round when Cerdan announced he was quitting. A rematch was arranged, but while Cerdan was flying back to the United States to fight the rematch, his Air France Lockheed Constellation crashed in the Azores, killing everyone on board.

World Middleweight Champion

LaMotta made his first title defense against Tiberio Mitri on July 7, 1950, at Madison Square Garden, New York. LaMotta retained his title via unanimous decision. LaMotta's next defense came on September 13, 1950, against Laurent Dauthuille. Dauthuille had previously beaten LaMotta by decision before LaMotta became world champion. By the fifteenth round, Dauthuille was ahead on all scorecards and seemed to be about to repeat a victory against LaMotta. LaMotta hit Dauthuille with a barrage of punches that sent him down against the ropes toward the end of the round. Dauthuille was counted out with 13 seconds left in the fight. This fight was named Fight of the Year for 1950 by The Ring magazine.

Saint Valentine's Day Massacre of boxing

The sixth and final fight between LaMotta and Robinson took place at Chicago Stadium. This fight was scheduled for 15 rounds and was for the middleweight title. Held on February 14, 1951, Saint Valentine's Day, the fight became known as boxing's version of the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre. In the last few rounds, LaMotta began to take a horrible beating and was soon unable to defend himself from Robinson's powerful blows. But LaMotta refused to go down. Robinson won by a technical knockout in the 13th round, when the fight was stopped.

Light heavyweight

LaMotta moved up to light heavyweight after losing his world middleweight title. He had poor results at first. He lost his debut against Bob Murphy, lost a split decision to Norman Hayes, and drew with Gene Hairston in his first three bouts. In his next three fights, LaMotta had rematches with Hayes, Hairston, and Murphy, and defeated all of them by unanimous decision.
On December 31, 1952, LaMotta had his next fight against Danny Nardico. He knocked LaMotta down for the only time in his career by a right hand in the seventh round. LaMotta got up and was beaten against a corner by Nardico until the bell rang. LaMotta's corner stopped the bout before the eighth round began.
Following that fight, LaMotta took time off; when he returned, in early 1954, he knocked out his first two opponents, Johnny Pretzie and Al McCoy, but a controversial split decision loss to Billy Kilgore on April 14, 1954 convinced him to retire.

Post-boxing

After retiring from the ring, LaMotta owned and managed a bar at 1120 Collins Ave in Miami Beach. He also became a stage actor and stand-up comedian. In 1958 he was arrested and charged with introducing men to an underage girl at a club he owned in Miami. He was convicted and served six months on a chain gang, although he maintained his innocence.
LaMotta appeared in more than 15 films, including The Hustler with Paul Newman and Jackie Gleason, in which he had a role as a bartender. He appeared in several episodes of the NBC police comedy Car 54 Where Are You?. A lifelong baseball fan, he organized the Jake LaMotta All-Star Team in the Bronx. The LaMotta team played in Sterling Oval which was located between 165th and 164th Streets between Clay and Teller Avenue.
In 1960 LaMotta was called to testify before a U.S. Senate sub-committee that was looking into underworld influence on boxing. He testified that he had thrown his bout with Billy Fox so that the mob would arrange a title bout for him.

Fighting style

LaMotta is recognized as having had one of the best chins in boxing. He rolled with punches, minimizing their force and damage when they landed, but he was also able to absorb many blows. In the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre, his sixth bout with Robinson, LaMotta suffered numerous severe blows to the head. Commentators could be heard saying "No man can take this kind of punishment!" But LaMotta did not go down. The fight was stopped by the referee in the 13th round, declaring it a TKO victory for Robinson.
LaMotta was one of the first boxers to adopt the "bully" style of fighting, in that he always stayed close and in punching range of his opponent, by stalking him around the ring, and sacrificed taking punches himself in order to land his own shots. Due to his aggressive, unrelenting style he was known as "The Bronx Bull." He boasted "No son-of-a-bitch ever knocked me off my feet", but that claim was ended in December 1952 at the hands of Danny Nardico when Nardico caught him with a hard right in the seventh round. LaMotta fell into the ropes and went down. After regaining his footing, he was unable to come out for the next round.

