Percy Bassett (January 3, 1930 – July 7, 1993) was 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 ...

professional

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 ...

from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

Personal life

Percy Bassett was borne in Daneville, VA, in 1930, but his family moved to West Philadelphia when Bassett was 6 years old. Bassett went to Overbrook High School (Wilt Chamberlain later went there) but he dropped out once he began boxing. He had 16 amateur fights and won the prestigious Inquirer Diamond Belt championship in 1947. He turned pro later that year.

Professional career

Bassett made his professional debut at the age of 17, on July 31, 1947. The result in his first professional bout was a 3rd round

knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

of opponent Joe Camarata. Bassett fought frequently, and had compiled a ruecord of 25-0 before losing for the first time, an eight-round points loss to Brown Lee on December 23, 1948. Bassett avenged that loss just eight days later, with a ten-round decision. Bassett continued to fight often, and to win most of the time. Unfortunately for Bassett, he had no mob connections, and never got a title fight. He did get an interim belts while

Sandy Saddler Joseph "Sandy" Saddler (June 23, 1926 – September 18, 2001) was an American professional boxer. He was a two-time featherweight world champion, having also held the super featherweight title. Over his twelve-year career (1944–56), Saddler s ...

was in the army, but neveer had the privilege of fighting for the championships. Despite this, Bassett faced a number of the top small fighters of his era, including Mario Pacheco,

Miguel Acevedo Miguel Acevedo was a featherweight professional boxer from Cuba. Personal life Acevedo was a native of Cuba. Professional career Acevedo's professional career began in March 1940 and ended in June 1951. Acevedo's official record at his retirem ...

, Redtop Davis,

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

, Frankie Sodano,

Federico Plummer Federico Plummer (April 10, 1929 – April 4, 2004) was a former lightweight professional boxer from Panama. Personal life Plummer was a native of Panama and a resident of Miami, Florida. He was born April 10, 1929, and died April 4, 2004. P ...

, Ray Famechon, Lulu Perez, and others. Bassett's retirement due to a detached retina came after his last fight, a tenth round TKO of undefeated (16-0) Seraphin Ferrer. Bassett's final record was 64 wins (41 by

), 12 losses, and 1 draw.

Tragedy

On December 20, 1950 Bassett fought

Sonny Boy West Al West (May 13, 1929 – December 21, 1950), alias ''Sonny Boy'', was a lightweight professional boxer from Maryland. He was a native of Washington, D.C. Professional career West made his professional debut on November 29, 1946, a two-round kno ...

, a well-regarded veteran lightweight from Baltimore with a professional record of 46-7-1. Betnween the sixth and seventh rounds West began to complain in his corner of

double vision Diplopia is the simultaneous perception of two images of a single object that may be displaced horizontally or vertically in relation to each other. Also called double vision, it is a loss of visual focus under regular conditions, and is often v ...

, but the fight was allowed to continue. According to boxrec.com, "After he was hurt to the body by Bassett, he was floored by a right hand. As he fell, he landed hard on his head. West died of injuries suffered in this bout on December 21st. The official cause of death was given as an 'inter-cerebral hemorrhage resulting from a cerebral concussion.'".

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bassett, Percy 1930 births 1993 deaths Boxers from Pennsylvania Featherweight boxers American male boxers