Vito Antuofermo

Vito Antuofermo
Antuofermo in 2006
Statistics
Real name	Vito Antuofermo
Weight(s)	Middleweight
Nationality	Italian American
Born	(1953-02-09) February 9, 1953 (age 68) Palo del Colle, Italy
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	59
Wins	50
Wins by KO	21
Losses	7
Draws	2
No contests	0

Vito Antuofermo (Italian pronunciation: [ˈviːto antwoˈfermo]; born February 9, 1953) is an Italian American actor and retired professional boxer. He is a former undisputed World Middleweight Champion.^[1]

Background[]

Antuofermo was born in Italy, in the town of Palo del Colle, about 15 km (9 miles) inland from the city of Bari. His family moved to the United States when he was 17 years old. Antuofermo learned how to fight in the tough areas of New York City. By his teens, he had made up his mind that he wanted to be a professional boxer.

He has lived in Howard Beach, Queens.^[2]

Amateur career[]

Antuofermo won the 1970 147-pound (67 kg) New York Golden Gloves Championship, defeating Thomas Chestnut in the finals. In 1971, Antuofermo was defeated by future Light Heavyweight Champion Eddie Gregory in the finals of the 147-pound (67 kg) Open division. Antuofermo trained at the Police Athletic Leagues Sweeney Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Professional career[]

Antuofermo had a propensity to cut easily, especially around the eyebrows. In between rounds in his fights, as much attention (if not more) was given to Vito patching up cuts on his face as it was giving him advice and instructions.

In 1979, Antuofermo became World Middleweight Champion by beating defending champion Hugo Corro by a decision in 15 rounds at Monte Carlo. According to an article in The Ring, Howard Cosell, who was working on that fight's live broadcast to the US, was telling viewers that Corro was, in his opinion, way ahead on the judges' cards. When someone on the American television crew found out it was Antuofermo who was actually leading on the cards, Cosell then began to say he had Antuofermo ahead. All three judges' scorecards were very close, each showing a tight, one-point margin: 143–142, and 146–145 in Antuofermo's favor and 146–145 in Corro's favor.

On the morning after winning the title, Antuofermo and his crew were driving to a small vacation in Italy, when he saw a car fly off a bridge under which they were passing. The car landed right in front of his, but luckily the accident did not injure any occupants in Antuofermo's car. He was so shocked that he kept driving and never found out what happened to the occupants of that car. He came back to his senses about 20 minutes later.

On November 30, 1979, Antuofermo defended his title against Marvelous Marvin Hagler in Las Vegas, Nevada, the fight resulting in a controversial 15-round draw. Judge Duane Ford scored the bout in Hagler's favor, 145–141. Judge Dalby Shirley scored it for Antuofermo, 144–142. Judge Hal Miller had it even at 143–143. The draw enabled Antuofermo to retain his title. In his next defense, against Alan Minter, also in Las Vegas, he lost the title by a 15-round split decision. The bout featured a wild disparity in scoring with a Venezuelan judge scoring the fight for Antuofermo while a British judge had Minter winning 13 of the 15 rounds. They had a rematch in London on June 28, 1980. Minter retained the crown by a TKO (on cuts) in eight rounds.

Antuofermo kept fighting and winning and, after Hagler won the title from Minter in 1980, Antuofermo was given another chance to regain the World Middleweight Championship. In front of an HBO Boxing audience and a full house at Hagler's native Boston's Boston Garden, Antuofermo this time lost by a TKO on cuts in the fourth round.

After several attempts at becoming a top middleweight again, Antuofermo retired from boxing in 1985.

Apart from Corro, other boxers he beat included world champions Eckhard Dagge, Denny Moyer and Emile Griffith.

In 1992, Michael Franzese, a Caporegime of the Colombo crime family, testified that Antoufermo had been under the control of mobsters including . Franzese stated that that the outcome of many of Antuofermo's fights were pre-determined so that organized crime figures could safely bet, but that the fights with Marvelous Marvin Hagler were not fixed.^[3]

Life after boxing[]

After retirement, Antuofermo began to pursue an acting career. In 1990, he landed a small role in The Godfather Part III as the chief bodyguard of gangster Joey Zasa. He has landed several small speaking roles in movies and television shows since, including the critically acclaimed television show The Sopranos as a mobster. He has also done many theater plays.

