Vito Antuofermo Documentary - Boxing's Blood Warrior
Вставка
- Опубліковано 10 сер 2021
- A look back at the career of former middleweight champion Vito Antuofermo.
(PLEASE NOTE : A pre-emptive apology is in order as I'm struggling a bit with facial palsy and this video was a bit tougher to narrate than the last few. .So my apologies in advance if there are certain words sound *off*) If you wish to donate/support the channel please click here:
www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_... - Спорт
Hugely underrated and unappreciated fighter. Really only known by true boxing fans.
Well said marciano49, he is a true warrior.💯
Guys like this are what's missing from boxing...
Yeah, these gangsta, loudmouth pussies nowadays couldn't carry this guys jock. Sure, there are good fighters today, no doubt. But I'm talking tough guys like this. Don't make em like this anymore.
Literally one of the most beloved fighters (edit: AND PEOPLE) to this day in the remaining Italian community here in the five boroughs of New York. As a kid I remember him being mobbed at the Feast of San Gennaro and thought at that moment "I want to be like this "old" man... I want to be loved like this".
And that is why I am still fighting and coaching PAL/Golden Gloves. Vito was also very good in all his small acting roles, as you said, his bulldog like classic tough guy face does the acting for him.
His unmatched toughness and Marciano like determination made him great. His tendency to get cut, also like Marciano, requited a lot of heart to stay the course . That Haggler fight was his superhero moment, a man getting by on pure heart and toughness.
Great video. I love this man and appreciate the effort
Thanks so much. Vito did have a Marciano-like mindset.
I couldn't have said it Any better, 👍👍👍🏆
100%.
Loved in Italy too. He's one of us.
Vito deserved all his success always giving 100%,he was well spoken as well which helped with his acting.
I met Vito personally. Great humble guy. I rooted for him hard in the first Hagler bout that ended in a draw years before. I met him in the middle 90s. He's always in great shape. He's always a very nice man. Thanks for the tribute. 👍🙌 #excelsior
Imagine anyone else calling Marvelous Marvin "that guy" like MM was an average ordinary Joe. 🙂
Watched a lot of his fights as a kid. He was all heart and you always knew you were gonna get action. Warrior to the core.
Vito is s good fighter is a huge understatement. Vito is a beast in the ring. He may not of had the physical abilities a lot of guys had but he had a heart like a elephant
I remember him! He had astonishing determination. He just kept coming and kept coming. Whenever Vito was on the ticket you knew that this was going to be a fight you didn't want to miss.
Vito is a what a boxer is all about!! Heart and Determination!! A Real Gentleman!! I had the pleasure of meeting him!!
Vito had the heart of lion...and so did Marvin...I love that Vito called out Howard for underestimating him...
Minter was a world class fighter....he is not given enough credit either...
Boxing is hard and too many club fighters that cannot afford to be fighters full-time they become journeyman....That is what separates Champs like Vito
Rich Thanks again for what you do!!!
Thanks, Charter.
A man with an iron will. Much respect!
I remember his fight with Marvin Haglar (God Rest His Soul),🤜🏆🤜
It was on the Undercard of the Fight between,
Wilfredo Benitez (Welterweight Champ) vs
Sugar Ray Lenard. I think back in, 1979,
Anyway, I liked Veto Antafermo,, he had a lot of Heart, 👍🤜🏆
You are ringing all the bells! Another fantastic job! Vito Antuofermo was one of my favorites. As a Teri met him on Long Island at a Pizzeria. I walked up to him and asked to shake his hand. He had huge hands, I wanted to ask him for his autograph but I was afraid. One of my biggest regrets. Thank you for showing new Boxing fans what a Brooklyn Tiger looks like, there are no two in the world like him. Bravo!
Hey thanks, soprano4ny...really awesome that you got to meet him, seemed as down to earth as it gets.
Double vision. Clubbed foot. No great power punch. Not particularly fast. Still went toe to toe with the Marvin the Great and fought him to a draw. Man has my respect. Warrior.
Good assessment. Some guys push their punches instead of naturally letting them go. But Vito was strong and always in shape. A crowd pleasing warrior.
Hagler was robbed against him
@@ChuppaChuck I thought Hagler clearly won the "draw" match. I also thought Hagler outpointed Leonard.
Well....Hagler rectified that quickly not long after....(Plus Hagler actually won the first fight...but..whatever, lol)
8 count ? He got hit with a shot stumbled and kept punching. Bullshit!
Vito!
Vito!
VITO!
I remember this tough guy....walked the walk, not disrespectful with his mouth, and absolutely looks like a fighter in every way. Walking through his old neighborhood, you can just tell this guy was a bad dude!
Character....
