Left to right: Jake LaMotta, Tony Canzoneri, Joe Calzaghe

THE DEFINITIVE LIST OF ALL-TIME GREAT ITALIAN-HERITAGE FIGHTERS (INCLUDING SOME YOU MIGHT NOT HAVE KNOWN ABOUT)

What follows is a list of the greatest Italian boxers of all time. Before proceeding, I want to make a few notes for the readers. Pay particular attention to the title of this piece. This is not a list of Italian American fighters, but rather, fighters of Italian ancestry from around the world, regardless of nationality. That includes boxers from Latin America, the U.K. and elsewhere.

More than two million Italians immigrated to Argentina from the mid-19th century through the mid-20th century. Today, around 30 million Argentines claim at least partial Italian heritage. The numbers are similar in Brazil. There are many Mexican and Mexican Americans of partial Italian ancestry as well, thus these groups from Latin America are all represented on the list below. 

Additionally, other boxers on this list are of mixed ancestry, but at least part Italian.

Lastly, I wanted to give a terrific resource for those of you who may be interested in studying this subject in more detail. I highly recommend The Real Rockys by Rolando Vitale (available on Amazon), which focuses specifically on Italian American boxing during the first half of the 20th century. Vitale’s book not only highlights the achievements of Italian American fighters in the ring, but the social hardships and systemic oppression they faced outside of it.

THE TOP 15

(Click “IBHOF” to visit inductees’ bio page on the International Boxing Hall of Fame website)

15. Rocky Graziano
Pro record: 67-10-6 (52 KOs), Middleweight champion, IBHOF

Born Thomas Rocco Barbella in New York City, Graziano is widely regarded as one of the best one-punch KO artists of all time. He fought in three straight Fights of the Year (1945-1947). After retirement, he got into acting and painting. The Oscar-winning film Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956) was based on his life story.

Rocky Graziano

14. Fidel LaBarba
Pro record: 69-15-7 (16 KOs), Flyweight champion, IBHOF

LaBarba won a gold medal as a flyweight at the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris. He famously battled Kid Chocolate three times, entering the third bout with a detached retina. Unfortunately, he went blind in the eye after the fight, causing a premature retirement. The eye eventually had to be removed.

13. Young Corbett III
Pro record: 122-12-20 (32 KOs), Welterweight champion, IBHOF

Born Raffaele Capabianca Giordano in Italy, Corbett’s family immigrated to the U.S. when he was a young boy and ultimately settled in Fresno, California. The southpaw had limited power but elite speed and athleticism. His great-grandson, Matt Giordano, played safety for several teams during a successful NFL career. 

12. Battling Battalino
Pro record: 57-26-3 (23 KOs), Featherweight champion, IBHOF

Battalino was born Chrisopher Battaglia to Italian immigrant parents in Hartford, Connecticut. He did not attend high school and labored in the tobacco fields as a teen. He would go on to become featherweight champion multiple times in his professional fighting career. After boxing, he settled in his hometown and worked in construction. 

Battling Battalino. (Photo by PA Images via Getty Images)

11. Sammy Angott
Pro record: 94-29-8 (22 KOs), Lightweight champion, IBHOF

Born Salvatore Engotti in Pennsylvania, “The Clutch” took on the best lightweights and welterweights of his era. He famously handed Willie Pep his first loss in a non-title lightweight bout.  

10. Duilio Loi
Pro record: 115-3-8 (26 KOs), Junior welterweight titleholder, IBHOF

Widely considered to be the greatest boxer to ever come from Italy, Loi is one of the rare fighters who avenged all his defeats in the ring. He went 3-2-1 during trilogies with fellow hall-of-famers Eddie Perkins and Carlos Ortiz. He was never knocked down or stopped in his career.

Duilio Loi (left) battles Carlos Ortiz. (Photo by KEYSTONE-FRANCE/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)

9. Nino Benvenuti
Pro record: 82-7-1 (35 KOs), Junior middleweight and middleweight champion, IBHOF

Benvenuti was born in a region of Italy that is now Slovenia. He won the welterweight gold medal for Italy at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome. As a pro, Benvenuti won the 1967 Fight of the Year against fellow hall-of-famer Emile Griffith to become the middleweight champion. He would lose the rematch five months later, but won the rubber match the following year. 

8. Lou Ambers
Pro record: 89-8-7 (28 KOs), Lightweight champion, IBHOF

Born Luigi Giuseppe D’Ambrosio in upstate New York, Ambers had wins over fellow hall-of-famers Cocoa Kid, Fritzie Zivic, Tony Canzoneri, Baby Arizmendi, Pedro Montanez and Henry Armstrong. After his retirement from boxing, Ambers served in the Coast Guard during World War II.

Lou Ambers

7. Johnny Dundee 
Pro record: (84-31-20, 17 KOs), Featherweight and junior lightweight champion, IBHOF

Born Giuseppe Curreri in Sicily, the “Scotch Wop” is often credited with being the first great Italian American fighter. In fact, he inspired several other Italian American fighters to adopt the “Dundee” pseudonym. His unofficial record, which includes newspaper decisions, lists him having 334 pro bouts. 

