Tony DeMarco (January 14, 1932 – October 11, 2021), born Leonardo Liotta,[1] was an American boxer and World Welterweight Champion.[2] Born to Sicilian immigrants from Sciacca (AG), Vincent and Giacomina, DeMarco grew up in the North End neighborhood of Boston.
Tony DeMarco | |
|---|---|
 DeMarco in 2010 | |
| Born | Leonardo Liotta January 14, 1932 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | October 11, 2021 (aged 89) Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Other names | Boston Bomber, The Flame and Fury of Fleet Street |
| Statistics | |
| Weight(s) | Welterweight |
| Height | 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 71 |
| Wins | 58 |
| Wins by KO | 33 |
| Losses | 12 |
| Draws | 1 |
DeMarco was also, for a short time, a resident of Phoenix, Arizona,[3] where he was a business owner and where he suffered the death of his young son by way of a car-bicycle collision.
Career
editDue to the minimum age of eighteen, in order to box professionally, Liotta used the baptismal certificate of Tony DeMarco so that he could compete.[4] DeMarco had his first professional fight when he was sixteen years old. On October 21, 1948, he knocked out Mestor Jones in one round.
DeMarco fought the top fighters in his division during the 1950s and defeated top contenders and champions like Paddy DeMarco, Teddy "Red Top" Davis, Chico Vejar, and Don Jordan. The highlight of his career came on April 1, 1955, when he scored a technical knock out (TKO) over Johnny Saxton in the 14th round of their title bout to capture the world's welterweight title.
Despite winning many bouts to become champion, he is best remembered for his two championship matches with hall of famer Carmen Basilio in 1955. Both fights were toe to toe slugfests with several ebbs and flows that kept the fans at the edges of their seats. Both fights ended in the 12th round with DeMarco suffering a TKO. In their first bout, DeMarco was the defending champion. He risked his title by taking on Basilio, who was the top ranked contender. Although Basilio prevailed, the fight was so exciting that the pair were rematched. The second fight was almost a carbon copy of the first with Basilio wearing down DeMarco, but not before a wicked DeMarco left hook had Basilio out on his feet. DeMarco was unable to capitalize on this advantage and lost the match on a 12-round TKO.
Legacy
edit
DeMarco's legacy is an undying part of Boston's history. Training under Boston greats such as Frankie Waters, DeMarco was able to sell out the Boston Garden, breaking attendance records. Mayor Thomas Menino even honored DeMarco with a street, named after him, in Boston's famous North End. The street, which is perpendicular to Atlantic Avenue, is named "Tony DeMarco Way".
DeMarco received many honors, including an induction in the Official National Italian American Hall of Fame in Chicago. Looking back on his career, DeMarco remarked "Mainly I consider myself a slugger." DeMarco once fought on the undercard to Rocky Marciano. Boxing, Boston and Tony DeMarco In his last bout, DeMarco won a ten-round decision over Stefan Redl in Boston on February 6, 1962.[5]
A statue of DeMarco unveiled on October 20, 2012, at the corners of Hanover and Cross Streets[6] in Boston's historic North End was designed by sculptor Harry Weber, and a full-length documentary by filmmaker Marino Amoruso based on DeMarco's autobiography Nardo: Memoirs of a Boxing Champion is in the works. DeMarco was also featured in "The Flame and Fury of Fleet Street," a segment of the documentary, Boston's North End: An Italian American Story.
