Frank Battaglia (September 13, 1910 – December 17, 1971) was a Canadian boxer. He was born in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

. He competed in the men's lightweight event at the

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics ( nl, Olympische Zomerspelen 1928), officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad ( nl, Spelen van de IXe Olympiade) and commonly known as Amsterdam 1928, was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from ...

. As a young teenager, Battaglia was attracted to boxing following a chance meeting with then World Heavyweight Champion

Jack Dempsey William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey (June 24, 1895 – May 31, 1983), nicknamed Kid Blackie and The Manassa Mauler, was an American professional boxer who competed from 1914 to 1927, and reigned as the world heavyweight champion from 1919 to 1926. ...

at the

Fort Garry Hotel The Fort Garry Hotel—officially the Fort Garry Hotel, Spa and Conference Centre—is an early-20th-century hotel in downtown Winnipeg, Manitoba, that opened for the first time on December 11, 1913. Built by the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway, it i ...

. As an amateur boxer, he represented Canada as a lightweight at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympic Games. He lost on points to Robert Charles Smith of South Africa. As a professional boxer, he compiled a record of 82 wins (KO 59) + 18 losses (KO 3) + 6 draws = 106. On January 13, 1933, in

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

New York, Battaglia fought

Ben Jeby Ben Jeby (born Benjamin Morris Jebaltowsky, in 1909), was an American world champion middleweight boxer from the Lower East Side of New York City. He was managed by the legendary Hymie Caplin.Silver, Mike, "Stars in the Ring", (2016), Roman and ...

for the World Middleweight Championship. Battaglia lost to Jeby in the 12th round by KO. On May 11, 1937, in

Seattle Washington Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region of ...

Civic Auditorium, Battaglia fought

Freddie Steele Freddie Steele (December 18, 1912 – August 22, 1984) was a boxer and film actor born Frederick Earle Burgett in Seattle, Washington. He was recognized as the National Boxing Association (NBA) Middleweight Champion of the World between 1936 ...

for the World Middleweight Championship. Battaglia lost to Steele in the 3rd round by KO. After his boxing career ended, Battaglia became a dog breeder in Minnesota, and later owned a farm in Wisconsin.

References

1910 births 1971 deaths Canadian male boxers Olympic boxers for Canada Sportspeople from Winnipeg Boxers at the 1928 Summer Olympics Lightweight boxers {{Canada-boxing-bio-stub