Petey Sarron (November 21, 1906 – July 3, 1994) was an American boxer who became a National Boxing Association (NBA)

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 ...

Champion on May 11, 1936, defeating Freddie Miller at Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C. 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 2016. Sarron was a member of the Olympic Team at flyweight in

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 predetermined ...

for the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

during 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 ...

and . Dave Evans and Jimmy Erwin worked as managers and promoters. He was best known as a fast, elusive battler, with a windmill attack. During his career he defeated such opponents as

Benny Bass Benjamin "Benny" Baruch J. Bass (December 4, 1904 – June 25, 1975), known as "Little Fish", was an American boxer. He was born in Kyiv, Ukraine, with his family emigrating to the United States in 1906; choosing to settle in Philadelphia, Penn ...

and

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

. He lost his World Featherweight Championship to the gifted

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 ...

in a sixth-round knockout at

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 ...

Early life

Pete Sarron was born in Birmingham, Alabama on November 21, 1906. Sarron's parents emigrated to Alabama from

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

. Like many boxers of his era, he made an early living selling newspapers, beginning at age six."Syrian Battler Defeats Miller", ''The Mason City Globe-Gazette'', Mason City, Iowa, pg. 38, 12 May 1936 Early in life, he found Dave Evans at the Birmingham Boy's Club who mentored him in boxing, and helped manage his career. He would return the favor and support the club after becoming a successful boxer. After High School, he had ambitions to study law and become an attorney.

Amateur and early professional career

Sarron fought future World Flyweight Champion

Fidel LaBarba Fidel LaBarba (September 29, 1905 – October 2, 1981) was an American boxing, boxer and sportswriter. He was born in New York City and grew up in Los Angeles, California. LaBarba began his amateur career at fourteen, eventually winning the fl ...

at the age of eighteen in the May 1924 National AAU Flyweight Semi-final and Olympic Trials in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. Sarron's performance allowed him to become an alternate for the

during the

. He would meet LaBarba again on April 22, 1932, before a crowd of 2,986 at Olympia Stadium in Detroit, losing the NBA World Featherweight elimination bout in a ten-round decision. The decision for LaBarba was not popular with the crowd, though he used a stinging left jab to sufficient effect to win the bout in the opinion of referee Slim McClelland. Sarron had trouble evading the jabs of LaBarba though he made a stronger finish in the last two rounds. LaBarba jabbed frequently with his long left, but tired somewhat in the last two rounds, when Sarron made a stand though his punches lacked the authority to do much damage.

Defeating former NBA Flyweight Champion Pinky Silverberg

On May 25, 1929, Sarron defeated

Pinky Silverberg Pinky Silverberg (April 5, 1904 – January 16, 1964) was a Connecticut-based American boxer who briefly held the National Boxing Association (NBA) World Flyweight title in late 1927. With an efficient defense, Silverberg was knocked out only onc ...

, in an important fifteen round points decision in Melbourne, Australia in the featherweight range at 120 pounds. Silverberg had formerly held the NBA World Flyweight Championship in 1927–8, but had been stripped of the title, and was fighting at the lower featherweight range of 120 with Sarron. On January 23, 1934, Sarron, at the featherweight range of 128 pounds, met Frankie Covelli at Portner's Arena in Alexandria, Virginia, losing in a ten-round points decision. On March 8, 1935, however, he beat Covelli at the Coliseum in Coral Gables, Florida in a ten-round points decision. In 1940, Covelli would contend for the NBA World Featherweight Title in Washington D.C. On June 29, 1934, Sarron defeated former British and Canadian World Lightweight Champion Al Foreman on June 29, 1934, at Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C. Sarron had defeated one of his best known opponents in an early win, but it was to be the last professional bout for Foreman, the Jewish Canadian champion who retired to Montreal. Known for his boxing in the America, Foreman had served two years boxing for the US Army in 1924–26, and had been stationed in Virginia. He continued to fight in the States through 1927, and had fought in Washington D.C. on several previous occasions. Sarron first met

on August 27, 1934, at Griffith Stadium in Washington D.C., winning in a sixth round disqualification. Sarron had a small reach advantage of nearly two inches. He defeated Bass in the next bout on September 24, before 5,000 fans at the Arena in Philadelphia in a ten-round decision. Sarron, who was fouled in the seventh, came back to briefly drop Bass to the floor, and then gain more points in the eighth, reigning a series of blows on the former champion. Sarron took chances with Bass, acting as the aggressor from the start, and boxing a fast-paced bout. In December 1929 Bass had taken the World Jr. Lightweight Title.

