20 Facts About Sal Bartolo

Salvatore Interbartolo, better known as Sal Bartolo was an American boxer and WBA featherweight champion from March 1944 through May 1946.

Sal Bartolo had a stellar amateur career, and in March 1937 won the 118 pound bantam weight division of the New York Golden Gloves Tournament at Madison Square Garden defeating New York's James Morro in every round.

Sal Bartolo won the New York Golden Gloves Tournament Of Champions.

Sal Bartolo turned pro in April 1937, shortly after he took the Golden Gloves title, and won four straight bouts in Boston before losing to Ace Hutchins in a six round unanimous points decision in Holyoke, Massachusetts.

On March 10,1939, Sal Bartolo first took the USA New England Featherweight Championship at 126 pounds, winning in a rematch against Tony Dupre in a twelve round split decision at Mechanics Hall in Worcester, Massachusetts.

On October 3,1939, Sal Bartolo had one of his rare losses to Jewish boxer Al Reid in an eight round points decision at the Broadway Arena in Brooklyn.

On November 11,1940, Sal Bartolo defeated New York Jewish boxer Maxie Shapiro in a ten round mixed points decision at the same venue.

Sal Bartolo had a five pound weight disadvantage in the first and third bouts.

On September 28,1945, Sal Bartolo defeated Shapiro, nearing lightweight status at 130, in a ten round unanimous decision at Boston Garden.

Sal Bartolo had Bartolo near a knockout in the sixth, but fought quite cautiously in the first two rounds where the fighting seemed even.

At the time, Sal Bartolo was serving in the US Maritime Service and stationed at Hoffman Island in Lower New York Bay near Staten Island.

The referee had to break the boxers from clinches on several occasions, as Sal Bartolo employed a stand up and box technique, and Terranova employed a great deal of close or infighting.

On December 15,1944, Sal Bartolo waged his second defense of the NBA World Featherweight Title against black boxer Willie Roach at Boston Garden, winning in a fifteen round unanimous points decision before a somewhat modest crowd of 7,000.

On May 3,1946, in his last defense of the NBA World Featherweight Title, Sal Bartolo defeated Spider Armstrong before 7,600 fans in a sixth round knockout at Boston Garden.

Sal Bartolo employed rapid jabs and left hooks to soften up Armstrong in the early rounds.

Sal Bartolo lost the championship to Willie Pep on June 7,1946, at Madison Square Garden via 12th round KO, the last battle of the epic Bartolo-Pep trilogy.

Sal Bartolo took a terrible battering in the ninth round and ended the bout with a broken nose and a gashed lower lip, likely occurring in that round.

Later accounts noted that Sal Bartolo had fractured his jaw, likely in the twelfth.

Sal Bartolo later owned and managed Ringside Cafe in East Boston for over 30 years.

Sal Bartolo died on February 19,2002, and was buried in East Boston.