Rated at Light Heavyweight Wins by KO 47 Martial art Boxing Losses 9 Wins 48 Role Boxer Draws 1 | Stance Orthodox Name Billy Fox Total fights 58 Nationality American No contests 0 Division Light heavyweight Number of contests 0 | |
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Born April 20, 1923 (age 100) Tulsa, Oklahoma ( 1923-04-20 ) | ||
"Blackjack" Billy Fox (born April 20, 1923) is a retired American light heavyweight boxer. He is best known for having won a controversial fight against future middleweight champion Jake LaMotta.
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Boxing career
Billy Fox, known as "Blackjack", started off his career by winning 36 consecutive fights, all by knockout, before he was knocked out by Gus Lesnevich for the world light heavyweight title. He would rack up 7 more wins, including a win in a bout thrown by Jake LaMotta. That fight was fixed by the notorious Frank "Blinky" Palermo, a member of the Philadelphia crime family, who owned Fox under the table. Fox then lost two fights in a row against Red Willis Applegate and Gus Lesnevich, to whom he lost in the first round by a knockout in 1:58 seconds.
He would fight 12 more fights, and amass a record of 48 wins (47 by knockout), 9 losses, and 1 draw. His knockout ratio is 81 percent.
Depictions in Popular Culture
Billy Fox was portrayed in Martin Scorsese's Raging Bull by Eddie Mustafa Muhammad.