Rich, you have my upmost repesct. Thank you for doing all these and giving these warriors respect while dealing with your own battles out of the ring. Deepest respect. Thank you
Thanks. I'm really happy these fighters are finding a new audience.
@@RichtheFightHistorian Yes sir. What a pleasure to get a reply from you. Thank you. Blessings, God bless
My dad was a merchant marine and his cabin was next to an ex-pro who'd recently retired and had fought Antuofermo. The guy told my dad it was the most frustrating fight of his life, he said it was like one of those nightmares where you're throwing punches with everything you have but they're having the effect of slapping someone with a feather. Said that Vito was the toughest SOB he ever fought in his whole life. I really don't remember the guy's name or if he won or lost, but my dad used to tell me that story all the time. He also used to take me with him on the subway to the National Maritime Union building in NYC in the early 80s where the great Sandy Saddler himself ran the gym. I was just a little kid but he was a really nice old man.
That's a great story. Wish we knew the name of the retired fighter.
That Man is the very definition of the term Will Over Skill
Vito fought the world champion, then the WBA no.1, then the WBC no.1. Tough life he had!
Undisputed Middleweight Champion of The World! Well Done.
What a Warrior! Vito had the Heart of a Lion!👍😁
God Bless you paisan!!!!! Rest in peace. You where always a Beast. With a giant heart, made Italians everywhere 100% proud.💪🥊🇮🇹
Rest in peace???? The man is still alive !
@@Phantom-sj7zg 😅
Huh? Vito is still with us. Lol
you are very much needed plz keep covering these lesser known warriors they definitely disserve their flowers keep shining a light on them being a boxing fan all my life and im ashamed to say i dont know half the guys you cover but bc u are covering them i now know so thank you
I used to see Vito training every night at the Lost Battalion Hall in Regó Park before he became champ,around the same time he knocked out Cyclone Hart,I was ringside when he fought Willie Classen and a riot erupted at when he was awarded a unanimous decision at Madison Square Garden
I seen Riddick Bowe train their as well
Queens Gym
Lost battalion hall brings back memories my friend used to be in charge of the hall for the parks dept I used to go in and workout for free with the weights and boxing,they had a weight cage in back downstairs then next to that they had the powerlifting floor then next to that they had the boxing area,then upstairs they had basketball,volleyball and badminton.brings back memories of the mid 90’s
@@ciscoizzy Elmwood
wow..I used to play basketball at Lost Battalion Hall in the early to mid 70's...I remember they had a ring downstairs ?..had friends who lived in Corona..
You will NEVER, EVER hear Joshua and Wilder speak with the heart Vito has. Great video of this legend boxer.
You will never find any modern fighter with the heart of Vito or Marciano. There are a lot of great fighters out there today, but this man relied on heart and toughness over everything else. He knew he would be cut, he knew by the mid rounds he would be beaten up, but he also knew that in the late rounds he would be the guy with fire in his eyes and belly.
Vito is just a great man. A model for masculinity we should all admire as men, and for me as a boxer and coach.
How dare you question the heart of any boxer. You guys are fools
AJ says he likes sleeping 10 hours a day 😆
@@dcee6670 what are you, a non binary green haired college girl with this "ohhhh my gawdd. How dare you"? What does your statement even mean
I have been in or around the sport my whole life, my old man and his old man before me. There are ALOT of fighters with no heart. Some are in it for money, others fame, others women. When you are drained, ready to puke up and unable to lift your arms by the mid rounds, what makes a guy get off that stool is heart and toughness.
A lot of guys can't do that. In fact a lot of great boxers who have never been tested give up when they get put down once. Happens all the time. Boxers arent priests or holy men. You can criticize us without commiting blasphemy
@@thegadflygang5381
Sounds like you have a different agenda. You’re just living in the past and yearn for your good old days. Got several names for you but here’s one… Manny P. No go back to living in your past waiting for the guy with the cicle.
Was on my way to work one morning in the Wall Street area and there on the Lexington Ave line standing on the platform with a big Applejack hat on was Vito Antuofermo. I recognized him from the scar tissue around his eyes and I remember his classic fights against Marvin Hagler. Did not know his story til today and am deeply impressed with his grit and heart. He seems like a stand up guy and I respect that.
The dude gave it all he had from start to finish and deserves mad respect just for that... but his courage and determination in the ring only add to that.
Rich, your balance of voiceover/narration, footage of the fights, and obscure archival footage of the fighters out of the ring is exceptionally good. And the music! Bravissimo! Thanks for another great video. I feel like I learn so much boxing history after each of these entertaining videos. You should really teach a college course in Boxing History.
Thanks, Christiaan.
A very very strong middleweight. He made the best of what he had and became a champ. He is never going to be in anybody's top ten or even top twenty but he became a champ and that is to be respected. It's a very small club.