Raging Bull: My Story

is a 1970 memoir by middleweight boxer Jake LaMotta. The autobiography revealed Jake LaMotta's life as a young teenage criminal; reformation in prison; boxing career; struggle with the mafia, which kept the boxing title out of reach; and his jealous obsession with his wife, Vikki. The book details his life, from childhood until the end of his fame.
The first edition is:
Hollywood executives approached LaMotta with the idea of a movie about his life, based on his 1970 memoir . The film, Raging Bull, released in 1980, was initially only a minor box office success, but eventually received overwhelming critical acclamation for both director Martin Scorsese and actor Robert De Niro, who gained about 60 pounds during the shooting of the film to play the older LaMotta in later scenes.
To accurately portray the younger LaMotta, De Niro trained with LaMotta until LaMotta felt he was ready to box professionally. De Niro lived in Paris for three months, eating at the finest restaurants in order to gain sufficient weight to portray LaMotta after retirement. De Niro won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance.

Later life and death

LaMotta had a troubled personal life, including a spell in a reformatory, and was married seven times. He admitted beating his wives and coming close to beating a man to death during a robbery.
In February 1998, LaMotta's elder son, Jake LaMotta Jr., died of liver cancer. In September 1998, his younger son, Joseph LaMotta, died in the crash of Swissair Flight 111.
His nephew, John LaMotta, fought in the heavyweight-novice class of the 2001 Golden Gloves championship tournament. John later became an actor, and one of his roles was as "Duke", who ran the bar of that name featured in the television comedy series Frasier. Another nephew, William Lustig, is a well-known director and producer of horror films and the president of Blue Underground, Inc.
LaMotta had four daughters, including Christi by his second wife Vikki LaMotta and Stephanie by his fourth wife Dimitria. He married his seventh wife, his longtime fiancée Denise Baker, on January 4, 2013.
LaMotta remained active on the speaking and autograph circuit, and published several books about his career, his life, and his fights with Robinson. He was a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame and was ranked 52nd on Ring Magazines List of the 80 Best Fighters of the Last 80 Years. The magazine ranked him as one of the 10 greatest middleweights of all time.
LaMotta appeared in a 50-minute New York stage production, Lady and the Champ, in July 2012. The production focused on LaMotta's boxing career, and was criticized by The New York Times as poorly executed and a "bizarre debacle".
LaMotta is the subject of a documentary directed and produced by Greg Olliver. The film features an appearance by Mike Tyson among other notable athletes, actors and Jake's family and friends. Also in production was a sequel to Raging Bull, although MGM filed suit to halt the project, saying that LaMotta does not have the right to make a sequel. The lawsuit was settled on July 31, 2012, when LaMotta agreed to change the title of the film to The Bronx Bull.
LaMotta: The Bronx Bull stars actor William Forsythe as LaMotta, while Paul Sorvino plays his father. It also features Joe Mantegna, Tom Sizemore, Penelope Ann Miller, Natasha Henstridge, Joey Diaz and Ray Wise.
LaMotta died on September 19, 2017, from complications of pneumonia in a nursing home in Florida, at the age of 95.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
106Loss83–19–4 Billy KilgoreSD10Apr 14, 1954 Auditorium, Miami Beach, Florida, U.S.
105Win83–18–4 Al McCoyKO1, 1:10Apr 3, 1954 Armory, Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.
104Win82–18–4 Johnny PretzieTKO4, 1:42Mar 11, 1954 Legion Arena, West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S.
103Loss81–18–4 Danny NardicoRTD7 Dec 31, 1952 Coliseum, Coral Gables, Florida, U.S.In the 7th round LaMotta was knocked down for the first time in his career. LaMotta's corner stopped the bout between the 7th and 8th rounds.
