Vito Antuofermo

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]

Vito Antuofermo
Antuofermo in 2006
Statistics
Real nameVito Antuofermo
Weight(s)Middleweight
Nationality Italian
American
Born (1953-02-09) February 9, 1953
Palo del Colle, Italy
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights59
Wins50
Wins by KO21
Losses7
Draws2
No contests0

Background

Antuofermo was born in Italy, in the town of Palo del Colle, about 15 km 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 lb 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 lb 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 USA, 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.

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, included 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.[3]

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[4]
Res. Record Opponent Type Round
Time		 Date Location Notes
Loss50–7–2 Matthew Hilton RTD 4 (10)
3:00		 1985-10-20 Montreal Forum,
Montreal, Quebec
Win50–6–2 Larry McCall UD 10 1985-05-25 Washington Convention Center,
Washington, D.C.
Win49–6–2 Mark Allman TKO 3 (10)
1:24		 1985-03-08 Ridgewood Grove,
New York City
Win48–6–2 Marcus Starks TKO 4 (10)
1:46		 1984-12-14 Nassau Coliseum,
Uniondale, New York
Win47–6–2 Ricard Beranek TD 5 (10) 1984-09-13 Resorts International,
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Loss46–6–2 Marvelous Marvin Hagler RTD 4 (15) 1981-06-13 Boston Garden,
Boston		 For WBA, WBC, and The Ring middleweight titles
Win46–5–2 Mauricio Aldana UD 10 1981-04-02 Conrad Hilton Hotel,
Chicago, Illinois
Loss45–5–2 Alan Minter TKO 8 (15) 1980-06-28 Empire Pool,
London		 For WBA, WBC, and The Ring middleweight titles
Loss45–4–2 Alan Minter SD 15 1980-03-16 Caesars Palace,
Paradise, Nevada		 Lost WBA, WBC, and The Ring middleweight titles
Draw45–3–2 Marvelous Marvin Hagler SD 15 1979-11-30 Caesars Palace,
Paradise, Nevada		 Retained WBA, WBC, and The Ring middleweight titles
Win45–3–1 Hugo Corro SD 15 1979-06-30 Esplanade de Fontvieille, Fontvieille Won WBA, WBC, and The Ring middleweight titles
Win44–3–1 Mike Hallacy UD 10 1978-11-11 Boston Garden,
Boston
Win43–3–1 Willie Classen UD 10 1978-08-25 Madison Square Garden,
New York City
Win42–3–1 Willie Warren UD 10 1978-06-22 Madison Square Garden,
New York City
Win41–3–1 Bennie Briscoe UD 10 1978-02-04 Madison Square Garden,
New York City
Win40–3–1 Mike Nixon TKO 4 (10)
2:58		 1977-10-27 Madison Square Garden,
New York City
Win39–3–1 Ramon Beras KO 6 (10)
1:16		 1977-08-30 Montreal Forum,
Montreal, Quebec
Win38–3–1 Eugene Hart KO 5 (10) 1977-03-11 Philadelphia Arena,
Philadelphia
Win37–3–1 Pablo Rodriguez KO 4 (10) 1976-12-02 Sunnyside Gardens,
New York City
Loss36–3–1 Maurice Hope TKO 15
2:48		 1976-10-01 Palazzetto dello Sport,
Rome, Lazio		 Lost European super welterweight title
Loss36–2–1 Frank Wissenbach PTS 8 1976-06-18 Deutschlandhalle, Berlin
Win36–1–1 Jean-Claude Warusfel TKO 14 (15) 1976-03-26 Palasport di San Siro,
Milan, Lombardy		 Retained European super welterweight title
Win35–1–1 Eckhard Dagge PTS 15 1976-01-16 Deutschlandhalle, Berlin Won European super welterweight title
Win34–1–1 Bruce Cantrell PTS 10 1975-11-28 Long Island Arena,
Commack, New York
Win33–1–1 Ricky Ortiz TKO 6 (10) 1975-10-23 Broome County Arena,
Binghamton, New York
Win32–1–1 Vinnie Curto UD 10 1975-08-08 Tropicana Hotel & Casino,
