Jump to content

Billy Petrolle-The Fargo Express


BoztheMadman
 Share

Recommended Posts

Billy Petrolle was an outstanding lightweight and later welterweight who fought between 1922 and 1934. Though he never won a world title, he holds two outstanding victories against Tony Canzoneri and Jimmy McLarnin, who were one of the best fighters in the world then and altogether. Petrolle had a rather short career but amassed a record of 89 wins. He also scored 66 knockouts and was deceptively hard-hitting at welterweight, for a natural lightweight. He ended his career after losing to Barney Ross. His record is 89-21-3.

 

He was born on 10 January 1905 in Berwick, Pennsylvania, to a family originally hailing from Schenectady, NY. His two brothers Frank and Pete were also professional boxers. His family moved to Dilworth in Minnesota but when he became a professional prizefighter, he relocated to nearby Fargo in North Dakota. Hence, he was given a fighting alias of The Fargo Express. He was managed by Jack Hurley. He stood 5'7 and had a long reach of 70 inches. He lost his first pro fight on 8 May 1922 to Sammy Dorkins, a fellow debutante, by PTS4. He then rebounded by knocking out Kid Fogarty in 2 in his next fight. He at first fought as a featherweight, but as his body developed, he became a full-fledged lightweight. He had a slow progress over the next few years and his results were rather mixed. On 1 March 1926 he lost to world featherweight champion Louis "Kid" Kaplan in a lightweight fight, on points. Next year he got back to back victories against King Tut, first one by a disqualification in 4 and second one by a newspaper decision in 10. On 13 January 1928 he was matched against then-world lightweight champion Sammy Mandell in a non-title bout and lost on points, however he almost managed to knock Mandell out in the eight when he caught him with a right to the jaw which sent Mandell into the ropes and then hit him with a smashing left which made him groggy. It was his first notable fight which brought him some attention. On 26 July same year, he first fought to a draw against another world champion, Jack "Kid" Berg, and then a month later got his first great victory when he stopped Berg by TKO 5. Berg was down a whole nine times and was given a true beating. However, on 12 September next year he lost a the rubbermatch against King Tut by decision and the return fight as well, same way.

 

He then reeled off 10 straight wins, 9 by knockout, before facing Tony Canzoneri on 11 September '30, at Chicago Stadium. He was a total underdog but produced a big upset when he took at least 6 rounds in a 10 round fight and according to a sportswriter "looked like a million dollars", while Canzoneri's timing seemed off. He then lost the rubbermatch against Jackie Kid Berg on points but then got his second great victory on 21 November when he faced Jimmy McLarnin in his first welterweight fight; Petrolle came in at 138, which today would be light welterweight weight, while McLarnin scaled at 141. McLarnin was considered the best welterweight in America and uncrowned world champion. But the naturally smaller Petrolle threw him off his game and put him down twice in round 4 for nine counts. McLarnin looked to be on the verge of getting stopped but his recuperative powers prevented that. Even though the fight was competitive, Petrolle was the better man and came off with the decision after 10 rounds, to the amazement of many present at Madison Square Garden. McLarnin was later revealed to have injured his right hand in the second round and didn't fight for months afterward. King Tut however, was a different story. Petrolle just couldn't seem to beat him and was even knocked out in one round by him in their next meeting 2 February '31. It was the first and only time he would lose like that. However, only 25 days later, Petrolle finally avenged his losses when he knocked him out in 4; Petrolle was first staggered in the first round but came back in the next to deck Tut and decked him once more in the each of the next two rounds before the fight ended.

 

After decisioning the Filipino Corky Tenorio, he had a rematch against McLarnin on 27 May same year and this time lost a 10-round decision to him. After knocking out the undefeated Justo Suarez of Argentina in 9, he had a rubbermatch with McLarnin on 20 August at the Yankee Stadium and once again dropped a 10-round decision to the great Irish-American. He then knocked out the Durham-born and Canada-based Billy Townsend in 7, after decking him four times. Townsend would later fight and beat his brother Frankie twice. On 24 March '32 he faced the former world featherweight champ Battling Batalino at Madison Square Garden and stopped him by TKO 12 after cutting him up with vicious lefts and rights to the head and then clubbing him into submission. They had a rematch on the 20 May and this time Batalino managed to deck Petrolle with a left hook in the first round. Petrolle got up at nine and proceeded to dominate most of the rest of the fight, winning 7 rounds according to the reporter present there. And then it was finally time for a rematch with Canzoneri, but this time with his world title at stake. Finally he received a world title shot, but had to go down to lightweight limit. This might have affected him for he was soundly dominated by the great Canzoneri and lost the 15-round decision. It would prove to be his only chance to become the world champion, sadly. On 22 March '33 he faced another great in Barney Ross and was outpointed by him in 10 rounds, Ross winning 8 of them according to the Chigago Tribune reporter.

 

He then beat the "Dutch Windmill" Bep Van Klaveren by corner retirement due to a cut eye after 4 rounds and had two fights against Sammy Fuller, drawing the first and winning the second on points. He then had what turned out to be his last fight on 24 January '34 against Barney Ross. Petrolle looked like a spent force and his legs were gone as he was completely outworked and dominated. He only managed to win the 9th round with a desperate rally but his footwork and timing were faded. Petrolle was very complimentary of Ross and said:"Did you ever see a dream fighting? Well, I did-that was when Barney didn't have that left glove in front of my face. That boy is a marvel. He got everything. He'll be lightweight champion until he's as old as I am, if he doesn't grow out of the division." Ross went on to become a world welterweight champion while Billy Petrolle, knowing that he was finished as a serious fighter, did the only right thing and hung up the gloves. He had made some 200 thousand dollars as a prizefighter and owned an iron foundry in Duluth, Minnesota. He later owned a religious goods and gift shop there and was the chairman of the board of directors of the Pioneer National Bank. Petrolle died on 14 May 1983 and was inducted into the IBHOF in 2000.

Edited by BoztheMadman
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...