| Virgil Akins | |
|---|---|
| Statistics | |
| Nickname(s) | Honeybear |
| Born | March 10, 1928 St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. |
| Died | January 22, 2011 (aged 82) St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 92 |
| Wins | 59 |
| Wins by KO | 34 |
| Losses | 31 |
| Draws | 2 |
Virgil Akins (March 10, 1928 – January 22, 2011) was an American boxer who won the Welterweight Championship of the World in 1958.[1] Nicknamed ‘Honeybear’, Akins was the first World Champion boxer from St. Louis.
Career
Akins was born and died in St. Louis, Missouri.
Akins was considered lanky, but proved nevertheless to be a powerful hitter with either hand. He began his career as a Lightweight in 1948, continuing to fight in that division for 6 years before finally growing into the Welterweight class. He was long considered to be an effective operator and boasted wins over future World Champions Joe Brown and Wallace ‘Bud’ Smith, as well as ending the incredible forty-seven fight winning streak of Ronnie Delaney, by way of knock-out in 1955.
Akins had powered his way up the rankings in both divisions and finally got his chance of a World title once Carmen Basilio relinquished the Welterweight Championship to concentrate on defending his new Middleweight crown. An elimination tournament including six of the World’s top-rated Welterweights was swiftly established in an effort to find Basilio’s successor. Akins emerged the victor and new World Champion on June 6, 1958 by pounding favourite Vince Martinez to a fourth round destruction. All told, Martinez went down nine times, having never seriously recovered from a shattering right delivered early in the First.
Akins's reign would not last long however. Six months later, he lost his title to Don Jordan by way of unanimous decision and in only his first defense. Akins disputed the result but fared no better in the return, held the following Spring. From that moment on, it was downhill all the way for the former champion, who would win just ten of his last twenty-three fights before hanging up his gloves in 1962.
Akins's contract was "owned" under the table by the notorious Frank "Blinky" Palermo, a member of the Philadelphia crime family. Palermo was imprisoned in 1961 for conspiracy and extortion for the covert ownership of prizefighters.[2]
Akins died at the age of 82 on January 22, 2011.[3]
Professional boxing record
| 93 fights | 60 wins | 31 losses |
| By knockout | 34 | 2 |
| By decision | 26 | 29 |
| Draws | 2 | |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 93 | Loss | 60–31–2 |  Rip Randall | UD | 10 | Mar 20, 1962 | Houston | |
| 92 | Loss | 60–30–2 | Ralph Dupas | UD | 10 | Dec 27, 1961 | Bayfront Park Auditorium, Miami | |
| 91 | Win | 60–29–2 | Vince Bonomo | TKO | 4 (10) | Dec 13, 1961 | Auditorium, Miami Beach | |
| 90 | Draw | 59–29–2 |  Stefan Redl | TKO | 10 (?) | Nov 17, 1961 | Gladiators' Arena, Totowa | |
| 89 | Win | 59–29–1 |  Jose Antonio Burgos | TKO | 10 (?) | Oct 16, 1961 | Caracas | |
| 88 | Loss | 58–29–1 | Kenny Lane | UD | 10 | Sep 22, 1961 | Navy-Marine Corps Mem. Stadium, Annapolis | |
| 87 | Loss | 58–28–1 | Henry White | MD | 10 | Sep 05, 1961 | Vogue Arena, Chicago | |
| 86 | Win | 58–27–1 | Cecil Shorts | TKO | 8 (10) | Jul 10, 1961 | Vogue Arena, Chicago | |
