William Michael Petrolle (January 10, 1905 – May 14, 1983) was a world lightweight

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermine ...

title contender. Boxing ran in the Petrolle family as his brothers Pete and Frank also shared his occupation.BoxRec Biography - Billy Petrolle
BoxRec.com Retrieved on 2014-04-30 Statistical boxing website BoxRec lists Petrolle as the #18 ranked lightweight of all-time. Petrolle is member of the

Minnesota Boxing Hall of Fame The Minnesota Boxing Hall of Fame is a commemorative organization with plans to create a museum. It celebrates the history of boxing in the state of Minnesota by honoring individuals whose achievements within the sport are noteworthy. History Thou ...

, the Ring Magazine Hall of Fame, the

World Boxing Hall of Fame In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

, and the

International Boxing Hall of Fame The modern International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF), located in Canastota, New York, honors boxers, trainers and other contributors to the sport worldwide. Inductees are selected by members of the Boxing Writers Association of America. The I ...

.Minnesota Boxing Hall of Fame - Billy Petrolle
MNBHOF.org Retrieved on 2014-04-30
IBHOF.com Retrieved on 2014-04-05

Professional career

Nicknamed "The Fargo Express", Petrolle is perhaps best known for challenging World Lightweight Title holder

Tony Canzoneri Tony Canzoneri (November 6, 1908 – December 9, 1959) was an American professional boxer. A three-division world champion, he held a total of five world titles. Canzoneri is a member of the exclusive group of boxing world champions who have won ...

. In 1932 the two met for the World Lightweight Title, and Canzoneri was "squarely at his peak: a Canzoneri so magnificently conditioned, so beautifully attuned that even the old-timers at the ringside admitted he was worthy to stand alongside the lightweight giants of the past." (United Press). Petrolle dropped a decision in the bout at Madison Square Garden. Petrolle was managed by promoter Jack Hurley.(18 November 1972)
Jack Hurley Dies; Boxing Manager
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

Life after boxing

Petrolle retired during the Great Depression with $200,000 and an iron foundry in

Duluth, Minnesota , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

. He later owned a religious goods and gift shop in Duluth, and was the chairman of the Board of Directors of the Pioneer National Bank.

Honors

Petrolle has graced the covers of

The Ring Magazine ''The Ring'' (often called ''The Ring'' magazine or ''Ring'' magazine) is an American boxing magazine that was first published in 1922 as a boxing and wrestling magazine. As the sporting legitimacy of professional wrestling came more into questio ...

in May 1927, March 1931, and May 1932. An article on him appeared in the July 2008 issue. Petrolle is mentioned in the novel

Catch-22 ''Catch-22'' is a satirical war novel by American author Joseph Heller. He began writing it in 1953; the novel was first published in 1961. Often cited as one of the most significant novels of the twentieth century, it uses a distinctive non-ch ...

during the trial of Clevinger. The quote reads "In sixty days you'll be fighting Billy Petrolle," the colonel with the big fat mustache roared. "And you think it's a big fat joke." In this context "fighting Billy Petrolle" was a metaphor for facing combat in World War II.

Professional boxing record

All information in this section is derived from BoxRec, unless otherwise stated.

Official record

All

newspaper decision A newspaper decision was a type of decision in professional boxing. It was rendered by a consensus of sportswriters attending a bout after it had ended inconclusively with a "no decision", as many regions had not adopted the National Sporting Club ...

s are officially regarded as “no decision” bouts and are not counted in the win/loss/draw column.

Unofficial record

Record with the inclusion of

s in the win/loss/draw column.

References

External links

* *CB
page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Petrolle, Billy World lightweight boxing champions 1905 births 1983 deaths Boxers from Pennsylvania American male boxers