Archie Moore, defensive slips and rolls. Archie was indeed a slick, highly strategic defensive fighter. He stated that he learned defense first, viewing boxing as the true art of self-defense before focusing on other aspects of his game.
Up next, Carmen Basilio. He was called "The Onion Farmer" because he grew up working on his family's onion farm in Canastota, New York. He won the world welterweight title twice and the middleweight title by upsetting the great Sugar Ray Robinson in 1957. An all-time great and legitimately one of the toughest men to ever live, Basilio was an aggressive pressure fighter with an iron chin and great stamina, who wore opponents down with vicious body and head shots. He was involved in some of the most brutal and action-packed fights the sport has ever seen, it's why he won The Ring magazine's "Fight of the Year" for five consecutive years (1955–1959) . His 1957 masterpiece against Sugar Ray Robinson, is one of my favorite fights to rewatch, Basilio stuck to Robinson's chest for 15 rounds, applying vicious pressure and walking through everything the Sugar man throws at him is popcorn-worthy. Most fighters would try to keep their distance from a puncher like Sugar Ray Robinson, who had knockout power in both hands and put 101 men to sleep, but Basilio thrived in the danger zone. His two wars of attrition with Tony DeMarco, "The Boston Bomber" were nothing short of epic, the two men took each other to hell. Legendary fighter is Carmen Basilio. We'll start off with the 1991 Kayo - Carmen Basilio. Love this set.
1998 Futera Platinum - Boxing Legends #/1250 - Carmen Basilio. An absolutely savage image to put on a card, Carmen Basilio and a battered and bloody Johnny Saxton.
Johnny Saxton was a real mysterious fighter, he was managed by Frank "Blinky" Palermo, a notorious member of the organized crime family in Philadelphia, Saxton's career is often married by rumors of shady dealings. He was a two-time welterweight champion and holds wins over Joey Giardello, Ralph "Tiger" Jones, Kid Gavilan, Johnny Bratton, and Carmen Basilio himself. This is a photo of "Blinky" Palermo lifting up Johnny Saxton after winning the welterweight title against Kid Gavilan in 1954. I know that Kid Gavilan said afterwards that the fight was "fixed."
I've said it before and I'll say it again, it's a real shame that organized crime corrupted a lot of great fighters and deprived us of a lot of great fights with authentic results. I don't blame the fighters, the mob was nothing to play around with, they were extremely violent and wouldn't hesitate to use that violence against you or your family if you refused to play ball with them. Imagine being a fighter and saying no to the mob, only to go home one day and find your loved one lying on the floor with a bullet behind the ear. The mob didn't like taking "no" as an answer, especially when it involved making a lot of money. Johnny Saxton was a very good fighter, it's a shame he didn't get an opportunity to come up the right way.
2000 JF Sporting Collectibles - Boxers: World Champions - Carmen Basilio. I know this series used some magazine covers for the artwork on the cards, this is as close as I could get to a match for this card.
The sport of boxing has appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated 189 times. Muhammad Ali appeared on 40 of those covers. Mike Tyson appeared on 16 of them. Whenever a boxer appears on the cover of SI, they've made a name for themselves. Carmen Basilio appeared on the cover three times. This cover is my favorite, February 25, 1957, shortly before his third fight with Johnny Saxton. The image on the cover is epic, Saxton is peering down at Basilio in an intimidating manner. Carmen Basilio is looking away and the expression on his face says it all. Carmen Basilio was hard as nails, he couldn't be intimidated.
That image on the cover of SI was from the weigh-in before their third fight, here's another image from the weigh-in and you can see the stone-cold look on Basilio's face. They fought three times, Saxton won the first fight by unanimous 15-round decision and took Basilio's welterweight crown. It pissed him off. In the next two fights, he took it out on Saxton. In the second fight he TKO'd Saxton in the 9th and regained his welterweight crown. In the third fight, Saxton didn't last three rounds.
These are images from September 12, 1956, the second fight between Carmen Basilio and Johnny Saxton, the night Basilio regained his welterweight title. The pressure and sheer brutality of Carmen Basilio did Saxton in, Saxton's face was a mess, battered and cut to pieces.
