1. Arthur Lakofsky, known as Art Lasky, was a heavyweight professional boxer from Minneapolis, Minnesota.
51 Facts About Art Lasky
1. 2.
Art Lasky was skilled in carpentry, masonry and as a surveyor and did much of the work for a home he built in California around 1964 after his boxing retirement.
3.
Art Lasky's son Aron was born in 1960, and his daughter Lana was born in 1964 from his third marriage to wife Irma.
4.
Art Lasky made his professional debut with a knockout of Sam Baker in May 1930.
5.
The round ended when Art Lasky' blows knocked Gibbons to the mat.
6.
Art Lasky was completely out when the referee reached the count of six, and Gibbons's manager threw in the towel making the victory a technical knockout.
7.
The loss appeared to do nothing to hamper Art Lasky's career but it was a brutal battle, as were many of Art Lasky's fights.
8.
Art Lasky became the first opponent to knock out Joe Sekyra in a brutal battle at the Auditorium in Minneapolis on November 29,1932.
9.
Art Lasky took the fourth round with lighting lefts from a distance, and an occasional right to the chin.
10.
Art Lasky achieved the fifth-round knockout with a hard right to the jaw of the black boxer.
11.
Art Lasky put reach advantage and speed to good use against his opponent.
12.
Art Lasky was hospitalized after the fight for several injuries, but primarily to close a severe cut above his right eye which was affecting his vision.
13.
Art Lasky moved to California in 1933, and became a regular at two large boxing venues, Olympic Stadium in Los Angeles and Legion Stadium in Hollywood.
14.
On December 1,1933, Lasky put away Fred Lenhart in the third round of a bout at Legion Stadium, part of a 15-fight unbeaten streak that lasted until the fall of 1934.
15.
Art Lasky had a six-inch height advantage in the bout which gave him an advantage at long range.
16.
On February 20,1934, Art Lasky scored a "smashing triumph" in a five-round technical knockout against Los Angeles heavyweight Benny Miller at Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles before a crowd of 10,000.
17.
Art Lasky achieved a top ten rating as a World Heavyweight Contender in 1934.
18.
On March 20,1934, Art Lasky won a ten-round points decision against Steve Ramage at Madison Square Garden.
19.
Art Lasky's winning ways came to a screeching halt with a close ten round split decision loss to Steve Hamas at Madison Square Garden on October 5,1934.
20.
The bout had great importance for the future of Art Lasky's career, as it was an elimination match to find an opponent for reigning World Heavyweight Champion Max Baer.
21.
Art Lasky had Hamas close to knockout in both the third and ninth rounds, but the bell saved his opponent from a loss.
22.
Hamas considered himself lucky to have won the bout, though Art Lasky suffered in the bout as well, as the blows reigned continuously on both sides throughout the fighting and the decision was a close one.
23.
On June 12,1934, Art Lasky had his first bout with Jewish heavyweight Chicagoan King Levinsky before 9000 roaring fans at Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles, where Levinsky fell in 10 rounds by a unanimous decision.
24.
Levinsky, who was not known for boxing ringcraft, was groggy in the eighth and again in the tenth from the superior speed and technique of Art Lasky, who won decisively by the tenth round.
25.
In late 1934, Art Lasky began a losing streak that included losses to heavyweight contenders Jim Braddock and Charley Retzlaff as well as a draw with fellow Jewish heavyweight contender King Levinsky.
26.
The draw showed that Art Lasky could perform well against top ten contenders.
27.
Art Lasky had beaten Levinsky five months earlier in a ten-round unanimous decision at Olympic Stadium in Los Angeles.
28.
In contrast, Art Lasky had fought on a regular basis, averaging monthly bouts for his previous five years of boxing.
29.
Art Lasky's brother trained him while Braddock's trainers included Ray Arcel.
30.
Art Lasky fought a "gallant" and "courageous" fight from the first bell to the last, but Braddock's strong right landed too hard and too often.
31.
The incredibly strong heavyweight Primo Carnera whom Art Lasky had met on September 1,1932, pounded Art Lasky's body in the final rounds.
32.
Braddock was credited with eleven of fifteen rounds, and Art Lasky suffered one of the "worst beatings of his life", according to one source.
33.
Art Lasky was awarded one of his four rounds by the judges from a foul credited to Braddock.
34.
Once again Art Lasky took a very hard beating in a close bout from a highly ranked competitor.
35.
On June 21,1935, Art Lasky lost to Ford Smith in a technical knockout, 2:30 into the sixth round.
36.
Once again, a repaired cut above Art Lasky's eye was torn open by repeated blows from Smith in the third or forth round, affecting his vision.
37.
On September 19,1935, Art Lasky began a down slide losing to Charley Retzlaff in a ten-round technical knockout at the Auditorium in St Paul.
38.
Art Lasky came close to a knockout in several rounds from Retzlaff's continuous, powerful right, and was down in the tenth for a count of three.
39.
On January 17,1936, Art Lasky lost to Jack Roper in a technical knockout 1:32 into the first round at Legion Stadium in Hollywood.
40.
Art Lasky had been down twice from hard left jabs before the final knockout.
41.
On January 28,1936, Art Lasky defeated Bob Cook by technical knockout :50 seconds into the second round in San Jose, California.
42.
Art Lasky took six of the ten rounds, with Bauer holding a slight lead in two, and the rest tied.
43.
On May 15,1936, Art Lasky lost a seventh-round technical knockout against Jack Roper in a second meeting at Legion Stadium, 1:47 into the seventh round.
44.
Art Lasky fell from top contender status, but continued to fight frequently.
45.
Art Lasky later told his son, he believed Paycheck had thumbed him in the right eye and that he had immediately lost his vision in the bout.
46.
Art Lasky initially suffered an injury to the right eye in his first bout with Charley Retzlaff in St Paul on May 12,1933.
47.
Art Lasky fought twice more in 1938, with both fights ending in draws, and finished his career with a loss to Nathan Mann New Haven, Connecticut, in a third-round technical knockout on January 9,1939.
48.
Art Lasky had several additional uncredited roles in 1937 in "Nothing Sacred", and in the Western movie, "Western Gold".
49.
Art Lasky died in San Bernardino, California, on April 2,1980, in a nursing home.
50.
Art Lasky was buried in Norwalk, California, fifty miles west of his home in San Bernardino.
51.
On October 2,2001, Art Lasky was inducted into the Minnesota Boxing Hall of Fame.