Fidel LaBarba
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Fidel LaBarba (September 29, 1905 – October 2, 1981) was an American
boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...
and
sportswriter Sports journalism is a form of writing that reports on matters pertaining to sporting topics and competitions. Sports journalism started in the early 1800s when it was targeted to the social elite and transitioned into an integral part of the n ...
. He was born in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
and grew up in
Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
. LaBarba began his amateur career at fourteen, eventually winning the
flyweight Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing above 49 kg (108 lb) and up to 51 kg (112 lb). Professional boxing The flyweight division was the last of bo ...
division at the national Amateur Athletic Union tournament in Boston and later qualifying for the United States Olympic team.


Amateur career

LaBarba began boxing around age 12 or 13 in little amateur cards held weekly at places such as the Elks Club, which were promoted by Carlo Curtiss, who had been one of World Heavyweight Champion
Jess Willard Jess Myron Willard (December 29, 1881 – December 15, 1968) was an American world heavyweight boxing champion billed as the Pottawatomie Giant who knocked out Jack Johnson in April 1915 for the heavyweight title. Willard was known for size rat ...
's managers. "Sometimes we would have nude women at these events," he said. The first known mention of "Young Fidel" is September 17, 1920, by the
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
, announcing a boxing/wrestling show at the Italian picnic the next day at Selig Zoo where his opponent was to be "Battling Bennie", newsboy like Fidel. Eventually, Central Junior High School boxing instructor Bob Howard saw his potential. According to an interview published January 28, 1927 in some United States newspapers, LaBarba mentioned that he defeated a boy named Dave Mariney (a.k.a. Marini) for the high school championship. Based upon this win, his friends suggested he join the amateurs, which he did. By this, he likely meant he joined the A.A.U. Fidel found it ironic that his first "official" amateur opponent was none other than Dave Mariney. This was at a semi-monthly boxing show sponsored by the Los Angeles Athletic Club (L.A.A.C). "It looked like a crime to match the two," reported the Los Angeles Times November 4, 1920. LaBarba was about four feet tall, and his opponent a foot and a half taller. "But LaBarba soon showed he knew how to take care of himself." George Blake reportedly was the referee at that fight. He and Charles Keppen ran these L.A.A.C. shows. Blake had come to Los Angeles from Chicago in 1904. He had been a United States Army boxing instructor during World War I. By the early 1920s, Blake was a well-known referee for boxing venues such as Jack Doyle's Vernon Arena, and would become the regular referee at the soon-to-be-built Hollywood Legion Stadium. He was much-respected and known as a man of impeccable character. Blake took an interest in the young and talented Fidel LaBarba, and asked Bob Howard to have him come down to the club. " I was asked four or five times, but was embarrassed to go," LaBarba explained. He owned only one pair of torn tennis shoes. He finally mustered the fortitude to go see Blake; thus started a very long relationship. LaBarba continued to have many amateur bouts. "We would receive a gift worth $35.00," he noted. "Later, they would give us a gift certificate to buy clothes at places like the Broadway, or Sears." Meanwhile, LaBarba attended Central Jr. High School, and then Lincoln High School—both in Los Angeles. He enjoyed playing basketball, baseball, and especially football. He was the quarterback for the "lightweight" (midget) football team. While in high school, he sometimes worked nights until midnight, racking pins at a bowling alley, then sleeping on a cot in back of the building. In the morning he would grab a bite to eat at the local restaurant, then head off to school about a mile away. By 1924, LaBarba had lost only one bout after some 30-plus recorded contests. George Blake took eight of his L.A.A.C. boxers to Boston June 1924 for the Olympic trials, and LaBarba qualified. LaBarba won the gold medal in the flyweight division at the
1924 Summer Olympics The 1924 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1924), officially the Games of the VIII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la VIIIe olympiade) and also known as Paris 1924, were an international multi-sport event held in Paris, France. The op ...
in
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
. After the Games, Blake arranged an amateur card at Doyle's Vernon Arena with all the American Olympic fighters, at which LaBarba finished out his amateur career.


