Your opinion on Billy Petrolle

A shot Billy Petrolle giving you a glimpse of how great he must have been in his prime. Ross on the other hand, is IN his prime here.

Petrolle was one of the greatest bodypunchers ever and an ATG lightweight. He beat many champions and top contenders during his career but was avoided in his prime. Manager Jack Hurley couldn't get him a title shot until he was too old and well past his peak. The champions and their managers wanted no part of the "Fargo Express". He was that dangerous.

He was the only man to ever knock out the rugged Battling Battalino. He beat Tony Canzoneri, Jimmy McLarnin, Sammy Fuller, Cuddy DeMarco and many others. I believe Jimmy Mclarnin called Petrolle his toughest opponent. That's pretty high praise considering the quality of fighters Jimmy faced.

 

He definitely deserves more discussion. Not only did he have excellent wins but he was an incredibly exciting performer. Hard-hitting, iron-jawed, all-action, always pressing forward....all the stuff that would and should have made him THE standout performer of his time. Unfortunately, his era had so many other greats that his deeds get lost in the mix.

 

Tough guy...they say that he was one of the best body punchers of all time...

 

The great Fargo Express, Billy Petrolle...Oh my what a great era this was...Barney Ross, Billy Petrolle, Jimmy McLarnin, Tony Canzoneri, Henry Armstrong, Lou Ambers, and other LW /WW fighters...I once asked Ruby Goldstein, who would win a bout between Billy Petrolle and Carmine Basillio ? His answer, Billy Petrolle, for what it's worth...
There were a lot of white boxers who were great but never got a title shot those days...
Dave Shade [would give any MW hell] and of course Billy Petrolle, with his famous Indian blanket trademark...He was tough as nails...I dream match for me would be between
Henry Armstrong and Billy Petrolle, at 141 pounds, both in their primes.....
P.S. I marvel at Barney Ross's classical boxing style and condition...Oh yes...

 

I always consider Billy Petrolle to be the prime example of the quality of the lightweight division during that era, and an illustration of how devalued and easy-to-come-by "world titles" have become in recent times.
The fact that a fighter as good as he, with a record as great as his, never held a world title, and only got a title shot after 10 years (and 100 or 200 or more fights) says a lot about how tough the game was in those days.

Petrolle was, in my opinion, a greater fighter than a lot of the familiar names you'll find when reading those long "top 100 all-time great" lists people like to come up with.

 

:good:good:goodthumbsupdeal

 

I'm sure he was referring to the welterweight version of Basilio. A middleweight version would be too much to ask of any lightweight.

 

Man oh man! I never even pondered this one. The brain goes on overload at the mere thought of how this would play out. The kneejerk reaction of most would be to say "Armstrong", but from what we know of Petrolle it would be rash to kneejerk any fellow pressure fighter to beat Billy at his best. I don't rule out a Fargo Express victory here. Could really go either way.

 

This content is protected

This content is protected

 

Managed to thrive career wise after boxing too...RARE!!!!