Antuofermo also made television commercials for Old Spice deodorant.^[4]

Antuofermo's record reads 50 wins, 7 losses and 2 draws, with 21 wins by knockout. Vito Antuofermo's second oldest son, Pasquale Antuofermo, is currently fighting as an amateur. He now owns a successful landscaping company that operates in Long Island, New York.

Filmography[]

• 1990: Goodfellas �� Prizefighter
• 1990: The Godfather Part III – Anthony 'The Ant' Squigliaro
• 1991: Loser – Homeless Man
• 1993: New York Undercover – Jimmy
• 1996: The Mouse – Trainer
• 1998: Hell's Kitchen – Boyle's Thug
• 1999: La bomba – Pippo Messina
• 2000: The Boys Behind the Desk

Professional boxing record[]

50 Wins (21 knockouts), 7 Losses (5 knockouts), 2 Draws[5]
Res.	Record	Opponent	Type	Round Time	Date	Location	Notes
Loss	50–7–2	Matthew Hilton	RTD	4 (10) 3:00	1985-10-20	Montreal Forum, Montreal, Quebec
Win	50–6–2	Larry McCall	UD	10	1985-05-25	Washington Convention Center, Washington, D.C.
Win	49–6–2	Mark Allman	TKO	3 (10) 1:24	1985-03-08	Ridgewood Grove, New York City
Win	48–6–2	Marcus Starks	TKO	4 (10) 1:46	1984-12-14	Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, New York
Win	47–6–2	Ricard Beranek	TD	5 (10)	1984-09-13	Resorts International, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Loss	46–6–2	Marvelous Marvin Hagler	RTD	4 (15)	1981-06-13	Boston Garden, Boston	For WBA, WBC, and The Ring middleweight titles
Win	46–5–2	Mauricio Aldana	UD	10	1981-04-02	Conrad Hilton Hotel, Chicago, Illinois
Loss	45–5–2	Alan Minter	TKO	8 (15)	1980-06-28	Empire Pool, London	For WBA, WBC, and The Ring middleweight titles
Loss	45–4–2	Alan Minter	SD	15	1980-03-16	Caesars Palace, Paradise, Nevada	Lost WBA, WBC, and The Ring middleweight titles
Draw	45–3–2	Marvelous Marvin Hagler	SD	15	1979-11-30	Caesars Palace, Paradise, Nevada	Retained WBA, WBC, and The Ring middleweight titles
Win	45–3–1	Hugo Corro	SD	15	1979-06-30	Esplanade de Fontvieille, Fontvieille	Won WBA, WBC, and The Ring middleweight titles
Win	44–3–1	Mike Hallacy	UD	10	1978-11-11	Boston Garden, Boston
Win	43–3–1	Willie Classen	UD	10	1978-08-25	Madison Square Garden, New York City
Win	42–3–1	Willie Warren	UD	10	1978-06-22	Madison Square Garden, New York City
Win	41–3–1	Bennie Briscoe	UD	10	1978-02-04	Madison Square Garden, New York City
Win	40–3–1	Mike Nixon	TKO	4 (10) 2:58	1977-10-27	Madison Square Garden, New York City
Win	39–3–1	Ramon Beras	KO	6 (10) 1:16	1977-08-30	Montreal Forum, Montreal, Quebec
Win	38–3–1	Eugene Hart	KO	5 (10)	1977-03-11	Philadelphia Arena, Philadelphia
Win	37–3–1	Pablo Rodriguez	KO	4 (10)	1976-12-02	Sunnyside Gardens, New York City
Loss	36–3–1	Maurice Hope	TKO	15 2:48	1976-10-01	Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio	Lost European super welterweight title
Loss	36–2–1	Frank Wissenbach	PTS	8	1976-06-18	Deutschlandhalle, Berlin
Win	36–1–1	Jean-Claude Warusfel	TKO	14 (15)	1976-03-26	Palasport di San Siro, Milan, Lombardy	Retained European super welterweight title