| 85 | Win | 57–27–1 | Billy Collins | UD | 10 | May 15, 1961 | Marigold Gardens, Chicago | |
| 84 | Win | 56–27–1 |  Gerald Gray | MD | 10 | Mar 04, 1961 | Sabina Park, Kingston | |
| 83 | Win | 55–27–1 | TJ Jones | TKO | 9 (10) | Jan 16, 1961 | Marigold Gardens, Chicago | |
| 82 | Loss | 54–27–1 | Candy McFarland | SD | 10 | Dec 06, 1960 | Convention Hall, Philadelphia | |
| 81 | Win | 54–26–1 | Carl Hubbard | KO | 5 (10) | Nov 21, 1960 | Marigold Gardens, Chicago | |
| 80 | Loss | 53–26–1 |  Luis Manuel Rodriguez | UD | 10 | Jul 06, 1960 | Freedom Hall, Louisville | |
| 79 | Win | 53–25–1 | Charley Scott | UD | 10 | May 20, 1960 | Chase Hotel, Saint Louis | |
| 78 | Win | 52–25–1 |  Fernando Barreto | PTS | 10 | Apr 01, 1960 | Ginásio Estadual do Ibirapuera, Sao Paulo | |
| 77 | Loss | 51–25–1 |  Wally Swift | PTS | 10 | Mar 08, 1960 | Empire Pool, Wembley | |
| 76 | Loss | 51–24–1 | Don Fullmer | UD | 10 | Jan 28, 1960 | Kiel Auditorium, Saint Louis | |
| 75 | Loss | 51–23–1 | Denny Moyer | SD | 10 | Dec 10, 1959 | Auditorium, Portland | |
| 74 | Loss | 51–22–1 | Kenny Lane | MD | 10 | Oct 28, 1959 | Capitol Arena, Washington | |
| 73 | Win | 51–21–1 | Stan Harrington | MD | 10 | Aug 14, 1959 | Civic Auditorium, Honolulu | |
| 72 | Loss | 50–21–1 | Luis Manuel Rodriguez | UD | 10 | Jun 17, 1959 | Exhibition Hall, Miami Beach | |
| 71 | Loss | 50–20–1 | Don Jordan | UD | 15 | Apr 24, 1959 | Kiel Auditorium, Saint Louis | For NBA, The Ring and lineal welterweight titles |
| 70 | Loss | 50–19–1 | Don Jordan | UD | 15 | Dec 05, 1958 | Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles | Lost NBA, The Ring and lineal welterweight titles |
| 69 | Loss | 50–18–1 | Del Flanagan | UD | 10 | Sep 18, 1958 | Auditorium, Saint Paul | |
| 68 | Win | 50–17–1 | Charley Tombstone Smith | TKO | 10 (10) | Aug 20, 1958 | Chicago Stadium, Chicago | |
| 67 | Win | 49–17–1 | Vince Martinez | TKO | 4 (15) | Jun 06, 1958 | Arena, Saint Louis | Won vacant NBA, The Ring and lineal welterweight titles |
| 66 | Win | 48–17–1 | Issac Logart | TKO | 6 (12) | Mar 21, 1958 | Madison Square Garden, New York | |
| 65 | Win | 47–17–1 | Tony DeMarco | TKO | 12 (15) | Jan 21, 1958 | Boston Garden, Boston | |
| 64 | Win | 46–17–1 | Tony DeMarco | KO | 14 (15) | Oct 29, 1957 | Boston Garden, Boston | |
| 63 | Loss | 45–17–1 | Gil Turner | PTS | 10 | Sep 18, 1957 | Convention Hall, Atlantic City | |
| 62 | Win | 45–16–1 | Garnet Hart | TKO | 8 (10) | Aug 09, 1957 | Public Hall, Cleveland | |
| 61 | Loss | 44–16–1 |  Franz Szuzina | UD | 10 | Jul 08, 1957 | Kiel Auditorium, Saint Louis | |
| 60 | Win | 44–15–1 | Walter Byars | UD | 10 | Jun 12, 1957 | Arena, Norfolk | |
| 59 | Win | 43–15–1 | Jimmy Beecham | TKO | 3 (10) | May 24, 1957 | Capitol Arena, Washington | |
| 58 | Win | 42–15–1 | Franz Szuzina | UD | 10 | Mar 04, 1957 | Kiel Auditorium, Saint Louis | |
| 57 | Win | 41–15–1 | Al Andrews | TKO | 6 (10) | Jan 31, 1957 | Kiel Auditorium, Saint Louis | |
| 56 | Win | 40–15–1 | Sammy Walker | UD | 10 | Jan 08, 1957 | Memorial Auditorium, Buffalo | |
| 55 | Win | 39–15–1 | Pat Lowry | KO | 2 (10) | Oct 22, 1956 | Biscayne Arena, Miami | |
| 54 | Loss | 38–15–1 | Charlie Sawyer | UD | 10 | Sep 15, 1956 | Legion Stadium, Hollywood | |