Credit: Boxing History on Facebook:
"Carmen Basilio scored a brutal 9th round TKO of Johnny Saxton as he regained the welterweight title at the War Memorial Auditorium in Syracuse, New York on September 12th in 1956.
Basilio captured the title from Tony DeMarco about 18 months earlier and beat him in an exciting rematch before losing the title to Saxton by controversial decision in their first fight. Another fight was a natural matchup, and this time Basilio left no doubt.
Saxton foolishly stood and traded with Basilio in the first several rounds, and despite winning a few of them, he stayed inside too long and ate too many hard body shots. Saxton attempted to go back to his natural tactics of movement and jabs, but he'd used up too much energy.
In round 7, Saxton got a bad cut in his mouth as Basilio opened up. Saxton's very experienced cutman Whitey Bimstein would later claim it was the worst cut he'd ever seen. The cut combined with the pressure took everything out of Saxton, and by the 9th he was helpless against Basilio's onslaught and the fight was ended by the referee."
Carmen Basilio had a pre-fight and post-fight ritual of kneeling down in the ring to say a prayer of thanks. Before the fight he prayed to God for three things: that he would win, that neither he nor his opponent would be hurt, and that the crowd would enjoy a good fight. If even one of those prayers was answered, after the fight he would drop to his knees and say a "Hail Mary" to thank God, noting that he was never ashamed to show his gratitude. This is a photo of Carmen kneeling down after regaining his welterweight crown from Johnny Saxton in 1956.
In the third fight between Carmen Basilio and Johnny Saxton, Basilio left no doubt as he got Saxton with a left hook in the 2nd round. Saxton beat the count but the referee could see that he was in no condition to continue and stopped the fight.
Carmen Basilio's second appearance on the cover of Sports Illustrated was on the March 24, 1957 issue, shortly before his first fight with Sugar Ray Robinson. He appears on the cover in his white and red robe, looking up towards the sky as if he knows the storm is gathering and the biggest fight of his career is on the horizon.
His third appearance on the cover of Sports Illustrated was on the September 16, 1957 issue. Just days before his first encounter with Sugar Ray Robinson. It's an epic cover, with an image of Carmen sitting at home with his boxing trophies in the background, an intense, serious look on his face.
Carmen Basilio vs Sugar Ray Robinson I, September 23, 1957. This is one of my favorite fights to rewatch. Sugar Ray Robinson is considered by many, including myself, to be the greatest pound-for-pound fighter that ever lived, he could do it all and he had it all. The most complete fighter I've ever seen. But this was to be Carmen Basilio's show. He moved up in weight to fight Sugar Ray Robinson because he believed that he could impose himself on Robinson, make Robinson fight his fight, and he did it. Relentless pressure. Carmen Basilio used aggressive, high-pace pressure to force Sugar Ray Robinson to fight at close quarters. He wore Robinson down with vicious, crashing punches and left hooks to the body. Basilio controlled the tempo and forced Robinson to fight entirely on his terms for most of the grueling 15 rounds. Two of the officials favored Basilio's offensive output and work rate, handing him the split decision (scoring it 9-5-1 and 8-6-1). Named The Ring Fight of the Year, the historic upset made Basilio a two-division world champion.
Boxing News 24
Sugar Ray Robinson Meets His Match in Carmen Basilio
Carmen Basilio did not outclass Sugar Ray Robinson on September 23, 1957. He defeated him by denying the great champion the space and pace he needed. For 15 rounds at Yankee Stadium, Basilio made superior skill share the ring with stubbornness, body punching, and physical pressure.
At 36, Robinson was defending the world middleweight championship for the first time since knocking out Gene Fullmer with his famous left hook almost five months earlier. Basilio was 30, held the welterweight crown and weighed only 154 pounds against Robinson’s 160.
The champion also held a five-inch height advantage, standing 5 feet 11 inches to Basilio’s 5 feet 6½ inches. That difference favored him at long range but helped Basilio once he got inside. His lower position allowed him to crowd beneath Robinson’s shoulders and leave little room for the sweeping left hook that had knocked out Fullmer.
Using his height, reach and faster hands, Robinson moved around Basilio, stabbed him with the jab and fired combinations before trying to regain space. Basilio followed without wasting energy on a fast pursuit. He narrowed the ring, hooked to the body and waited for Robinson to stop moving.