DeMarco was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame as a member of the class of 2019.[7]
Professional boxing record
edit| 71 fights | 58 wins | 12 losses |
|---|---|---|
| By knockout | 33 | 7 |
| By decision | 25 | 5 |
| Draws | 1 | |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 71 | Win | 58–12–1 | Stefan Redl | UD | 10 | Feb 6, 1962 | Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
| 70 | Win | 57–12–1 | Don Jordan | KO | 2 (10) | Dec 19, 1961 | Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
| 69 | Loss | 56–12–1 | Denny Moyer | TKO | 2 (10) | Feb 10, 1960 | Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
| 68 | Win | 56–11–1 | Edward G. Connors | UD | 10 | Apr 20, 1959 | Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
| 67 | Win | 55–11–1 | George Monroe | TKO | 8 (10) | Mar 11, 1959 | Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
| 66 | Loss | 54–11–1 | Virgil Akins | TKO | 12 (15) | Jan 21, 1958 | Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | For Massachusetts world welterweight title |
| 65 | Loss | 54–10–1 | Virgil Akins | KO | 14 (15) | Oct 29, 1957 | Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | For vacant Massachusetts world welterweight title |
| 64 | Win | 54–9–1 | Walter Byars | MD | 10 | May 25, 1957 | Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
| 63 | Win | 53–9–1 | Larry Boardman | UD | 10 | Mar 30, 1957 | Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
| 62 | Win | 52–9–1 | Gaspar Ortega | UD | 10 | Feb 9, 1957 | Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
| 61 | Loss | 51–9–1 | Gaspar Ortega | SD | 10 | Dec 21, 1956 | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S. | |
| 60 | Loss | 51–8–1 | Gaspar Ortega | SD | 10 | Nov 23, 1956 | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S. | |
| 59 | Win | 51–7–1 | Kid Gavilán | UD | 10 | Oct 13, 1956 | Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
| 58 | Win | 50–7–1 | Vince Martinez | UD | 10 | Jun 16, 1956 | Fenway Park, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
| 57 | Win | 49–7–1 | Arthur Persley | UD | 10 | Apr 28, 1956 | Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
| 56 | Win | 48–7–1 | Wallace Bud Smith | TKO | 9 (10) | Mar 5, 1956 | Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
| 55 | Loss | 47–7–1 | Carmen Basilio | TKO | 12 (15) | Nov 30, 1955 | Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | For NYSAC, NBA, and The Ring welterweight titles |
| 54 | Win | 47–6–1 | Chico Vejar | TKO | 1 (10) | Sep 14, 1955 | Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
| 53 | Loss | 46–6–1 | Carmen Basilio | TKO | 12 (15) | Jun 10, 1955 | War Memorial Auditorium, Syracuse, New York, U.S. | Lost NYSAC, NBA, and The Ring welterweight titles |
| 52 | Win | 46–5–1 | Johnny Saxton | TKO | 14 (15) | Apr 1, 1955 | Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | Won NYSAC, NBA, and The Ring welterweight titles |
| 51 | Draw | 45–5–1 | Jimmy Carter | PTS | 10 | Feb 11, 1955 | Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
| 50 | Win | 45–5 | Pat Manzi | TKO | 1 (10) | Nov 6, 1954 | Arena, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
| 49 | Win | 44–5 | Chris Christensen | TKO | 6 (10) | Sep 25, 1954 | Arena, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
| 48 | Win | 43–5 | George Araujo | TKO | 5 (10) | Jul 12, 1954 | Fenway Park, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
| 47 | Win | 42–5 | Johnny Cesario | UD | 10 | May 22, 1954 | Arena, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
| 46 | Win | 41–5 | Carlos Chavez | UD | 10 | Apr 24, 1954 | Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
| 45 | Win | 40–5 | Wilbur Wilson | KO | 2 (10) | Mar 15, 1954 | Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
| 44 | Win | 39–5 | Wilbur Wilson | UD | 10 | Jan 18, 1954 | Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
| 43 | Win | 38–5 | Teddy Davis | UD | 10 | Dec 12, 1953 | Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
| 42 | Win | 37–5 | Paddy DeMarco | SD | 10 | Oct 10, 1953 | Mechanics Building, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
| 41 | Win | 36–5 | Chick Boucher | TKO | 6 (10) | Sep 19, 1953 | Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
| 40 | Win | 35–5 | Bertie Conn | TKO | 1 (10) | Sep 10, 1953 | Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
| 39 | Win | 34–5 | Terry Young | TKO | 5 (10) | Aug 3, 1953 | Mechanics Building, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
| 38 | Win | 33–5 | Pat Demers | TKO | 6 (10) | Jul 18, 1953 | Mechanics Building, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
| 37 | Win | 32–5 | Jimmy Redding | KO | 2 (8) | Jun 25, 1953 | Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
| 36 | Win | 31–5 | Ken Parsley | KO | 6 (8) | Jun 13, 1953 | Mechanics Building, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