6. Joe Calzaghe
Pro record: 46-0 (32 KOs), Unified/Ring Magazine super middleweight titleholder, lineal/Ring Magazine light heavyweight champion, IBHOF 

Although he grew up in Wales born to a Welsh mother, Calzaghe’s father (and trainer), Enzo, was born in Italy. Nicknamed “The Italian Dragon,” Calzaghe won all four major world titles at one point during his super middleweight run but never held them simultaneously to be considered “undisputed.” At light heavyweight, the Welshman had wins over faded versions of all-time greats Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jr. Calzaghe is one of the few highly rated champions to retire undefeated.

5. Jake LaMotta
Pro record: 83-19-4 (30 KOs), Middleweight champion, IBHOF

Perhaps most known for handing the great Sugar Ray Robinson his first career loss, LaMotta’s autobiography, Raging Bull: My Story, was published in 1970 and made into a movie a decade later. The film was nominated for eight Academy Awards. Robert De Niro, who played LaMotta, won for Best Actor in a Leading Role. Many consider LaMotta to have the best chin in boxing history.

4. Carmen Basilio
Pro record: (56-16-7, 27 KOs), Welterweight and middleweight champion, IBHOF

Basilio, who served honorably in the United States Marine Corps, was born in Canastota, New York, home of the International Boxing Hall of Fame. He fought in five consecutive Ring Magazine Fight of the Year bouts from 1955 through 1959, winning Fighter of the Year honors in 1957. Basilio fought everybody during an absolutely loaded era, including hall-of-famers Billy Graham, Kid Gavilan, Tony DeMarco, Sugar Ray Robinson and Gene Fullmer.

Carmen Basilio drives Sugar Ray Robinson to the ropes in their 1958 rematch. (Photo by Ernst Haas/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

3. Rocky Marciano
Pro record: 49-0 (43 KOs), Heavyweight champion, IBHOF

Born Rocco Francis Marchegiano in Massachusetts, Marciano did not take up boxing until he served in the Army. Although undersized for a heavyweight, he fought with a ferocious tenacity that broke his opponents’ will. Known as one of the hardest pound-for-pound punchers in history, Marciano went 6-0 against fellow hall-of-fame big men Joe Louis, Jersey Joe Walcott, Ezzard Charles and Archie Moore. 

2. Tony Canzoneri
Pro record: 137-24-10 (44 KOs), Featherweight, lightweight and junior welterweight champion, IBHOF

Canzoneri fought 18 world champions and six hall-of-famers during one of the greatest careers in boxing history. He was stopped just once, in his final pro bout. Born in Louisiana, his family relocated to Staten Island, New York, when he was a teen. Most of his fights took place in New York. 

Willie Pep (Photo by Stanley Weston/Getty Images)

1. Willie Pep
Pro record: 229-11-1 (65 KOs), Featherweight champion, IBHOF

Born Guglielmo Papaleo, “Pep” is generally regarded as the greatest natural featherweight of all time. Many historians also consider him to be the greatest defensive fighter in boxing history. He fought nearly 2,000 rounds (1,956 to be exact) during a 241-fight pro career. In January 1947, he was involved in a plane crash that killed three passengers. Pep suffered serious injuries, including a broken leg and two broken vertebrae in his back. His record was 108-1-1 at the time of the crash. Despite the damage to his body from the crash, Pep would go on to fight nearly 20 more years, retiring in 1966.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Tony DeMarco
Pro record: 58-12-1 (33 KOs), Welterweight champion, IBHOF

Born Leonardo Liotta in Boston to Sicilian immigrants, DeMarco is beloved in Bean Town. In fact, a statue of his likeness was installed in Boston’s historic North End district 11 years ago. A street named “Tony DeMarco Way” exists in the same neighborhood. DeMarco had two great fights with Carmen Basilio in 1955, the second of which took Fight of the Year honors.

Arturo Gatti
Pro record: 40-9 (31 KOs), IBF Junior lightweight and WBC junior welterweight titleholder, IBHOF

Born in Italy and raised in Canada, Gatti participated in the Fight of the Year four times and was one of the most popular fighters of his era. He was willing to face anybody at any time, and his legendary trilogy with Micky Ward is celebrated as one of the best in boxing history. Clips of those fights (and other highlights from his action-packed career) continue to be posted and shared on social media today.

Joey Giardello
Pro record: 97-26-8 (30 KOs), Middleweight champion, IBHOF 

Giardello was born Carmine Orlando Tilelli in the Bedford-Stuyvesant district of Brooklyn. At 15 years old, young Carmine bought a birth certificate from a cousin named Joe Giardello and joined the U.S. Army at the end of World War II. In the ring, he fought Nigeria’s greatest all-time fighter (and fellow hall-of-famer) Dick Tiger four times, winning twice. Giardello won the 1962 Fight of the Year and had wins over the likes of Ray Robinson, Rubin Carter and others. 