Las Vegas, Nevada
Win31–1–1 Antonio Castellini TKO 5 (10) 1975-06-27 Palazzetto dello Sport,
Naples, Campania
Win30–1–1 Reinaldo Oliveira Jr. TKO 6 (10) 1975-06-06 Palazzetto dello Sport,
Naples, Campania
Win29–1–1 Dave Huckaby UD 10 1975-03-20 Bristol Arena,
Bristol, Connecticut
Win28–1–1 Ramón Mendez PTS 10 1975-01-24 Milan, Lombardy
Win27–1–1 Emile Griffith UD 10 1974-11-22 Madison Square Garden,
New York City
Win26–1–1 Paul Osborne TKO 3 (10) 1974-10-18 Steelworkers Hall,
Baltimore, Maryland
Win25–1–1 Denny Moyer UD 10 1974-09-09 Madison Square Garden,
New York City
Win24–1–1 Melvin Dennis PTS 10 1974-06-07 Palazzetto dello Sport,
Rome, Lazio
Win23–1–1 Joey Durelle KO 1 (10) 1974-05-03 Palazzetto dello Sport,
Rome, Lazio
Win22–1–1 John L. Sullivan UD 10 1974-03-08 Madison Square Garden,
New York City
Win21–1–1 Chucho García UD 10 1974-01-14 Felt Forum,
New York City
Win20–1–1 Buddy Boggs TKO 6 (10) 1973-12-05 Baltimore Civic Center,
Baltimore
Win19–1–1 Tony Kid Durango UD 10 1973-10-08 Felt Forum,
New York City
Win18–1–1 Danny McAloon UD 10 1973-08-25 Felt Forum,
New York City
Loss17–1–1 Harold Weston TKO 5 (10)
2:53		 1973-07-09 Felt Forum,
New York City
Win17–0–1 Tony Kid Durango TKO 2 (10) 1973-06-18 Madison Square Garden,
New York City
Win16–0–1 Art Kettles SD 10 1973-04-30 Felt Forum,
New York City
Win15–0–1 Luis Rivera PTS 8 1973-04-13 Sunnyside Gardens,
New York City
Win14–0–1 Ray Villanueva TKO 4 (10) 1973-03-09 Madison Square Garden,
New York City
Win13–0–1 Skip Yeaton KO 2 (10) 1973-01-31 Sunnyside Gardens,
New York City
Win12–0–1 Al Sewell KO 7 (8) 1972-12-15 New York City
Win11–0–1 Carlos Novotny KO 3 (8) 1972-11-22 New York City
Win10–0–1 Oreste Lebron PTS 8 1972-10-10 Sunnyside Gardens,
New York City
Win9–0–1 Charles Hayward PTS 6 1972-09-11 Gaelic Park,
New York City
Win8–0–1 Gabe Bowens PTS 4 1972-08-28 Madison Square Garden,
New York City
Win7–0–1 Jerry Caballero TKO 4 (6) 1972-07-21 Singer Bowl,
New York City
Win6–0–1 Don Sauls PTS 6 1972-06-30 Sunnyside Gardens,
New York City
Win5–0–1 Lenny Carter KO 2 (?) 1972-05-26 Sunnyside Gardens,
New York City
Win4–0–1 John Presley KO 1 (?) 1972-04-11 Sunnyside Gardens,
New York City
Win3–0–1 Ivelaw Eastman PTS 4 1972-03-01 Sunnyside Gardens,
New York City
Draw2–0–1 Charles Hayward PTS 6 1972-02-17 Embassy Hall,
North Bergen, New Jersey
Win2–0 Juan Rivera PTS 6 1972-01-17 Westchester County Center,
White Plains, New York
Win1–0 Ivelaw Eastman PTS 4 1971-11-30 Sunnyside Gardens,
New York City

See also

References
  1. "The Lineal Middleweight Champions". The Cyber Boxing Zone Encyclopedia.
  2. Katz, Michael. "ANTUOFERMO, A 'BORN FIGHTER,' RETURNS", The New York Times, September 13, 1984. Accessed February 8, 2019. "To be specific, he is an Italian-born fighter, who now lives in Howard Beach, Queens."
  3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzsWnEu-vVE&t=387s
  4. "Vito Antuofermo boxing record". BoxRec.com.
Sporting positions
Regional boxing titles
Preceded by
Eckhard Dagge		 European super welterweight champion
January 16, 1976 – October 1, 1976		 Vacant
Title next held by
Maurice Hope
World boxing titles
Preceded by
Hugo Corro		 WBA middleweight champion
June 30, 1979 – March 16, 1980		 Succeeded by
Alan Minter
WBC middleweight champion
June 30, 1979 – March 16, 1980
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