By the second round, their tactical contest had already become a fight. Basilio bored inside while Robinson answered with short hooks before backing away. They continued punching after the bell in the third, an early indication that neither man intended to concede physical ground.
A cut opened over Basilio’s left eye in the fifth. Robinson repeatedly found it with his jab, but Basilio treated every clean punch as an entrance fee. Once through the champion’s reach, he attacked the ribs and made Robinson work before he could escape.
Accuracy and movement gave Robinson much of the first six rounds. Those exchanges were costing Basilio, but they had not driven him from his plan. His body punching was an investment in the later rounds. Each hook to the ribs reduced the spring in Robinson’s legs and made the next attempt to create room more expensive.
Brief pauses between combinations normally allowed Robinson to reset his feet and select the next attack. Basilio removed them by following through the jab and immediately renewing the fight. Robinson could finish an assault, but he rarely had time to settle afterward.
Basilio Turns Pressure Into Control
The balance changed in the seventh when Basilio drove a left hook into Robinson’s jaw, followed with a right to the body and another shot upstairs. He had reached his preferred range. Robinson could still land the sharper punches, but he was no longer deciding where the exchanges took place.
Inside, Robinson’s height became less useful. His arms were forced into shorter arcs, reducing the leverage on his hooks. Basilio had room to dig compact punches into the ribs while keeping his head beneath the most dangerous lines of fire.
The eighth, ninth and tenth increasingly belonged to Basilio. During the ninth, Robinson found himself on the ropes as punches came from both hands. He looked tired, and each attempt to restore the jab led to another collision at close range.
Round 11 became the center of the fight. Robinson found another supply of energy and snapped jabs into Basilio’s damaged eye before opening up with combinations. Basilio absorbed the attack, forced him to the ropes and answered with a sustained assault of his own. Robinson covered, clinched and then fired back. Neither man gained command for long enough to rest.
The 12th brought another Robinson rally. His jab, straight right and left hook worsened the damage around Basilio’s eye and opened his nose. Still moving forward, Basilio returned to the body whenever the combinations ended.
During much of the 13th, Basilio looked stronger as he doubled his hooks from the body to the head. Robinson then produced one of his largest punches of the night, a late left hook that shook Basilio and nearly dropped him.
A hard right to the body folded Basilio in the 14th, but Robinson lacked the energy to sustain the attack. His best punches still carried greater speed and precision. Basilio’s advantage was that he required less recovery before starting again.
For the 15th, Robinson tried to box behind his jab and clinch whenever Basilio reached him. His mouth was open, and his movement no longer created enough separation.
Walking through the jab, Basilio drove a right into the body and followed with punches to the head. Robinson launched one final charge, but Basilio met him and continued throwing until the bell. They touched gloves after completing 15 rounds without a knockdown.
Referee Al Berl favored Robinson nine rounds to six. Judges Bill Recht and Artie Aidala gave Basilio the split decision, with Recht scoring it 8-6-1 and Aidala 9-5-1. A poll of 47 ringside writers leaned toward Basilio, 26 to 17, with four scoring it even. The Associated Press had the fight level at 6-6-3.
The scoring divided observers because the officials were judging two different forms of command. Robinson landed with greater precision and produced the larger individual moments. Basilio determined the range, sustained the pace, and made Robinson fight on his terms. Two officials valued that offensive initiative more heavily.
Under the rules then used by the New York State Athletic Commission, Basilio could not retain championships in two divisions. Winning the middleweight crown automatically ended his welterweight reign when the decision was announced.
Six months later, Robinson reclaimed the middleweight title by split decision at Chicago Stadium, winning it for a record fifth time. Basilio fought much of that rematch with his left eye swollen shut.
The Ring selected each meeting as its Fight of the Year. The first belonged to Basilio’s pressure, the second to Robinson’s adjustment, and neither man escaped without giving up part of himself.
Wicked image of Carmen sitting in his corner, in the heat of brutal physical combat with one of the most dangerous fighters in the history of this sport. And make no mistake about it, Robinson was lethal, with knockout power in both hands, just 3 and a half months prior to this fight he took out the granite-chinned Gene Fullmer with arguably the greatest left hook ever thrown, the only time in Fullmer's 64-fight career that we was knocked out.
