Solving/Debunking a Claim in George Mostardini's Autobiography..

I'll grant you right off the bat that George Mostardini he is not someone that most boxing fans would remember, but as a reminder he was the 70s heavyweight from Chicago known for operating a jackhammer for the city and was a popular ethnic Italian draw for promoter Ernie Terrell and got to fight a very high profile exhibition against then heavyweight champion Leon Spinks that gained a lot of press at the time.

He wrote an autobiography which I recently bought off Amazon and it's a fascinating read as he goes into great detail about fairly obscure fights of his and seems to be excruciatingly honest even in describing his losses. In the book, however, he describes a pair of fights in 1981 against an undefeated heavyweight in New York who was then 16 and 0 with 13 knockouts who he refuses to name out of disgust for being cheated on a pair of decisions. Now I know that lots of old-timers make outrageous claims, but in this case he gives such great detail about the build up to the fight and interacting with the promoter and what went on during the fight and after the fight that you hardly believe that someone would make up something in this great of a detail out of the blue. Especially sense he goes into very honest detail about being knocked out by Earl McLeay and Jimmy Cross and these guys are not exactly well known world beaters.

The issue is that these two fights in 1981 that he claims happened in White Plains, New York, losing first a 10 round decision and then a 12 round decision to this undefeated fighter he refuses to name, do not show up anywhere on the Internet or on his Boxrec record. I'm curious as to who some of the historians here might think fits the bill of a 16-0 heavyweight in 1981 who had never gone beyond six rounds. Thanks in advance for reading this and maybe throw in some ideas my way.

 

I get that there are a bunch of small town fights that are not on the Boxrec record or any other record (and in fact, Mostardini goes into great detail of being given a decent payday against journeyman Frank Schramm right afterwards- a fight he would have no reason to lie about and its not on the record either...)

The issue here is that Mostardini claims that this was a "pushed" fighter with a 16-0 record. Hard to believe that this one would slide under the record since it was a main event.

My question is who could've this been? 16-0 and a local NY heavyweight.

It is an interesting book. Just his recounting of traveling to Oklahoma to fight an early fight and how they slipped a very experienced Jimmy Cross in on him and how he was treated are eye opening. As well as the physical damage he suffered in that fight.

 

Scott Frank is a good guess and good research too to match the record. Gracias.

 

Ok, just went back and reread. He claims this opponent- that he will not name out of disgust at being jobbed out of the decision, had never went more than six rounds before their fights. I guess that rules out Scott Frank. And the 12 rounder wasnt mentioned as one, but yes, you'd think it was a regional title of some sort.