Olympic Results

* Jul 15, 1924 E. Warwick (England) @
Velodrome d'Hiver A velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights. The straights transition to the circular turn through a moderate easement c ...
, Paris, France W-3 (first round) * Jul 16, 1924 Gaetano Lanzi (Italy) @ Velodrome d'Hiver, Paris, France TKO-2 (second round) * Jul 18, 1924 Rennis/Rennie (Canada) @ Velodrome d'Hiver, Paris, France W-3 (quarter-final Round) * Jul 19?, 1924 Rinaldo Castellenghi @ Velodrome d'Hiver, Paris, France W-3 (semi-final Round) * Jul 20, 1924 James McKenzie (G.B.) @ Velodrome d'Hiver, Paris, France W-3 (final)


Pro career

Although still in high school, LaBarba turned professional that same year. On August 22, 1925, LaBarba defeated
Frankie Genaro Frank "Frankie" Genaro (born DiGennaro, August 26, 1901 – December 27, 1966) was an American former Olympic gold medalist and a 1928 National Boxing Association (NBA) World flyweight Champion. He is credited with engaging in 130 bouts, recordi ...
in a convincing 10 round decision to win the American Flyweight title. In 1927, he defeated
Elky Clark Elky Clark (4 January 1898 – 22 September 1956) was a Scottish professional boxer who competed from 1921 to 1927. He held the British and inaugural Commonwealth flyweight titles from 1924 to 1926, the EBU European flyweight title from 1925 to ...
to win the vacant flyweight championship of the world. La Barba dominated the fight, knocked Clark down five times and won all twelve rounds. Seven months later, LaBarba retired to enter
Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
. Less than a year later, however, he returned to the ring as a
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 ...
. He won his first five fights, and in 1931 split two decisions with
Kid Chocolate Eligio Sardiñas Montalvo (January 6, 1910 – August 8, 1988), better known as Kid Chocolate, was a Cuban boxing, boxer who enjoyed great success both in the boxing ring and outside it during the 1930s. Chocolate boxed professionally between 1 ...
. On May 22, 1931, he was given an opportunity to win the world featherweight title, but was out pointed by
Battling Battalino Christopher Battaglia (February 18, 1908 – July 25, 1977) better known as Battling Battalino, was an American World Featherweight boxing champion. Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Battalino engaged in 88 bouts during his career, of which he won 5 ...
. LaBarba's career was prematurely curtailed when he suffered a detached retina in training for a fight against Kid Chocolate for the New York featherweight title. On December 9, 1932, LaBarba not only lost the fight in a close decision, but went blind in his eye. After the fight, he underwent surgery to repair the tear, but it was unsuccessful and he eventually had to have the eye removed.


Later life

In 1933, he was forced to retire, and returned to Stanford, where he earned a degree in journalism. After graduating from Stanford he worked as a sportswriter, and later worked in public relations, as a screenwriter, and as a technical advisor in
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...
for boxing movies. Fidel LaBarba died of heart failure in Los Angeles, California, in 1981. He was inducted into 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 ...
in 1996.


Professional boxing record

All information in this section is derived from
BoxRec BoxRec or boxrec.com is a website dedicated to holding updated records of professional and amateur boxers, both male and female. It also maintains a MediaWiki-based encyclopaedia of boxing. The objective of the site is to document every profess ...
, 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 o ...
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
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 o ...
s in the win/loss/draw column.


See also

*
List of flyweight boxing champions This is a list of world flyweight boxing champions, as recognized by the four major sanctioning organizations in boxing: * The World Boxing Association (WBA), established in 1921 as the National Boxing Association (NBA). The WBA often recognize up ...


References


External links

*
Fidel LaBarba - CBZ Profile
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:La Barba, Fidel 1905 births 1981 deaths Boxers from New York City Boxers from Los Angeles Stanford University alumni Featherweight boxers Flyweight boxers Olympic boxers of the United States Boxers at the 1924 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in boxing World boxing champions American people of Italian descent World flyweight boxing champions World Boxing Association champions Winners of the United States Championship for amateur boxers International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees Medalists at the 1924 Summer Olympics American male boxers