Win	35–1–1	Eckhard Dagge	PTS	15	1976-01-16	Deutschlandhalle, Berlin	Won European super welterweight title
Win	34–1–1	Bruce Cantrell	PTS	10	1975-11-28	Long Island Arena, Commack, New York
Win	33–1–1	Ricky Ortiz	TKO	6 (10)	1975-10-23	Broome County Arena, Binghamton, New York
Win	32–1–1	Vinnie Curto	UD	10	1975-08-08	Tropicana Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada
Win	31–1–1	Antonio Castellini	TKO	5 (10)	1975-06-27	Palazzetto dello Sport, Naples, Campania
Win	30–1–1	Reinaldo Oliveira Jr.	TKO	6 (10)	1975-06-06	Palazzetto dello Sport, Naples, Campania
Win	29–1–1	Dave Huckaby	UD	10	1975-03-20	Bristol Arena, Bristol, Connecticut
Win	28–1–1	Ramón Mendez	PTS	10	1975-01-24	Milan, Lombardy
Win	27–1–1	Emile Griffith	UD	10	1974-11-22	Madison Square Garden, New York City
Win	26–1–1	Paul Osborne	TKO	3 (10)	1974-10-18	Steelworkers Hall, Baltimore, Maryland
Win	25–1–1	Denny Moyer	UD	10	1974-09-09	Madison Square Garden, New York City
Win	24–1–1	Melvin Dennis	PTS	10	1974-06-07	Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio
Win	23–1–1	Joey Durelle	KO	1 (10)	1974-05-03	Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio
Win	22–1–1	John L. Sullivan	UD	10	1974-03-08	Madison Square Garden, New York City
Win	21–1–1	Chucho García	UD	10	1974-01-14	Felt Forum, New York City
Win	20–1–1	Buddy Boggs	TKO	6 (10)	1973-12-05	Baltimore Civic Center, Baltimore
Win	19–1–1	Tony Kid Durango	UD	10	1973-10-08	Felt Forum, New York City
Win	18–1–1	Danny McAloon	UD	10	1973-08-25	Felt Forum, New York City
Loss	17–1–1	Harold Weston	TKO	5 (10) 2:53	1973-07-09	Felt Forum, New York City
Win	17–0–1	Tony Kid Durango	TKO	2 (10)	1973-06-18	Madison Square Garden, New York City
Win	16–0–1	Art Kettles	SD	10	1973-04-30	Felt Forum, New York City
Win	15–0–1	Luis Rivera	PTS	8	1973-04-13	Sunnyside Gardens, New York City
Win	14–0–1	Ray Villanueva	TKO	4 (10)	1973-03-09	Madison Square Garden, New York City
Win	13–0–1	Skip Yeaton	KO	2 (10)	1973-01-31	Sunnyside Gardens, New York City
Win	12–0–1	Al Sewell	KO	7 (8)	1972-12-15	New York City
Win	11–0–1	Carlos Novotny	KO	3 (8)	1972-11-22	New York City
Win	10–0–1	Oreste Lebron	PTS	8	1972-10-10	Sunnyside Gardens, New York City
Win	9–0–1	Charles Hayward	PTS	6	1972-09-11	Gaelic Park, New York City
Win	8–0–1	Gabe Bowens	PTS	4	1972-08-28	Madison Square Garden, New York City
Win	7–0–1	Jerry Caballero	TKO	4 (6)	1972-07-21	Singer Bowl, New York City
Win	6–0–1	Don Sauls	PTS	6	1972-06-30	Sunnyside Gardens, New York City
Win	5–0–1	Lenny Carter	KO	2 (?)	1972-05-26	Sunnyside Gardens, New York City
Win	4–0–1	John Presley	KO	1 (?)	1972-04-11	Sunnyside Gardens, New York City
Win	3–0–1	Ivelaw Eastman	PTS	4	1972-03-01	Sunnyside Gardens, New York City
Draw	2–0–1	Charles Hayward	PTS	6	1972-02-17	Embassy Hall, North Bergen, New Jersey
Win	2–0	Juan Rivera	PTS	6	1972-01-17	Westchester County Center, White Plains, New York
Win	1–0	Ivelaw Eastman	PTS	4	1971-11-30	Sunnyside Gardens, New York City

See also[]

• List of middleweight boxing champions
• List of WBA world champions
• List of WBC world champions

References[]

External links[]