102Win81–17–4 Bob MurphyUD10Jun 11, 1952 Olympia Stadium, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.Attendance: 16,000
101Win80–17–4 Gene HairstonUD10May 21, 1952 Olympia Stadium, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
100Win79–17–4 Norman HayesUD10Apr 9, 1952 Olympia Stadium, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
99Draw78–17–4 Gene HairstonPTS10Mar 5, 1952 Olympia Stadium, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
98Loss78–17–3 Norman HayesSD10Jan 28, 1952 Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
97Loss78–16–3 Bob MurphyRTD7 Jun 27, 1951 Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York, New York, U.S.LaMotta was unable to come out for the 8th round.
96Loss78–15–3 Sugar Ray RobinsonTKO13, 2:04Feb 14, 1951 Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.Lost The Ring and lineal middleweight titles
The fight became known as the "St. Valentine's Day Massacre. Attendance: 14,802. Their 6th contest.
95Win78–14–3 Laurent DauthuilleKO15, 2:47Sep 13, 1950 Olympia Stadium, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.Retained The Ring and lineal middleweight titles
1950 Fight of the Year - Ring Magazine. Dauthuille was ahead on all judges' scorecards before the knockout.
94Win77–14–3 Tiberio MitriUD15Jul 12, 1950 Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, U.S.Retained The Ring and lineal middleweight titles
Won vacant NYSAC World Middleweight title
93Win76–14–3 Joe TaylorUD10May 4, 1950 State Fair Coliseum, Syracuse, New York, U.S.Taylor was down in the 10th.
92Win75–14–3 Chuck HunterTKO6, 0:59Mar 28, 1950 Arena, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.Hunter was down for a five count in the 6th. Attendance: 8,181.
91Win74–14–3 Dick WagnerTKO9, 2:40Feb 3, 1950 Olympia Stadium, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.Attendance: 11,400.
90Loss73–14–3 Robert VillemainUD10Dec 9, 1949 Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, U.S.
89Win73–13–3 Marcel CerdanRTD9 Jun 16, 1949 Briggs Stadium, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.Won NBA, The Ring, and lineal middleweight titles
88Win72–13–3 Joey DeJohnTKO8, 2:41May 18, 1949 State Fair Coliseum, Syracuse, New York, U.S.DeJohn was knocked down three times in the 8th, forcing an automatic stoppage.
87Win71–13–3 O'Neill BellTKO4, 1:40Apr 18, 1949 Olympia Stadium, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
86Win70–13–3 Robert VillemainSD12Mar 25, 1949 Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, U.S.Attendance: 11,491.
85Loss69–13–3 Laurent DauthuilleUD10Feb 21, 1949 Forum, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
84Win69–12–3 Tommy YaroszUD10Dec 3, 1948 Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, U.S.
83Win68–12–3 Vern LesterSD10Oct 18, 1948 Eastern Parkway Arena, Brooklyn, New York, New York, U.S.
82Win67–12–3 Johnny ColanTKO10, 1:32Oct 1, 1948 St. Nicholas Rink, New York, New York, U.S.
81Win66–12–3 Burl CharityTKO5 Sep 7, 1948 Park Arena, Bronx, New York, New York, U.S.Bout stopped because of a bad cut over Charity's left eye, as well as a split lip. Main event of the opening card of the 1948/49 season at Park Arena.
80Win65–12–3 Ken StriblingTKO5, 2:46Jun 1, 1948 Griffith Stadium, District of Columbia, U.S.
79Loss64–12–3 Billy FoxTKO4 Nov 14, 1947 Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, U.S.LaMotta would later admit to having thrown this fight in order to get a shot at the middleweight title.
78Loss64–11–3 Cecil HudsonSD10Sep 3, 1947 Comiskey Park, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
77Win64–10–3 Tony JaniroUD10Jun 6, 1947 Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, U.S.
76Win63–10–3 Tommy BellUD10Mar 14, 1947 Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, U.S.A left hook to the jaw knocked Bell down in the 1st, for a count of seven.
75Win62–10–3 Anton RaadikUD10Dec 6, 1946 Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
74Win61–10–3 O'Neill BellKO2, 2:32Oct 25, 1946 Olympia Stadium, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