But Carmen Basilio had a legendary chin as well, he was knocked down only one time in his 79-fight career. When he beat Robinson in their first fight, he shook off punches that would have knocked down an elephant.
This is the money shot from the fight. Basilio landing a brutal right hand that turns Robinson's head sideways and sends the sweat from his head spraying into the air upon impact.
Carmen Basilio after the decision was announced that he was the new World Middleweight Champion. Legendary trainer and cornerman Angelo Dundee is pictured (second from left), holding up Carmen. Angelo Dundee worked with Carmen Basilio as a cornerman starting around 1955 through 1957, a span of roughly two to three years during Basilio's peak championship run. Carmen was the very first world champion Angelo worked with in his corner. Angelo later called Carmen Basilio the "toughest guy in gloves I ever saw".
Comments
Archie Moore training at his camp in North Adams, Massachusetts, in 1955 for the Marciano fight.
My favorite Archie Moore Ring magazine cover, January 1955.
Archie Moore as the World Light Heavyweight Champion wearing his crown.
Archie Moore, defensive slips and rolls. Archie was indeed a slick, highly strategic defensive fighter. He stated that he learned defense first, viewing boxing as the true art of self-defense before focusing on other aspects of his game.
"The Old Mongoose", Archie Moore, one of the greatest to ever do it and one of the hardest hitters in boxing history.
And now, a word from The J. Geils Band.
Up next, Carmen Basilio. He was called "The Onion Farmer" because he grew up working on his family's onion farm in Canastota, New York. He won the world welterweight title twice and the middleweight title by upsetting the great Sugar Ray Robinson in 1957. An all-time great and legitimately one of the toughest men to ever live, Basilio was an aggressive pressure fighter with an iron chin and great stamina, who wore opponents down with vicious body and head shots. He was involved in some of the most brutal and action-packed fights the sport has ever seen, it's why he won The Ring magazine's "Fight of the Year" for five consecutive years (1955–1959) . His 1957 masterpiece against Sugar Ray Robinson, is one of my favorite fights to rewatch, Basilio stuck to Robinson's chest for 15 rounds, applying vicious pressure and walking through everything the Sugar man throws at him is popcorn-worthy. Most fighters would try to keep their distance from a puncher like Sugar Ray Robinson, who had knockout power in both hands and put 101 men to sleep, but Basilio thrived in the danger zone. His two wars of attrition with Tony DeMarco, "The Boston Bomber" were nothing short of epic, the two men took each other to hell. Legendary fighter is Carmen Basilio. We'll start off with the 1991 Kayo - Carmen Basilio. Love this set.
1998 Futera Platinum - Boxing Legends #/1250 - Carmen Basilio. An absolutely savage image to put on a card, Carmen Basilio and a battered and bloody Johnny Saxton.
Johnny Saxton was a real mysterious fighter, he was managed by Frank "Blinky" Palermo, a notorious member of the organized crime family in Philadelphia, Saxton's career is often married by rumors of shady dealings. He was a two-time welterweight champion and holds wins over Joey Giardello, Ralph "Tiger" Jones, Kid Gavilan, Johnny Bratton, and Carmen Basilio himself. This is a photo of "Blinky" Palermo lifting up Johnny Saxton after winning the welterweight title against Kid Gavilan in 1954. I know that Kid Gavilan said afterwards that the fight was "fixed."
I've said it before and I'll say it again, it's a real shame that organized crime corrupted a lot of great fighters and deprived us of a lot of great fights with authentic results. I don't blame the fighters, the mob was nothing to play around with, they were extremely violent and wouldn't hesitate to use that violence against you or your family if you refused to play ball with them. Imagine being a fighter and saying no to the mob, only to go home one day and find your loved one lying on the floor with a bullet behind the ear. The mob didn't like taking "no" as an answer, especially when it involved making a lot of money. Johnny Saxton was a very good fighter, it's a shame he didn't get an opportunity to come up the right way.
2011 Ringside Boxing Round Two - Turkey Red - Base - Carmen Basilio.
2011 Ringside Boxing Round Two - Turkey Red - Base - Carmen Basilio.
1996 Ringside - Spotlights In The Ring - Silver - Blank Back Proof - Carmen Basilio
I actually own the type 1 original photo of that image of Carmen Basilio. Here it is.
