Living legend Jake “The Bronx Bull” LaMotta has confirmed his attendance Sunday, April 1 at the inaugural New York State Boxing Hall of Fame (“NYSBHOF”) induction dinner, sponsored by Ring 8, at Russo’s On The Bay in Howard Beach, New York.
In 1943, the now 90-year-old LaMotta (83-19-4, 30 KOs) became the first to defeat another member of the first NYSBHOF class, “Sugar” Ray Robinson, arguably the greatest boxer of all-time, leads a star-studded list of 12 boxers and eight non-participants to be formally inducted.
LaMotta defeated Marcel Cerdan in 1949 to capture the World Middleweight Championship. During his exciting 13-year professional boxing career, Jake was a fixture fighting in the NY Coliseum in the Bronx, and later at Madison Square Garden. He defeated the great Fritzie Zivic in three of four fights, as well as other notables such as Tony Janiro, Tiberio Mitri for the NYSAC World middleweight title and European champion Robert Villemain. Robert DeNiro played LaMotta in the award-winning movie, Raging Bull, which was directed by Martin Scorsese.
Boxers joining LaMotta and Robinson in the inaugural NYSBHOF class are Mike Tyson, Carmen Basilio, Riddick Bowe, Carlos Ortiz, Vito Antuofermo, Emile Griffith, Mike McCallum and the late Gene Tunney, Benny Leonard and Tony Canzoneri.
Non-participant inductees are judge/HBO analyst Harold Lederman, coach/instructor Steve Acunto, trainer/cutman Jimmy Glenn and, posthumously, trainers Gil Clancy and Ray Arcel, The Ring Magazine founder Nat Fleischer, New York Daily News boxing reporter/cartoonist Bill Gallo, and referee Arthur Mercante, Sr.
“The most rewarding part about being involved in this project has been hearing from families of inductees no longer with us who are so happy that those great boxers and boxing people haven’t been forgotten,” NYSBHOF president Bob Duffy said. “Those from the past are being remembered today by the New York State Boxing Hall of Fame and Ring 8. That’s what this is all about – paying tribute to these boxing greats.”
The NYSBHOF will have a dedicated wall at the Waterfront Crabhouse and in the New York State Athletic Commission to commemorate inductees each year.
Inductees who have committed to attending the festivities, in addition to LaMotta, include McCallum, Griffith, Ortiz, Antuofermo, Acunto, Glenn and Lederman. The families of Canzoneri, Tunney, Arcel, Gallo and Mercante will also be represented.
The inductees were selected by a six-member NYSBHOF nominating committee comprised of Jack Hirsch, Steve Farhood, Henry Hascup, Bobby Cassidy Jr., Ron McNair and Neil Terens.
All boxers needed to be inactive for at least three years, in order to be eligible for NYSBHOF induction, and all inductees had to have resided in New York State for a significant portion of their boxing careers.