| 35 | Loss | 30–5 | Gene Poirier | PTS | 8 | May 15, 1952 | Forum, Montreal, Quebec, Canada | |
| 34 | Loss | 30–4 | Brian Kelly | UD | 8 | May 1, 1952 | Forum, Montreal, Quebec, Canada | |
| 33 | Win | 30–3 | Puggy Brown | KO | 5 (6) | Mar 6, 1952 | Laurel Garden, Newark, New Jersey, U.S. | |
| 32 | Win | 29–3 | Jackie O'Brien | SD | 8 | Mar 1, 1952 | Ridgewood Grove, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, U.S. | |
| 31 | Win | 28–3 | Abdoul Ali | KO | 2 (4) | Feb 26, 1952 | Laurel Garden, Newark, New Jersey, U.S. | |
| 30 | Win | 27–3 | Freeman King | SD | 8 | Feb 18, 1952 | Rhode Island Auditorium, Providence, Rhode Island, U.S. | |
| 29 | Win | 26–3 | Julio Colon | KO | 3 (6) | Jan 26, 1952 | Ridgewood Grove, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, U.S. | |
| 28 | Win | 25–3 | Llewellyn Richardson | PTS | 6 | Jan 15, 1952 | Westchester County Center, White Plains, New York, U.S. | |
| 27 | Win | 24–3 | Manny Santos | TKO | 2 (6) | Dec 17, 1951 | Arena, Trenton, New Jersey, U.S. | |
| 26 | Win | 23–3 | Joe Torrens | PTS | 4 | Dec 7, 1951 | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S. | |
| 25 | Win | 22–3 | Stanley Hilliard | KO | 4 (6) | Nov 27, 1951 | Laurel Garden, Newark, New Jersey, U.S. | |
| 24 | Win | 21–3 | Freeman King | SD | 6 | Oct 1, 1951 | Mechanics Building, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
| 23 | Loss | 20–3 | Chick Boucher | TKO | 4 (4) | Mar 12, 1951 | Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
| 22 | Win | 20–2 | Reggie Martina | KO | 1 (4) | Feb 19, 1951 | Mechanics Building, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
| 21 | Win | 19–2 | Larry Griffin | UD | 8 | Jan 18, 1951 | Exposition Building, Portland, Oregon, U.S. | |
| 20 | Win | 18–2 | Ken Murray | KO | 2 (8) | Jan 11, 1951 | Exposition Building, Portland, Oregon, U.S. | |
| 19 | Win | 17–2 | Ken Murray | UD | 6 | Dec 11, 1950 | Mechanics Building, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
| 18 | Win | 16–2 | Joe Wright | UD | 6 | Oct 30, 1950 | Arena, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
| 17 | Win | 15–2 | Des Shanley | UD | 4 | Oct 9, 1950 | Valley Arena, Holyoke, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
| 16 | Win | 14–2 | Bobby Weaver | TKO | 3 (4) | Sep 25, 1950 | Valley Arena, Holyoke, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
| 15 | Win | 13–2 | Ricky Ferreira | PTS | 6 | Sep 19, 1950 | Page Arena, New Bedford, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
| 14 | Win | 12–2 | Roger Ringuette | TKO | 1 (4) | Jul 10, 1950 | Braves Field, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
| 13 | Win | 11–2 | Bobby Veal | KO | 2 (6) | Feb 20, 1950 | Mechanics Building, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
| 12 | Loss | 10–2 | Art Suffoletta | RTD | 5 (6) | Jan 9, 1950 | New Haven, Connecticut, U.S. | |
| 11 | Win | 10–1 | Frankie Steele | TKO | 3 (4) | Dec 19, 1949 | Mechanics Building, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
| 10 | Win | 9–1 | Frankie Steele | SD | 4 | Nov 14, 1949 | Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
| 9 | Win | 8–1 | Vic Young | TKO | 1 (6) | Oct 21, 1949 | Mechanics Building, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
| 8 | Loss | 7–1 | Jay White | PTS | 6 | Oct 7, 1949 | Providence, Rhode Island, U.S. | |
| 7 | Win | 7–0 | Roger Lessard | KO | 5 (6) | Sep 12, 1949 | Mechanics Building, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | Ray Dulmaine | RTD | 1 (6) | Feb 17, 1949 | Mechanics Building, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Joe Palaza | TKO | 2 (6) | Jan 14, 1949 | Mechanics Building, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | George Silva | PTS | 6 | Dec 14, 1948 | North Street Arena, Salem, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Billy Shea | TKO | 3 (4) | Dec 10, 1948 | Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Meteor Jones | KO | 2 (4) | Nov 16, 1948 | Salem Arena, Salem, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Meteor Jones | KO | 1 (6) | Oct 21, 1948 | Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Tony DeMarco". thecruelestsport. 3 June 2023.
- ^ "The Lineal Welterweight Champs". Cyber Boxing Zone.
- ^ Franklin, Bobby (12 December 2018). "Long Time Coming: Tony DeMarco To Finally Be Inducted Into Hall Of Fame". Retrieved 12 October 2021.
- ^ https://boxrec.com/wiki/index.php/Nardo:_Memoirs_of_a_Boxing_Champion [bare URL]
- ^ http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=260221&cat=boxer [dead link]
- ^ Conti, Matt (20 October 2012). "Tony DeMarco Statue Unveiled at Historic Ceremony in North End [Photos]". NorthEndWaterfront.com.
- ^ "Class of 2019 Announced in Canastota!". International Boxing Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2019-01-28.
External links
edit- Boxing record for Tony DeMarco from BoxRec (registration required)