73Win60–10–3 Bob SatterfieldKO7, 1:50Sep 12, 1946 Wrigley Field, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
72Win59–10–3 Holman WilliamsUD10Aug 7, 1946 University of Detroit Stadium, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
71Draw58–10–3 Jimmy EdgarPTS10Jun 13, 1946 University of Detroit Stadium, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
70Win58–10–2 Joe ReddickUD10May 24, 1946 Arena, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
69Win57–10–2 Marcus LockmanUD10Mar 29, 1946 Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
68Win56–10–2 Tommy BellUD10Jan 11, 1946 Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, U.S.
67Win55–10–2 Charley ParhamTKO6, 0:59Dec 7, 1945 Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
66Win54–10–2 Walter WoodsKO8, 1:33Nov 23, 1945 Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
65Win53–10–2 Coolidge MillerKO3, 2:51Nov 13, 1945 Park Arena, Bronx, New York, New York, U.S.
64Loss52–10–2 Sugar Ray RobinsonSD12Sep 26, 1945 Comiskey Park, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.Attendance: 14,755. Their 5th contest.
63Win52–9–2 George KochanTKO9, 0:54Sep 7, 1945 Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, U.S.Kochan was knocked down by a left hook; the referee stopped at after he rose unsteady.
62Win51–9–2 Jose BasoraTKO9 Aug 10, 1945 Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, U.S.Attendance: 14,907.
61Win50–9–2 Tommy BellUD10Jul 6, 1945 Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, U.S.
60Win49–9–2 Bert LytellSD10Apr 27, 1945 Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
59Win48–9–2 Vic DellicurtiUD10Apr 20, 1945 St. Nicholas Rink, New York, New York, U.S.
58Win47–9–2 George CostnerKO6 Mar 26, 1945 Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.In round 6 Costner was dropped for a nine-count prior the knockout. Attendance was 11,115.
57Win46–9–2 Lou SchwartzKO1, 2:30Mar 19, 1945 U.S.O. Auditorium, Norfolk, Virginia, U.S.
56Loss45–9–2 Sugar Ray RobinsonUD10Feb 23, 1945 Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, U.S.Attendance: 18,060. Their 4th contest.
55Win45–8–2 George KochanTKO9 Nov 3, 1944 Olympia Stadium, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
54Win44–8–2 George KochanUD10Sep 29, 1944 Olympia Stadium, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
53Loss43–8–2 Lloyd MarshallUD10Apr 21, 1944 Arena, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
52Win43–7–2 Lou WoodsSD10Mar 31, 1944 Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.Woods was down in rounds 8 and 9.
51Win42–7–2 Coley WelchUD10Mar 17, 1944 Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
50Win41–7–2 Ossie HarrisSD10Feb 25, 1944 Olympia Stadium, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
49Win40–7–2 Ossie HarrisSD10Jan 28, 1944 Olympia Stadium, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
48Win39–7–2 Fritzie ZivicUD10Jan 14, 1944 Olympia Stadium, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
47Win38–7–2 Fritzie ZivicSD10Nov 12, 1943 Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, U.S.
46Win37–7–2 Johnny WalkerTKO2, 0:53Oct 11, 1943 Convention Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
45Win36–7–2 Jose BasoraUD10Sep 17, 1943 Olympia Stadium, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.LaMotta knocked Basora down four times in the 1st round, and once in the 2nd round.
44Loss35–7–2 Fritzie ZivicSD15Jul 12, 1943 Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
43Win35–6–2 Fritzie ZivicSD10Jun 10, 1943 Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
42Win34–6–2 Tony FerraraKO6 May 12, 1943 Music Hall Arena, Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
41Win33–6–2 Ossie HarrisUD10Mar 30, 1943 Duquesne Gardens, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
40Win32–6–2 Jimmy ReevesKO6 Mar 19, 1943 Olympia Stadium, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.In 6th round Reeves was floored for a one-count prior the knockout.
