Frankie Covelli (May 4, 1913 – February 16, 2003 ) was an American boxer from

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York.

Life

Covelli began boxing in 1929. Among other notable fighters, he fought Freddie Miller two times, losing both bouts by decision, and also lost to

Henry Armstrong Henry Jackson Jr. (December 12, 1912 – October 24, 1988) was an American professional boxer and a world boxing champion who fought under the name Henry Armstrong. Armstrong was one of the few fighters to win in three or more different divisio ...

. He held

Baby Arizmendi Alberto "Baby" Arizmendi (March 17, 1914 – December 31, 1962) was a Mexican professional boxer and New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) featherweight world title holder in 1934. He also competed in the bantamweight and welterweight di ...

to a draw. Covelli fought

Willie Joyce Willie Joyce (September 2, 1917 – December 5, 1996) was an American boxer from Chicago. He was the 1936 National AAU Bantamweight champion, and the 1937 (126 lb) Chicago & Intercity Golden Gloves Champion. Joyce was 24-1-4 in 1937 to ...

twice. The first fight he lost by decision but won the second fight by a decision. He also defeated former bantamweight champion

Sixto Escobar Sixto Escobar (March 23, 1913 – November 17, 1979) was a Puerto Rican professional boxer. Competing in the bantamweight division, he became Puerto Rico's first world champion. Escobar was born in Barceloneta and raised in San Juan. There he r ...

. In Covelli's only title fight he lost to

Petey Scalzo Petey Scalzo (1917-1993) was an American boxer from Hell's Kitchen, New York. He was declared the National Boxing Association Featherweight Championship of the World on May 1, 1940, two weeks prior to winning a sixth-round technical knockout ove ...

for the

National Boxing Association The World Boxing Association (WBA), formerly known as the National Boxing Association (NBA), is the oldest and one of four major organizations which sanction professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Council (WBC), International Boxi ...

featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, this ...

title by TKO at

Griffith Stadium Griffith Stadium stood in Washington, D.C., from 1911 to 1965, between Georgia Avenue and 5th Street (left field), and between W Street and Florida Avenue NW. The site was once home to a wooden baseball park. Built in 1891, it was called Bounda ...

in 1940. He retired from boxing later that year.

External links

* American people of Italian descent Boxers from Brooklyn 1913 births 2003 deaths American male boxers Featherweight boxers {{US-boxing-bio-stub