40 Facts About Vince Dundee

Vince Dundee, born Vincenzo Lazzara in Sicily, became the New York State Athletic Commission world middleweight champion when he defeated reigning champion Lou Brouillard on October 30,1933.

Vince Dundee's title was recognized by the National Boxing Association.

Vince Dundee was the younger brother of former welterweight world champion of boxing, Joe Dundee.

Vince Dundee lived and boxed for a period in Belleville, New Jersey, where he was managed by Max Waxman, who managed brother Joe.

Vince Dundee was trained by Benny Benjamin, another Baltimore resident, and later by Heinie Blaustein.

Vince Dundee first lost to reigning world welterweight champion, the incomparable Jackie Fields on October 2,1929, in a ten-round points decision before a crowd of 7,000 in Chicago.

The young Vince Dundee recovered in the fifth round, and appeared to have even taken the tenth.

Two weeks later, Vince Dundee drew with British welterweight champion Jack Hood in ten rounds in White City, England.

The bout was slow and calculated, though Vince Dundee scored occasionally against the mid-section, and Hood connected with long lefts to Vince Dundee's head.

Vince Dundee defeated future NBA world middleweight champion Solly Krieger on October 16,1931, in an eighth-round technical knockout at Madison Square Garden, though there was no great degree of crowd interest in the semi-final bout.

Vince Dundee drew with Ben Jeby to on March 17,1933, in his first attempt at the New York State Athletic Commission's world middleweight title in fifteen rounds before 11,000 at Madison Square Garden.

Ed Hughes of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle wrote that Vince Dundee clearly deserved the decision and believed he won eleven of the fifteen rounds, with only three to Jeby, but one judge ruled for Jeby, and the referee ruled for a draw.

Hughes wrote that from the third round on, Vince Dundee connected with left jabs with enough frequency to gain the decision, though Jeby likely took the fifth and seventh.

The Associated Press, agreeing that Vince Dundee deserved the decision, gave him nine rounds with Jeby four and two even.

Vince Dundee blocked so well from the sixth to the final round, that Jeby landed very few solid punches.

On October 30,1933, after six years in the professional ring, Vince Dundee defeated Lou Brouillard over 15 rounds before 9,330 in Boston to capture the New York State Athletic Commission's world middleweight title.

Vince Dundee side-stepped most of Brouillard's savage rushes and countered repeatedly with rights to the head, in a close decision.

Vince Dundee managed to take eight rounds, but most of his scored points were from calculated blows, and there were no knockdowns in the bout.

Brouillard claimed fatigue in making the 160 pound weight limit was the cause of his loss, but Vince Dundee opened up well by the last round, and stung Brouillard with both lefts and rights that clinched his scoring margin, and likely had an effect.

Vince Dundee defended his world middleweight title on December 8,1933, against southpaw Andy Callahan, winning in a fifteen-round split decision against Andy Callahan before 11,200 in Boston.

Vince Dundee dominated the last five rounds, though Callahan frequently tried to force the fighting which was particularly close in the first ten rounds.

Vince Dundee fought with both a four-inch height advantage, and a not insignificant advantage in reach.

Vince Dundee defeated French-Canadian boxer Al McCoy on March 22,1934, in a ten-round unanimous decision in Boston.

Vince Dundee won decisively, though he took a beating during a strong display of offense by McCoy in the first three rounds.

Vince Dundee lost his claim to the middleweight crown when he was outpointed by Teddy Yarosz in a fifteen-round decision on September 11,1934, before a crowd of 28,000 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh.

Vince Dundee scored well with long range blows to the head of Dundee, who seemed to focus more on Yarosz's midsection.

Vince Dundee was down three times during the bout, once falling out of the ropes in round three.

Vince Dundee defeated Babe Risko on January 25,1935, in a close ten round split decision at Madison Square Garden.

Risko rallied in the last few rounds, but Vince Dundee's more sustained aggressiveness and frequent blows to the body gave him the decision on points.

Vince Dundee lost to Freddie Steele on July 30,1935, in a brutal third-round technical knockout.

Vince Dundee was down eleven times in the bout, before the referee stopped the match.

Vince Dundee was hospitalized at Seattle's Providence Hospital, after sustaining a slight concussion and a jaw broken in three places on the left side.

Vince Dundee was down four times in the first, three times in the second, and three times in the third.

Only fifty seconds into the first round, Vince Dundee was down for a nine count from a left to the point of his jaw.

Vince Dundee retired with a record of 118 wins, 20 losses and 13 draws.

Vince Dundee survived a collision with a train that hurled his automobile several hundred feet not long after his boxing career ended.

Vince Dundee later was stricken with Multiple Sclerosis in 1942.

Vince Dundee died at a Glendale, California sanitarium in 1949 of Multiple Sclerosis, after being diagnosed with the disease five years earlier.

Vince Dundee had been confined to the sanitarium for seven years.

Vince Dundee was survived by his wife, Connie; son, Vince Jr.