Casper Leon
Pro record: 44-15-24 (15 KOs)

Born Gaspare Leoni (1872) in Sicily, “The Sicilian Swordfish” is seen by most historians as the pioneer of Italian American fighters. He went pro in 1891, weighing just over 100 pounds. Leon challenged for what was known in the era as the “Paperweight Title” (110 pounds) multiple times but came up short in each attempt. Still, his legacy is important, as many consider him “The Godfather of Italian American fighters.” 

Nicolino Locche
Pro record: 117-4-14 (14 KOs), WBA Junior welterweight titleholder, IBHOF

An idol in his native Argentina, Locche’s parents were originally from Italy. Although the defensive specialist compiled a professional record with over 100 wins, many of his fights were against lower-tier opposition. However, he did go 2-1-2 over five fights with fellow hall-of-famers Ismael Laguna, Carlos Ortiz, Eddie Perkins and Antonio Cervantes.

Ray Mancini
Pro record: 29-5 (23 KOs), WBA lightweight titleholder, IBHOF

Known as “Boom Boom,” the Youngstown, Ohio, native was a fan favorite of the early-1980s. Sadly, he is most known by casual fans for his fight with Deuk Koo Kim in 1982, which resulted in Kim’s death four days later. After the tragedy, the WBC reduced championship fights from 15 rounds to 12 rounds.

Joey Maxim
Pro record: 83-29-4 (22 KOs), Light heavyweight champion, IBHOF

Born Guiseppe Antonio Berardinelli, Maxim had over 200 amateur fights before turning professional. As a pro, he had multiple fights with Jersey Joe Walcott (three), Ezzard Charles (five) and Archie Moore (three). Maxim also handed Floyd Patterson his first pro loss and became the only fighter ever to stop Ray Robinson. 

Billy Petrolle
Pro record: 89-21-10 (65 KOs), IBHOF

Petrolle grew up in a boxing family, the brother of fellow boxers Pete and Frank. He never won a world title (that’s the only reason I kept him out of my top 15 above) but was a highly rated 135-140-pound contender during the 1930s. Petrolle fought the likes of Canzoneri (twice), Jackie “Kid” Berg, Jimmy McLarin (three times), Battling Battalino (twice) and Barney Ross (twice) – all fellow hall-of-famers. 

Midget Wolgast
Pro record: 144-36-15 (17 KOs), IBHOF

Born Joseph Robert Loscalzo in Philadelphia, Wolgast was one of the top flyweights of the 1930s and is considered one of the fastest boxers of all time. Many of his losses occurred late in his career, as he lost 17 of his last 25 bouts.

OTHER NOTABLES:

Bruno Arcari, Italian, 70-2-1 (38 KOs), WBC junior welterweight Titleholder

Vito Antuofermo, American (born in Italy), 50-7-2 (21 KOs), Middleweight champion

Fred Apostoli, American, 61-10-1 (31 KOs), Middleweight champion, IBHOF

Oscar Bonavena, Argentinian (born in Buenos Aires to Italian immigrants), 59-9-1 (44 KOs), Heavyweight contender

Primo Carnera, Italian, 88-14 (71 KOs), Heavyweight champion

Frankie Conley, Italian, 34-17-11 (16 KOs), Bantamweight champion

Bobby Czyz, American (half Italian, half Polish), 44-8 (28 KOs), IBF light heavyweight and WBA cruiserweight titleholder

Francesco Damiani, Italian, 30-2 (24 KOs), WBO heavyweight titleholder

Carl Duane, American, 44-16-6 (14 KOs), Junior featherweight champion

Joe Dundee, Italian, 85-22-11 (25 KOs), Welterweight champion

Vince Dundee, Italian, 118-19-14, 29 KOs), Middleweight champion

Luis Ángel Firpo, Argentinian (Italian father), 31-4 (26 KOs), Heavyweight Contender

Frankie Genaro, American, 80-20-8 (19 KOs), Flyweight champion, IBHOF

Pete Herman, American (born Peter Gugliotta in New Orleans), 61-13-9 (20 KOs), Bantamweight champion, IBHOF

Roland LaStarza, American, 57-9 (27 KOs), Heavyweight contender

Paulie Malignaggi, American, 36-8 (7 KOs), IBF junior welterweight and WBA welterweight titleholder

Sammy Mandell, American (born Saverio Mandala in Sicily), 88-22-10 (32 KOs), Lightweight champion, IBHOF

Rocky Mattioli, Australian (born in Italy), 64-7-2 (51 KOs), WBC junior middleweight titleholder 

Sandro Mazzinghi, Italian, 64-3 (42 KOs), Junior middleweight champion 

Gianfranco Rosi, Italian, 62-6-1 (18 KOs), WBC and IBF junior middleweight titleholder

Marty Servo, American, 47-4-2 (14 KOs), Welterweight champion

Johnny Wilson, American (born Giovanni Francesco Panica in New York), 49-21-2 (30 KOs), Middleweight champion

Michael Montero can be found on social media via @MonteroOnBoxing. His show “The Neutral Corner” can be seen every Monday on YouTube and heard on audio podcast platforms around the world.