1. Tippy Larkin, born Antonio Pilliteri, was an American boxer from New Jersey who took the world light-welterweight boxing championship on April 29,1946, in a twelve-round unanimous decision against Willie Joyce in Boston.
40 Facts About Tippy Larkin
1. 2.
Tippy Larkin had Angelo Pucci as manager throughout his career, and during the nineteen bouts he had at Madison Square Garden.
3.
Tippy Larkin took the name Tippy from the initials for his real name Antonio Pilliteri, or Tony Pilliteri.
4.
Tippy Larkin got the name Larkin from his older brother Frank who had boxed as Bobby Larkin.
5.
In 1934, at the age of seventeen, the young Tippy Larkin went off to work for a camp of the Civilian Conservation Corp during America's great depression, and soon helped to start inter-camp boxing matches with his co-workers.
6.
Tippy Larkin's winning record throughout his early career was remarkable.
7.
Tippy Larkin threw both fists without a stop, finally connecting with a series of solid lefts and rights and Larkin dropped in his corner.
8.
Tippy Larkin weighed 137 for the bout, actually two pounds over the lightweight limit.
9.
Tippy Larkin was knocked out by a right from Jack near a neutral corner in one minute and nineteen seconds of the third round, but had gone down for a one count in the first round.
10.
On November 15,1943, Tippy Larkin gained a ten-round points decision over Rhode Island native Al Costa, in Providence, Rhode Island, giving "an almost perfect exhibition of boxing skill".
11.
Tippy Larkin was already boxing at 142 pounds, well into the welterweight range.
12.
On December 10,1943, Tippy Larkin knocked out "Doll" Rafferty halfway through the second round of a scheduled ten round bout at the Mechanic's Building in Boston.
13.
Tippy Larkin's weight was 136, near the top of the lightweight limit.
14.
On January 14,1944, Tippy Larkin fought a rough ten-round draw against Bobby Ruffin at Madision Square Garden.
15.
On February 9,1944, Tippy Larkin easily won a ten-round points decision against LuLu Constantino, considered an important opponent, at Madison Square Garden.
16.
Tippy Larkin boxed at just under 140 pounds, and took a penalty for not being able to make 137.
17.
Tippy Larkin was slightly over the lightweight limit at 137 pounds, and into light welterweight territory.
18.
Tippy Larkin would have trouble staying within the lightweight and later junior welterweight limit in his career.
19.
On June 2,1944, Tippy Larkin achieved an eighth-round technical knockout over Freddie Archer at Madison Square Garden.
20.
Tippy Larkin stopped Archer with a very strong straight right arm and the fight eventually ended when the referee stopped the fight one minute and twenty four seconds into the eighth round.
21.
Tippy Larkin appeared on the cover of The Ring magazine in July 1944, gaining recognition as an up-and-coming boxer who was a candidate for the Lightweight championship.
22.
Tippy Larkin first met Joyce on August 3,1945, in a ten-round unanimous decision at Madison Square Garden.
23.
In front of a crowd of over 13,000, Tippy Larkin defeated Joyce, though he was a slight underdog in the betting.
24.
Tippy Larkin had taken an entire year off from boxing prior to the bout to work in a war plant.
25.
On March 22,1946, Tippy Larkin outpointed Nick Moran in ten rounds, at Madison Square Garden.
26.
Tippy Larkin weighed just over 140 for the bout, again fighting as a welterweight.
27.
Tippy Larkin was ruled to have won ten of the twelve rounds in what was considered a small crowd of under 8,000 for the championship fight at the Garden.
28.
Sometime after the bout, most likely unable to consistently maintain the restrictive weight, Tippy Larkin vacated the Light Welterweight championship.
29.
The division was discontinued for several years after Tippy Larkin held it, until he was succeeded by Carlos Ortiz thirteen years later.
30.
Tippy Larkin was down on the mat in the first, second, seventh, and eight rounds.
31.
On March 21,1947, Tippy Larkin defeated Billy Graham, a highly rated welterweight before a crowd of 14,054 at Madison Square Garden.
32.
Tippy Larkin easily won a unanimous ten-round decision by the judges.
33.
On June 20,1947, Tippy Larkin was knocked out by Ike Williams, NBA Lightweight Champion, in the fourth round of a non-title fight at Madison Square Garden.
34.
Tippy Larkin had been down once in the important bout for a count of nine in the fourth, before resuming the fight, and later being down and counted out later in the round.
35.
Tippy Larkin's last fight would be loss by fourth-round technical knockout on December 29,1952, against Steve Marcello, in Providence, Rhode Island.
36.
On September 18,1957, Tippy Larkin was arrested for drunken driving, and driving without a license or registration in New York.
37.
On October 25,1957, Tippy Larkin suffered a broken left leg and several broken ribs in a head on car accident which was later determined to have been his fault.
38.
Tippy Larkin's attorney claimed he was a victim in the automobile crash that caused the unfortunate death of the New Jersey driver whose car he struck, but could not prevent Larkin's sentence.
39.
Tippy Larkin died on December 10,1991, in Passaic, New Jersey, of kidney failure.
40.
Tippy Larkin was inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame in 1992.