Ferocious upstate NY fighter beat a legend, became one of the greatest boxers of all time

Carmen Basilio was a ferocious fighter whose grueling matches riveted the nation during the golden age of boxing in the mid-20th century.

The popular welterweight and middleweight champion was born on April 2, 1927, in Canastota and began working in the onion fields at age 5. The grueling work helped mold him into the fighter he became.

Ring Magazine called him an "honest fighter" who "squeezed out the very best of himself in every fight, which enabled him to achieve heights that lesser men with identical tools wouldn't have done."

That honesty and an unwillingness to back down served him in good stead as he battled mob influence over boxing during his boxing career and later testified before Congress in 1960 about the pay offs his managers had to make to get title fights.

His record is 56-16-7 with 27 knockouts, but from 1954-58, he dominated the sport, going 17-2-1 including 5-2 in world title fights. Twice he was voted Fighter of the Year by boxing writers and he took part in five straight Fights of the Year, two against the legendary Sugar Ray Robinson.

He also won Rochester's legendary Hickok Belt in 1957 as the nation's top professional athlete. When he was honored in Rochester in 1958, the crowd went nuts. Basilio managed to say a few words but couldn’t continue his speech, overcome with emotion.

After hanging up his gloves, Basilio, who lived in Rochester most of his adult life, became a skilled raconteur and served as spokesman for the Genesee Brewing Company and taught physical education at Le Moyne College in Syracuse for 21 years.

His career inspired organizers to build the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota. Basilio was inducted in the hall's first class, along with Robinson, Muhammad Ali, Rocky Marciano, Joe Louis and Jake LaMotta.

He died at 85 in 2012, and he was followed by his wife, Josephine, in 2022.

After his death, four belts belonging to Basilio were stolen along with other items from the Boxing Hall of Fame in 2015 and were melted down and sold as scrap by the thieves.

Bill Wolcott is a 30-year journalist who currently works as a producer for the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.