2000 JF Sporting Collectibles - Boxers: World Champions - Carmen Basilio. I know this series used some magazine covers for the artwork on the cards, this is as close as I could get to a match for this card.
2011 Ringside Boxing Round Two - Base - Carmen Basilio.
2013 Element Authentics - Ringside Boxing Cut Signature - Carmen Basilio.
1996 International Boxing Hall of Fame - Boxing Legends - Carmen Basilio.
1991 Victoria Gallery - Boxing Champions - Blue Back - Carmen Basilio.
2002 Rockwell Publishing - The Great Middleweights - Blue Back - Carmen Basilio.
1991 All World - Carmen Basilio.
Police Gazette - Gallery of Champions - Carmen Basilio.
1968 Mira Tuttosport - Carmen Basilio. Best I can do on the photo.
1956 Swedish Rekord - Eilert Maatta/Carmen Basilio. Couldn't find the photo for this one, I never have much luck with this series.
1947-66 Exhibits - Carmen Basilio. Can't find the photo to match up with this one either, awesome card though.
The sport of boxing has appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated 189 times. Muhammad Ali appeared on 40 of those covers. Mike Tyson appeared on 16 of them. Whenever a boxer appears on the cover of SI, they've made a name for themselves. Carmen Basilio appeared on the cover three times. This cover is my favorite, February 25, 1957, shortly before his third fight with Johnny Saxton. The image on the cover is epic, Saxton is peering down at Basilio in an intimidating manner. Carmen Basilio is looking away and the expression on his face says it all. Carmen Basilio was hard as nails, he couldn't be intimidated.
That image on the cover of SI was from the weigh-in before their third fight, here's another image from the weigh-in and you can see the stone-cold look on Basilio's face. They fought three times, Saxton won the first fight by unanimous 15-round decision and took Basilio's welterweight crown. It pissed him off. In the next two fights, he took it out on Saxton. In the second fight he TKO'd Saxton in the 9th and regained his welterweight crown. In the third fight, Saxton didn't last three rounds.
One more image from the weigh-in, you can just tell Carmen Basilio is not a guy to be messed with and didn't appreciate the effort to intimidate him.
These are images from September 12, 1956, the second fight between Carmen Basilio and Johnny Saxton, the night Basilio regained his welterweight title. The pressure and sheer brutality of Carmen Basilio did Saxton in, Saxton's face was a mess, battered and cut to pieces.
Credit: Boxing History on Facebook:
"Carmen Basilio scored a brutal 9th round TKO of Johnny Saxton as he regained the welterweight title at the War Memorial Auditorium in Syracuse, New York on September 12th in 1956.
Basilio captured the title from Tony DeMarco about 18 months earlier and beat him in an exciting rematch before losing the title to Saxton by controversial decision in their first fight. Another fight was a natural matchup, and this time Basilio left no doubt.
Saxton foolishly stood and traded with Basilio in the first several rounds, and despite winning a few of them, he stayed inside too long and ate too many hard body shots. Saxton attempted to go back to his natural tactics of movement and jabs, but he'd used up too much energy.
In round 7, Saxton got a bad cut in his mouth as Basilio opened up. Saxton's very experienced cutman Whitey Bimstein would later claim it was the worst cut he'd ever seen. The cut combined with the pressure took everything out of Saxton, and by the 9th he was helpless against Basilio's onslaught and the fight was ended by the referee."
Carmen Basilio had a pre-fight and post-fight ritual of kneeling down in the ring to say a prayer of thanks. Before the fight he prayed to God for three things: that he would win, that neither he nor his opponent would be hurt, and that the crowd would enjoy a good fight. If even one of those prayers was answered, after the fight he would drop to his knees and say a "Hail Mary" to thank God, noting that he was never ashamed to show his gratitude. This is a photo of Carmen kneeling down after regaining his welterweight crown from Johnny Saxton in 1956.
In the third fight between Carmen Basilio and Johnny Saxton, Basilio left no doubt as he got Saxton with a left hook in the 2nd round. Saxton beat the count but the referee could see that he was in no condition to continue and stopped the fight.