Saw Vito fight Buddy Boggs at the Baltimore Civic Center early in his career and became a fan for the rest of his boxing career.
Vito was my favorite fighter until he finally retired. Loved the heart of a lion.
I loved watching him fight! Saw him train in person for Hagler 2. The man has the heart of a Lion!
One of the many reasons I stopped listening to Howard Stern is because he and his cronies once laughed at Vito's boxing career. That made me very angry and I'm not even Italian. I admire warriors and what Vito achieved should not be made fun of.
I remember the last time the 49ers won a Super Bowl, they had an absolute savage on special teams named Adam Walker. This guy was totally fearless, as well as a $60k per year player. The following year he filled in at fullback due to injuries, even though he wasn't very big, and had a broken wrist (he worse a special cast). He was mainly a blocker in that role. I recall a sports columnist being interviewed, and he referred to him as "the do-nothing Adam Walker."
Stern is an oxygen thief!!!
You just earned another subscriber thank you for all these awesome mini documentaries
Thanks, Will.
Another marvellous documentary. Covering fighters people want to see and with very rare footage and information. These are brilliant. Thank you
Much appreciated, John.
He told Howard Cosell, straight to his face, about underestimating him. Boss status acquired. This man was tougher than woodpecker lips.
Huge fan of the channel. Thanks for all your efforts. This channel is a real gem.
Thanks for watching!
Happy Birthday Vito
Old-school tenacity right there!
Another BRILLIANT boxing documentary, keep them coming.
Will do, Gareth. Thanks.
Great job on this. I loved it
He was a fighter that always came to fight . You didn't see him run he fought going forward. He was honest and soft spoken . A true warrior much respect !
Has so much desire and will in the ring. Saw his first 4 round pro fight at the Garden on the undercard of Ali headliner in 1971. Been a fan ever since
brilliant channel, much needed
Thank you! I really liked this documentary
I love your use of ambient music juxtaposed with the boxing footage. Excellent work!
Thank you very much!
Amazing work brother
How in the hell does this channel only have 16k subscribers? Keep the videos coming Rich! Unbelievable content and very well presented!!!
Thanks, Enzo.
Loved watching these fights in the seventies and eighties
Rich, Great documentary! Thank You.
Thanks so much, Buster.
Great stuff, man, keep it up
Great upload!
Vito Antuofermo was a true warrior who deserves to be in the International Boxing Hall Of Fame based solely on his work ethic. That's good for a lot in my book, as this short, stocky honest man from Bari, Italy, never stopped working. And he never stopped punching, he's a real-life Rocky in my book 🧡💕🤎💜💖🥰💙🤍💝💛💚💗❤️😎👍🏽🥊
Vito wasn’t a very skilled fighter. He was short for a middleweight at 5’ 7”. But he had the intangibles. People keep saying he lost the first Hagler fight, I ask that you grab a pencil and paper and score the fight. By the 13th round Vito was ahead forcing Hagler to rally in the last two rounds.
You do great stuff Rich, appreciated.
My pleasure!
this channel is fantastic.
Merci Rich pour votre travail. Je reconnais ces champions de ma jeunesse à l'époque où une chaine de Tv Française retransmettait une fois par semaine le samedi soir ces combats épiques !! les parents de mon meilleur pôte avait cette chaîne payante et du au décalage horaire nous devions attendre très tard dans la nuit... les combats et les lieux ou ils se déroulaient ( les casinos de Las Vegas ) nous faisait rêver .
Un jour je me suis rendu dans un gym...et j'ai commencé à boxer....merci à vous.
Watching Vito fight was like watching Jake Lamota. The man feared no one & kept going at them from start to finish & he did this with a club foot & double vision. That's astonishing. The double vision must be where Stalloon got the idea for the scene where he complained he's seeing 3 & his corner Sad hit the one in the middle. For him to go the distance & even hurt Hagler was a testimony to his will power.
Marvellous tribute to the man and all he was
The toughest fighter I ever saw fight, the Hagler fight was a Marathon of sheer determination, Hagler won but I was just as impressed with Vito’s toughness and constant pressing forward no matter what as I was with Haglers skill
Great fighter. That kind of grit and heart is rare.
Excellent job man. Just excellent.
Much appreciated!
Loving your channel bro I can't say it enough. Anyway I figured I'd drop a few video suggestions even though you've proved you dont need any help in that area but still....Emanuel Augustus, Ward-Gatti, Olivet McCall, Corey Spinks ( only because I'm from St.Louis and we dont have a lot of champs come outta here), Winky Wright (my favorite defensive fighter ever), Paz...and so on and so on. Definitely Emanuel Augustus or a Augustus/Gatti vs Ward single fight video. I dont know just keep making fire fight Doc's and I'll keep watching liking commenting and sharing...God bless
You make great documentaries!!