39Loss31–6–2 Sugar Ray RobinsonUD10Feb 26, 1943 Olympia Stadium, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.Robinson was floored in the 7th round for an eight-count. Attendance: 15,149. Their 3rd contest.
38Win31–5–2 Sugar Ray RobinsonUD10Feb 5, 1943 Olympia Stadium, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.Robinson was knocked through the ropes in the 8th round. Attendance: 18,930. Their 2nd contest.
37Win30–5–2 Charley HayesTKO6 Jan 22, 1943 Olympia Stadium, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.Hayes was floored for an eight-count in the second round.
36Win29–5–2 California Jackie WilsonPTS10Jan 15, 1943 Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, U.S.
35Win28–5–2 Jimmy EdgarSD10Jan 1, 1943 Olympia Stadium, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
34Win27–5–2 Henryk ChmielewskiUD10Nov 6, 1942 Mechanics Building, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
33Win26–5–2 Bill McDowellTKO5, 0:44Oct 20, 1942 Broadway Arena, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
32Loss25–5–2 Sugar Ray RobinsonUD10Oct 2, 1942 Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, U.S.Attendance: 12,784. Their 1st contest.
31Win25–4–2 Vic DellicurtiPTS10Sep 8, 1942 New York Coliseum, Bronx, New York, U.S.
30Win24–4–2 Jimmy EdgarPTS10Aug 28, 1942 Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, U.S.
29Win23–4–2 Lorenzo StricklandPTS8Jul 28, 1942 New York Coliseum, Bronx, New York, U.S.
28Loss22–4–2 Jose BasoraPTS10Jun 16, 1942 New York Coliseum, Bronx, New York, U.S.
27Win22–3–2 Vic DellicurtiPTS10Jun 2, 1942 New York Coliseum, Bronx, New York, U.S.
26Draw21–3–2 Jose BasoraPTS10May 12, 1942 New York Coliseum, Bronx, New York, U.S.
25Win21–3-1 Buddy O'DellPTS10Apr 21, 1942 New York Coliseum, Bronx, New York, U.S.
24Win20–3–1 Lou SchwartzKO9 Apr 7, 1942 New York Coliseum, Bronx, New York, U.S.
23Win19–3–1 Lorenzo StricklandPTS10Mar 18, 1942 New York Coliseum, Bronx, New York, U.S.
22Win18–3–1 Frankie JamisonPTS8Mar 3, 1942 New York Coliseum, Bronx, New York, U.S.
21Win17–3–1 Frankie JamisonPTS8Jan 27, 1942 New York Coliseum, Bronx, New York, U.S.
20Loss16–3–1 Nate BoldenMD10Dec 22, 1941 Marigold Gardens, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
19Win16–2–1 Jimmy CasaPTS6Nov 14, 1941 Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, U.S.
18Loss15–2–1 Jimmy ReevesUD10Oct 20, 1941 Arena, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
17Win15–1–1 Lorenzo StricklandPTS8Oct 7, 1941 Westchester County Center, White Plains, New York, U.S.
16Loss14–1–1 Jimmy ReevesSD10Sep 24, 1941 Arena, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.In round 9 Reeves went through the ropes for a nine-count. In the tenth he was down four times.
15Win14–0–1 Cliff KoerklePTS6Aug 11, 1941 New York Coliseum, Bronx, New York, U.S.
14Draw13–0–1 Joe ShikulaPTS6Aug 5, 1941 Queensboro Arena, Long Island City, Queens, New York, U.S.
13Win13–0 Joe BaynesPTS6Jul 15, 1941 Queensboro Arena, Long Island City, Queens, New York, U.S.
12Win12–0 Johnny MorrisKO3 Jun 23, 1941 Starlight Park, Bronx, New York, U.S.
11Win11–0 Lorenzo StricklandPTS6Jun 16, 1941 Starlight Park, Bronx, New York, U.S.
10Win10–0 Lorenzo StricklandPTS4Jun 9, 1941 Queensboro Arena, Woodhaven, Queens, New York, U.S.
9Win9–0 Johnny MorrisPTS4May 27, 1941 New York Coliseum, Bronx, New York, U.S.
8Win8–0 Johnny CihlarPTS4May 20, 1941 Broadway Arena, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
7Win7–0 Monroe CrewePTS4Apr 26, 1941 Ridgewood Grove, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
6Win6–0 Lorne McCarthyPTS4Apr 22, 1941 Westchester County Center, White Plains, New York, U.S.
5Win5–0 Stanley GoiczPTS4Apr 15, 1941 Westchester County Center, White Plains, New York, U.S.
4Win4–0 Joe FredericksTKO1, 1:36Apr 8, 1941 Westchester County Center, White Plains, New York, U.S.
3Win3–0 Johnny MorrisTKO4 Apr 1, 1941 Westchester County Center, White Plains, New York, U.S.
2Win2–0 Tony GilloPTS6Mar 14, 1941 Pyramid Mosque, Bridgeport, Connecticut, U.S.
1Win1–0 Charley MackleyPTS4Mar 3, 1941 St. Nicholas Rink, New York, New York, U.S.