William McKinley Fox (February 1, 1926 – January 1986), better known as "Blackjack" Billy Fox, was an American

light heavyweight Light heavyweight, also referred to as junior cruiserweight or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruise ...

boxer who is best known for having won a controversial fight against future middleweight champion Jake LaMotta.

Early life

William McKinley Fox was born in

Tatums, Oklahoma Tatums is a historic Freedmen's town in Carter County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 151 at the 2010 census, a decline of 12.2 percent from the figure of 172 in 2000. It is part of the Ardmore, Oklahoma Micropolitan Statistical Are ...

on February 1, 1926, to Melvin Calvin Fox (died 1984) and Beulah Carter (died 1933). After his mother died when he was a child, he was raised by his stepmother, Viola Harris Fox. Fox enlisted for service in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

in 1944, when he was 18. At the time, he was resident in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Boxing career

Billy Fox, known as "Blackjack", started off his career by winning 37 consecutive fights, all by knockout, before he was knocked out by

Gus Lesnevich Gustav George Lesnevich (February 22, 1915 – February 28, 1964) was an American boxer who held the World Light Heavyweight Championship. Boxing career Lesnevich was born and raised in Cliffside Park, New Jersey. He turned pro in 1934 and in 193 ...

in ten rounds for the world light heavyweight title-Fox had the champion hurt in round three. He would rack up 7 more wins, including a win in a bout thrown by Jake LaMotta.Jeff Merton, ESPN.com. Page 2
"Reel Life: 'Raging Bull'"
Accessed 7 January 2008. That fight was fixed by the notorious Frank "Blinky" Palermo, a member of the

Philadelphia crime family The Philadelphia crime family, also known as the Philadelphia Mafia, the Philly Mob or Philly Mafia, the Philadelphia-South Jersey Mafia, or Bruno-Scarfo family is an Italian-American Mafia family based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Formed and ...

, who owned Fox under the table. Fox then lost two fights in a row against Red Willis Applegate and

, to whom he lost in the first round by a knockout in 1:58 seconds, in a rematch that was also for the world light heavyweight title. Fox would fight 12 more fights, and amass a record of 49 wins (48 by knockout), 9 losses, and 1 draw. His knockout streak of 42 fights is the second longest in boxing history.

Personal life and death

Fox married Clara Rosemary Allen in

Dauphin, Pennsylvania Dauphin is a borough in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 796 at the 2020 census. Dauphin's ZIP code is 17018. It is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area. Geography Dauphin is located ...

, on May 5, 1947. They met at the USO-Variety Club canteen whilst Fox was a soldier and Allen was a hostess. In 1956, Fox was tracked down by ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...

'' journalists, at which point he was described as "living on the edges, desolate, vagrant, despairing". By July 1960, Fox was residing at a mental institution in

Long Island, New York Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18th ...

, and was said to be "seriously ill". He died in New York City in January 1986, at the age of 59.

Popular culture

Billy Fox was portrayed in

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominatio ...

's ''

Raging Bull ''Raging Bull'' is a 1980 American biographical sports drama film directed by Martin Scorsese, produced by Robert Chartoff and Irwin Winkler and adapted by Paul Schrader and Mardik Martin from Jake LaMotta's 1970 memoir '' Raging Bull: My St ...

'' by

Eddie Mustafa Muhammad Eddie Mustafa Muhammad (born Edward Dean Gregory; April 30, 1952) is a former professional boxer and the former WBA Light Heavyweight Champion of the World. He is currently a boxing trainer. He has also been an occasional actor. Amateur care ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fox, Billy 1926 births 1986 deaths American male boxers Boxers from Oklahoma Light-heavyweight boxers Sportspeople from Tulsa, Oklahoma