6. Barney Ross  (72-4-3, 22 KO, 2 ND)

Born: Dec. 23, 1909

Died: Jan. 17, 1967

 

Few men have displayed the bravery of Barney Ross.  Whether he was fighting at Madison Square Garden or on the beaches of Guadalcanal, Ross wore his courage on his sleeve.

Ross became just the third boxer in history to win world titles in three weight classes -- lightweight, junior welterweight and welterweight.  In earning two of those titles he had to defeat fellow Hall of Famers Tony Canzoneri and Jimmy McLarnin.

 

Ross turned pro in Chicago in 1929 to help support his family after gunmen shot down his father, who worked as a grocer.  He was a gifted boxer who was often compared favorably with Benny Leonard.  Perhaps one of his best assets was his chin.  He was not knocked out in 81 pro bouts, quite an accomplishment considering the quality of his competition.

 

In 1933, Ross earning a split decision over Canzoneri to win the world lightweight and junior welterweight titles.  Less than three months later he retained both titles on another split decision in a rematch with Canzoneri and then relinquished the lightweight title.

 

His third crown would come a year later when Ross copped a split decision over welterweight titleholder McLarnin.  In a rematch four months later, McLarnin took his title back.  But it was Ross who won the rubber match in 1935, scoring a unanimous decision over McLarnin at the Polo Grounds in New York.

 

Ross made successful welterweight title defenses against Izzy Jannazzo and Ceferino Garcia in 1936 and 1937.  Then in 1938, he lost the welterweight title to all-time great Henry Armstrong -- then the reigning featherweight champion.  Ross retired after the fight.

 

Along with Canzoneri and McLarnin, Ross made up the holy-trinity of that era’s boxing deities, and he was the master.  He defeated the other two twice whilst losing only once to McLarnin, going 4-1 against his generation’s best who rank amongst the best of all time. Never knocked out in his professional career, a chin of hewn granite was the bedrock of a technical styling that nevertheless placed him in the danger zone against bigger men and brutal punchers.  Capable of outboxing the faster Canzoneri, or outfighting the big-punching McLarnin, Ross was one of the defining talents to box between Harry Greb and Henry Armstrong.

 

Upon his retirement Barney Ross enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and demanded he be sent overseas to fight in World War Two rather than kept at home in a ceremonial role like so many other celebrities.  He fulfilled his self-determined obligations and more, killing a reported twenty Japanese soldiers in defense of three wounded comrades, carrying the only other survivor of the engagement to safety behind his one-man battle.  He was awarded the Silver Star.

 

He returned home addicted to painkillers and heroin, an addiction he broke in the second toughest fight of his life.  Perhaps his unbreakable heart is in part responsible for his astonishing achievements in the boxing ring.

 

Ross died of cancer in his adopted hometown of Chicago when he was 57 years old. He is a member of the International Boxing Hall Of Fame.