Carmen Basilio's second appearance on the cover of Sports Illustrated was on the March 24, 1957 issue, shortly before his first fight with Sugar Ray Robinson. He appears on the cover in his white and red robe, looking up towards the sky as if he knows the storm is gathering and the biggest fight of his career is on the horizon.
His third appearance on the cover of Sports Illustrated was on the September 16, 1957 issue. Just days before his first encounter with Sugar Ray Robinson. It's an epic cover, with an image of Carmen sitting at home with his boxing trophies in the background, an intense, serious look on his face.
This is a photo from that September 16, 1957 Sports Illustrated shoot.
Carmen Basilio vs Sugar Ray Robinson I, September 23, 1957. This is one of my favorite fights to rewatch. Sugar Ray Robinson is considered by many, including myself, to be the greatest pound-for-pound fighter that ever lived, he could do it all and he had it all. The most complete fighter I've ever seen. But this was to be Carmen Basilio's show. He moved up in weight to fight Sugar Ray Robinson because he believed that he could impose himself on Robinson, make Robinson fight his fight, and he did it. Relentless pressure. Carmen Basilio used aggressive, high-pace pressure to force Sugar Ray Robinson to fight at close quarters. He wore Robinson down with vicious, crashing punches and left hooks to the body. Basilio controlled the tempo and forced Robinson to fight entirely on his terms for most of the grueling 15 rounds. Two of the officials favored Basilio's offensive output and work rate, handing him the split decision (scoring it 9-5-1 and 8-6-1). Named The Ring Fight of the Year, the historic upset made Basilio a two-division world champion.
Boxing News 24
Sugar Ray Robinson Meets His Match in Carmen Basilio
Carmen Basilio did not outclass Sugar Ray Robinson on September 23, 1957. He defeated him by denying the great champion the space and pace he needed. For 15 rounds at Yankee Stadium, Basilio made superior skill share the ring with stubbornness, body punching, and physical pressure.
At 36, Robinson was defending the world middleweight championship for the first time since knocking out Gene Fullmer with his famous left hook almost five months earlier. Basilio was 30, held the welterweight crown and weighed only 154 pounds against Robinson’s 160.
The champion also held a five-inch height advantage, standing 5 feet 11 inches to Basilio’s 5 feet 6½ inches. That difference favored him at long range but helped Basilio once he got inside. His lower position allowed him to crowd beneath Robinson’s shoulders and leave little room for the sweeping left hook that had knocked out Fullmer.
Using his height, reach and faster hands, Robinson moved around Basilio, stabbed him with the jab and fired combinations before trying to regain space. Basilio followed without wasting energy on a fast pursuit. He narrowed the ring, hooked to the body and waited for Robinson to stop moving.
By the second round, their tactical contest had already become a fight. Basilio bored inside while Robinson answered with short hooks before backing away. They continued punching after the bell in the third, an early indication that neither man intended to concede physical ground.
A cut opened over Basilio’s left eye in the fifth. Robinson repeatedly found it with his jab, but Basilio treated every clean punch as an entrance fee. Once through the champion’s reach, he attacked the ribs and made Robinson work before he could escape.
Accuracy and movement gave Robinson much of the first six rounds. Those exchanges were costing Basilio, but they had not driven him from his plan. His body punching was an investment in the later rounds. Each hook to the ribs reduced the spring in Robinson’s legs and made the next attempt to create room more expensive.
Brief pauses between combinations normally allowed Robinson to reset his feet and select the next attack. Basilio removed them by following through the jab and immediately renewing the fight. Robinson could finish an assault, but he rarely had time to settle afterward.
Basilio Turns Pressure Into Control
The balance changed in the seventh when Basilio drove a left hook into Robinson’s jaw, followed with a right to the body and another shot upstairs. He had reached his preferred range. Robinson could still land the sharper punches, but he was no longer deciding where the exchanges took place.
Inside, Robinson’s height became less useful. His arms were forced into shorter arcs, reducing the leverage on his hooks. Basilio had room to dig compact punches into the ribs while keeping his head beneath the most dangerous lines of fire.
