Real name Frank DiGennaro Wins 96 Height 1.55 m Rated at Flyweight Wins by KO 19 Martial art Boxing | Nationality United States Name Frankie Genaro Division Flyweight Stance Orthodox Role Olympic athlete Total fights 134 | |
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Born August 26, 1901
New York, New York, U.S. ( 1901-08-26 ) Died December 27, 1966, Staten Island, New York City, New York, United States Olympic medals Boxing at the 1920 Summer Olympics – Men's flyweight | ||
Frank "Frankie" Genaro (né DiGennaro, August 26, 1901 – December 27, 1966) was an American former Olympic gold medalist and boxing world flyweight champion. He is credited with engaging in 130 bouts, recording 96 victories (19 KO's), 26 losses, 8 draws and 4 No Decisions. Statistical boxing website BoxRec lists Genaro as the #13 ranked flyweight of all-time, while The Ring magazine founder Nat Fleischer placed him at #3. The International Boxing Research Organization rates Genaro as the 6th best flyweight ever. He was inducted into The Ring magazine Hall of Fame in 1973 and the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1998.
Contents
- Early life and amateur career
- Olympic results
- Pro career
- NBA world flyweight champion
- Later career
- References
Early life and amateur career
Before taking up boxing, Genaro's ambition was to become a jockey, but he took up boxing when he tired of cleaning stables awaiting his chance to race horses. His first amateur bout in 1919 was against Jimmy Nable, which he fought using the ringname A. J. DeVito. He took the New York State and National Flyweight championships early in his amateur career.
Genaro won the flyweight Gold Medal at the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp on August 24, two days before his 19th birthday.
Olympic results
Pro career
He turned pro that same year and almost immediately was fighting world class flyweights, scoring wins over Charley (Phil) Rosenberg and Pancho Villa. In 1923, he captured the American flyweight title with another win over Villa and decisioned future bantamweight champ Bud Taylor.
NBA world flyweight champion
Genaro lost his American title to Fidel LaBarba in 1925 and dropped a decision to former world champ Newsboy Brown in his next outing. In 1928 he defeated Frenchy Belanger to win the NBA flyweight crown. He then lost the title in his first defense against Emile Pladner, but regained the title when he defeated Pladner in a rematch one month later.
Genaro successfully defended his title against Ernie Jarvis, Yvon Trevidic and Belanger. He then faced Midget Wolgast, who was recognized as world flyweight champ by the New York State Athletic Commission. The unification bout ended in a draw. Genaro then went on to successfully defend his title against Victor Ferrand, Jackie Harmon and Valentin Angelmann. He lost his crown when he was knocked out by Victor "Young" Perez in 1931.
Later career
Genaro's title days were over, but he did beat future featherweight champion Joey Archibald in 1933 before retiring in 1934. During his career Genaro fought 10 world champions and three Hall of Famers. He died in Staten Island, New York on December 27, 1966 at the age of 65.