Boxing Coverage on Sherdog.comBoxing’s Greats of the States | Vermont: Young Firpo
Boxers come from every corner of the globe. Sometimes, fighters
are products of their environment, favoring styles prevalent in the
country or state from which they hail. Various regions of the
United States are considered factories for great fighters, though
that certainly is not the case with each state. In this weekly
Sherdog.com series, the spotlight will shine on the best boxer of
all-time from each of the 50 states. Fighters do not necessarily
need to be born in a given state to represent it; they simply need
to be associated with it.
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Born Guido Bardelli on April 25, 1907 in Barre, Vermont, Young Firpo enjoyed a terrific career, took on many of his generation’s best fighters and retired with a 74-15-3 record and 43 knockouts. He stands head and shoulders above all other boxers linked to the “Green Mountain State.”
Though Firpo captured the Pacific Coast light heavyweight championship and defended it five times, he was never afforded the opportunity to fight for a world title at the weight. A relentless aggressor with excellent power in his fists, he battled Wesley Ketchell, George Manley, Tiger Jack Fox, John Henry Lewis and countless others, but a proposed mega-fight with Maxie Rosenbloom unfortunately never came to fruition.
Firpo beat Bill Grenich in his pro debut on Dec. 1, 1924 and defeated Tiger Bob Noonan in his final appearance on Nov. 11, 1947. He was inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame in 2008, some 24 years after he died at the age of 77.
HONORABLE MENTIONS: Buster Beaupre
Born Guido Bardelli on April 25, 1907 in Barre, Vermont, Young Firpo enjoyed a terrific career, took on many of his generation’s best fighters and retired with a 74-15-3 record and 43 knockouts. He stands head and shoulders above all other boxers linked to the “Green Mountain State.”
Though Firpo captured the Pacific Coast light heavyweight championship and defended it five times, he was never afforded the opportunity to fight for a world title at the weight. A relentless aggressor with excellent power in his fists, he battled Wesley Ketchell, George Manley, Tiger Jack Fox, John Henry Lewis and countless others, but a proposed mega-fight with Maxie Rosenbloom unfortunately never came to fruition.
Firpo beat Bill Grenich in his pro debut on Dec. 1, 1924 and defeated Tiger Bob Noonan in his final appearance on Nov. 11, 1947. He was inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame in 2008, some 24 years after he died at the age of 77.
HONORABLE MENTIONS: Buster Beaupre
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