The eighth, ninth and tenth increasingly belonged to Basilio. During the ninth, Robinson found himself on the ropes as punches came from both hands. He looked tired, and each attempt to restore the jab led to another collision at close range.
Round 11 became the center of the fight. Robinson found another supply of energy and snapped jabs into Basilio’s damaged eye before opening up with combinations. Basilio absorbed the attack, forced him to the ropes and answered with a sustained assault of his own. Robinson covered, clinched and then fired back. Neither man gained command for long enough to rest.
The 12th brought another Robinson rally. His jab, straight right and left hook worsened the damage around Basilio’s eye and opened his nose. Still moving forward, Basilio returned to the body whenever the combinations ended.
During much of the 13th, Basilio looked stronger as he doubled his hooks from the body to the head. Robinson then produced one of his largest punches of the night, a late left hook that shook Basilio and nearly dropped him.
A hard right to the body folded Basilio in the 14th, but Robinson lacked the energy to sustain the attack. His best punches still carried greater speed and precision. Basilio’s advantage was that he required less recovery before starting again.
For the 15th, Robinson tried to box behind his jab and clinch whenever Basilio reached him. His mouth was open, and his movement no longer created enough separation.
Walking through the jab, Basilio drove a right into the body and followed with punches to the head. Robinson launched one final charge, but Basilio met him and continued throwing until the bell. They touched gloves after completing 15 rounds without a knockdown.
Referee Al Berl favored Robinson nine rounds to six. Judges Bill Recht and Artie Aidala gave Basilio the split decision, with Recht scoring it 8-6-1 and Aidala 9-5-1. A poll of 47 ringside writers leaned toward Basilio, 26 to 17, with four scoring it even. The Associated Press had the fight level at 6-6-3.
The scoring divided observers because the officials were judging two different forms of command. Robinson landed with greater precision and produced the larger individual moments. Basilio determined the range, sustained the pace, and made Robinson fight on his terms. Two officials valued that offensive initiative more heavily.
Under the rules then used by the New York State Athletic Commission, Basilio could not retain championships in two divisions. Winning the middleweight crown automatically ended his welterweight reign when the decision was announced.
Six months later, Robinson reclaimed the middleweight title by split decision at Chicago Stadium, winning it for a record fifth time. Basilio fought much of that rematch with his left eye swollen shut.
The Ring selected each meeting as its Fight of the Year. The first belonged to Basilio’s pressure, the second to Robinson’s adjustment, and neither man escaped without giving up part of himself.
Some savage images from Basilio vs Robinson I.
Wicked image of Carmen sitting in his corner, in the heat of brutal physical combat with one of the most dangerous fighters in the history of this sport. And make no mistake about it, Robinson was lethal, with knockout power in both hands, just 3 and a half months prior to this fight he took out the granite-chinned Gene Fullmer with arguably the greatest left hook ever thrown, the only time in Fullmer's 64-fight career that we was knocked out.
But Carmen Basilio had a legendary chin as well, he was knocked down only one time in his 79-fight career. When he beat Robinson in their first fight, he shook off punches that would have knocked down an elephant.
This is a money shot from the fight.
This is a famous shot from the fight that appears on the cover of a book about Carmen Basilio.
Basilio slips a punch from Robinson. My goodness, Robinson has murder in his eye.
Savage image of a bleeding Carmen Basilio.
This is the money shot from the fight. Basilio landing a brutal right hand that turns Robinson's head sideways and sends the sweat from his head spraying into the air upon impact.
Carmen Basilio after the decision was announced that he was the new World Middleweight Champion. Legendary trainer and cornerman Angelo Dundee is pictured (second from left), holding up Carmen. Angelo Dundee worked with Carmen Basilio as a cornerman starting around 1955 through 1957, a span of roughly two to three years during Basilio's peak championship run. Carmen was the very first world champion Angelo worked with in his corner. Angelo later called Carmen Basilio the "toughest guy in gloves I ever saw".
This is a photo of Carmen Basilio kneeling in prayer after the epic battle with Sugar Ray Robinson.
I actually own a type 1 original photo of the image of Carmen Basilio praying after beating Robinson and winning the undisputed Middleweight crown.
Carmen Basilio and Sugar Ray Robinson on the cover of The Ring magazine after the fight.