Bouts with Freddie Miller, NBA Featherweight Champion

On March 2, 1936, Sarron met Southpaw Freddie Miller at the Coliseum in Coral Gables, Florida losing in a fifteen-round decision. The Referee and one judge scored the fight for Miller with 6 rounds won, 3 tied, and 6 even. Two of the six rounds given to Miller were due to Sarron fouls.

Taking the NBA Featherweight Championship, May 1936

On May 11, 1936, Sarron first took 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 ...

World Featherweight championship from Freddie Miller in a fifteen-round points decision at Griffith Stadium, an American League ball park, in Washington D. C. Before an impressive crowd of 23,000, Sarron swarmed over Miller, came up with an early lead in points, and nearly scored knockouts in the thirteen and fifteenth rounds. Sarron had previously lost to Miller three times. The new champion bobbed and weaved expertly, sometimes ducking close to the floor to avoid the blows of Miller, who seemed to have an advantage in the first four rounds. In the ninth through fifteenth, Sarron showed his strongest advantage. Sarron collected the relatively modest sum of $10,000 for his win.

First defense of NBA Featherweight Title

Sarron staged his first defense of the World Featherweight Title on July 22, 1936, winning a fifteen-round unanimous decision against Cuban southpaw Baby Manuel at the Sportatorium in Dallas, Texas. In Texas's first championship bout before a crowd of 4,5000, Sarron, though briefly down in the first, punched his way confidently through for the rest of the match and gained a commanding lead in points and a decisive victory.

Win over British lightweight champion Laurie Stevens

Fighting as a lightweight, on January 16, 1937, Sarron defeated Laurie Stevens in a non-title fight at Wanderer's Stadium in Johannesburg in a twelfth-round knockout. Stevens had taken the South African Lightweight title in 1933 as well as the British Empire Lightweight Championship in January, 1936, only one year before his meeting with Sarron. Stevens was also a former British Olympic boxer. Sarron challenged champion Freddie Miller again on July 31, 1937, in an important ten round non-title bout in Johannesburg, but lost the decision.

Second defense of NBA Featherweight Title

Sarron and Miller fought a fierce rematch in an NBA World Featherweight Championship bout two months later on September 4, 1937, before a crowd of 25,000 in Johannesburg and Sarron won a majority decision. Sarron floored Miller twice for a decisive victory. Miller was floored for a count of seven in the sixth round from a left cross by Sarron. In the twelfth, Sarron scored a knockdown with a hard right for a count of three.

Losing the NBA Featherweight Championship, October 1937

Sarron lost his title to the exceptional black boxing champion

in a sixth-round knockout on October 29, 1937, before a crowd of 11,847 at Madison Square Garden. Several sources reported it was Sarron's first knockout in twelve years of fighting. Sarron looked in control in the first, but by the second round had been staggered by the blows of Armstrong, who would have won the third but for a low blow dealt to Sarron. Sarron managed to remain even in the fourth but by the fifth was again badly staggered by a blow from Armstrong, who had no trouble ending the bout in the sixth with a left hook to the chin of Sarron who tried vainly to cover with his gloves. The following year the incomparable Armstrong took both the World Welterweight and World Lightweight Championships. Sarron retired from boxing on July 17, 1939, after losing his last bout, a ten-round points decision against Sammy Angott at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Life after boxing

During his life, Sarron enjoyed reading golfing, and fishing, and had ambitions to become an attorney and study law. He was studious and articulate for a young man who chose boxing as a profession. In late 1953, he became the Secretary of the Miami Boxing Commission. He married Patrinilla "Pat" Farah, who was also of Lebanese/Syrian descent. The couple had two boys, Peter and Ronald. Throughout his life, Sarron maintained a very close relationship with his family. During the 1960s, Sarron worked as an enforcement agent for the Florida Beverage Department, enforcing state and federal tobacco laws. He eventually retired in Miami and died there at age 87 on July 3, 1994.

Achievements and honors

Sarron was featured on the cover of the November 1936 '' The Ring'' magazine.Petey Sarron – Boxrec Boxing Encyclopaedia
/ref> He was an inductee into the 2016

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

s in the win/loss/draw column.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sarron, Petey 1906 births 1994 deaths Featherweight boxers World featherweight boxing champions Boxers at the 1924 Summer Olympics American people of Lebanese descent Olympic boxers of the United States Sportspeople from Birmingham, Alabama Boxers from Alabama American male boxers Sportspeople of Lebanese descent