😎🇺🇸
Brilliant. I never knew about this guy. What an animal I'm the ring. Brilliant content. Subscribed
Good one would be with Vinny Paz.
Uno de los mas grandes boxeadores que he visto. De niño se ha convertido en mi idolo indiscutido. Tenia tecnica, una pegada bestial y podía ganarle a cualquiera de no ser que lo han boicoteado a menudo. Para mí uno de los mejore boxeadores de toda la historia, que incluso, ademas de pegada y ataque, tenia una defensa muy trabajada, de gran tecnica y agilidad sin comparativos. Un monstruo este gran campeon del mundo!!
The only boxer I ever saw go blow for blow with the Marvelous One RIP
Was thinking the same thing 😱
Mugabi fought Hagler punch for punch until Hagler broke him in one of the best fights ever!!!
Carnera, Marciano, Antuofermo...italian heroes.
Excellent Video on Vito, one of the Best "Gate Keepers" out there, if you could get by Vito, you deserved a title shot. No need to apologize, you still did a great job.🤜🏻🤛🏾
BS. You are describing an opponent. Vito was never an opponent.
They don't make them, like Vito anymore. Good vid.
You know someone is serious when they dont blink. Colddddd 🥶
Don Dunphy during Vito vs Hallacy, "That's Antufuermo in the red trunks with red blood and Hallacy in the green trunks with the red blood," because they were both gushing
Vito is a champion in every since of the word. The real deal.
Irish Mike Nixon was always my favorite...always gave a good fight...Vito knocked him down three times before stopping him in the fourth....
"This a first....i never seen Haggler in trouble...
You just don't see beautiful knockouts like those anymore.
A very tough huge hearted fighter. With him you had to fight and fight hard.
He was one tough kid. He was a very modest young man. Notice how polite he was with the please and thank you's.
Vito Antuofermo KO5 Cyclone Hart was Excellent
Defeating Emile Alphonse Griffith, fought Two Legendary fights with The Great Marvelous Marvin Hagler. Vito was the "BEST"
Of WARRIOR 🩸🔥⚔️ in the Ring. Resilient Durable alway's in shape too go 15 Rounds a The Real "Italian Stallion" and a Gladiator....
Extremely Fearless!!!!! Very Technical Boxer who had Great movement and educated jabs... He is truly One of My All Time GREAT 👍
Vito, always one-of my favorite fighters. Italian born and as durable as they come.
I remember as a kid seeing him training above the old Elmwood movie theater across from the Queens Center Mall. Across the street was a track and I remember him passing me over and over as I did my two mile run.
Thanks for the video, RICH THE FIGHT HISTORIAN
Great video! How about a video on Ron Lyle? He seems so well spoken and down to earth, and loved his parts in the documentary "Facing Ali". Always 1 punch or at least one round away from pulling off an upset.
I have one on Lyle coming soon.
I've never been more proud of anyone in my entire 60 years of life than I was of Vito Antuofermo on the night he fought Marvelous Marvin Hagler! On paper, Vito was a huge underdog, yet he fought his heart out and turned what we thought was going to be a devastating loss into a palpable draw. Quite honestly, it also could have gone either way with a split decision.
For me, here's my idea of the real-life flesh & blood Rocky- Vito Antuofermo!
Like Paulie said to his brother-in-law:
YOU'RE ALL HEART, VITO!!! YOU'RE ALL HEART!!! 🥊💗🥊💗🥊
Proper hard bastard. Respect from Scotland.
2:00 Vito looking like he's ready for the Saturday Night Fever movie
Pundits didn't rate him, but pundits didn't fight him. And those who did thought highly of him.
He was always in top shape
remember watching him as a teenager, man he was a tough mo fo
Great stuff
He never took a step back vs. Hagler. What a great fight. He was an Italian bull.
Harder than nails 🥊👍
Has any fighter accomplished more with less tools and the cutting problem then Vito ? He shows what heart can do.
Tremendous heart ✊
Thanks to Freddy Brown his legendary trainer Vito fought the best he could. He is really unrated and dismissed for no good reason. He gave it everything he had each fight.
He was in a stacked era that's why. Hard to be noticed when your contemporaries are Hagler and Leonard
That "lack of respect" line is overdone, just makes a good story. Vito was respected for the top notch fighter he was.
One of the all time great Italian brawler style boxers. Gameness and heart, similar to Rocky Marciano, Graziano and Jake La Motta
His first fight with Hagler was one for the ages - not a win for Vito, but he got the draw on sheer guts and determination. That was Hagler at his peak - and he couldn’t take Vito.
Going the distance with hagler was an accomplishment.
Inspiring
Tough guy respect