| 53 | Win | 38–14–1 | Don Jose | TKO | 4 (10) | Jun 21, 1956 | Kallio's Arena, Monroe | |
| 52 | Win | 37–14–1 |  Hector Constance | UD | 10 | Mar 21, 1956 | Arena, Saint Louis | |
| 51 | Win | 36–14–1 | Andy Watkins | TKO | 2 (10) | Mar 08, 1956 | Alnad Temple, East Saint Louis | |
| 50 | Win | 35–14–1 | Mel Barker | TKO | 8 (10) | Jan 26, 1956 | Alnad Temple, East Saint Louis | |
| 49 | Win | 34–14–1 | Clarence Cook | KO | 4 (10) | Jan 19, 1956 | Sportatorium, Dallas | |
| 48 | Win | 33–14–1 |  Rudolph Bent | TKO | 5 (10) | Jan 03, 1956 | Valley Arena, Holyoke | |
| 47 | Loss | 32–14–1 | Issac Logart | UD | 10 | Dec 02, 1955 | Madison Square Garden, New York | |
| 46 | Win | 32–13–1 | Harold Jones | UD | 10 | Sep 13, 1955 | Victory Field, Indianapolis | |
| 45 | Win | 31–13–1 | Issac Logart | SD | 10 | Aug 08, 1955 | St. Nicholas Arena, New York | |
| 44 | Win | 30–13–1 | Bill Sudduth | TKO | 8 (10) | Jun 21, 1955 | Marigold Gardens, Chicago | |
| 43 | Win | 29–13–1 | Joe Miceli | TKO | 1 (10) | May 23, 1955 | St. Nicholas Arena, New York | |
| 42 | Win | 28–13–1 | Ronnie Delaney | KO | 8 (10) | May 02, 1955 | St. Nicholas Arena, New York | |
| 41 | Draw | 27–13–1 | Johnny Brown | PTS | 8 | Apr 08, 1955 | Arena, Saint Louis | |
| 40 | Win | 27–13 | Tommy Maddox | TKO | 4 (10) | Mar 15, 1955 | Marigold Gardens, Chicago | |
| 39 | Win | 26–13 | Johnny Brown | TKO | 10 (10) | Mar 02, 1955 | Miami Stadium, Miami | |
| 38 | Win | 25–13 | Henry Hank | UD | 8 | Oct 26, 1954 | Motor City Arena, Detroit | |
| 37 | Loss | 24–13 | Andrew Brown | SD | 10 | Oct 16, 1954 | Coliseum Arena, New Orleans | |
| 36 | Win | 24–12 | Joey Greenwood | TKO | 8 (10) | Jun 02, 1954 | Arena, Saint Louis | |
| 35 | Loss | 23–12 | Philip Kim | TKO | 10 (10) | Aug 29, 1953 | Rainbo Arena, Chicago | |
| 34 | Loss | 23–11 | Johnny Gonsalves | MD | 10 | Apr 04, 1953 | Rainbo Arena, Chicago | |
| 33 | Loss | 23–10 | Joe Miceli | UD | 10 | Sep 30, 1952 | Arena, Milwaukee | |
| 32 | Loss | 23–9 | Johnny Saxton | UD | 10 | Jul 30, 1952 | Chicago Stadium, Chicago | |
| 31 | Win | 23–8 | Jay Watkins | TKO | 2 (10) | May 08, 1952 | Chicago Stadium, Chicago | |
| 30 | Win | 22–8 | Henry Davis | TKO | 9 (10) | Feb 29, 1952 | Legion Stadium, Hollywood | |
| 29 | Win | 21–8 | Joe Gilmer | TKO | 9 (10) | Feb 19, 1952 | Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles | |
| 28 | Win | 20–8 | Baby LeRoy | TKO | 4 (10) | Feb 08, 1952 | Legion Stadium, Hollywood | |
| 27 | Loss | 19–8 | Luther Rawlings | PTS | 8 | Dec 24, 1951 | Madison Square Garden, New York | |
| 26 | Win | 19–7 | Joe Brown | UD | 10 | Dec 06, 1951 | Kiel Auditorium, Saint Louis | |
| 25 | Win | 18–7 | Luther Rawlings | SD | 10 | Oct 17, 1951 | Arena, Saint Louis | |
| 24 | Win | 17–7 | Freddie Dawson | SD | 10 | Sep 26, 1951 | Arena, Saint Louis | |
| 23 | Loss | 16–7 | Joe Brown | PTS | 10 | Jul 06, 1951 | Coliseum Arena, New Orleans | |
| 22 | Win | 16–6 | Tommy Campbell | PTS | 10 | Jun 08, 1951 | Coliseum Arena, New Orleans | |
| 21 | Loss | 15–6 | Joe Brown | PTS | 10 | May 25, 1951 | Coliseum Arena, New Orleans | |
| 20 | Win | 15–5 | Wallace Bud Smith | PTS | 10 | Apr 17, 1951 | Kiel Auditorium, Saint Louis | |
| 19 | Win | 14–5 | Wallace Bud Smith | PTS | 10 | Apr 04, 1951 | Madison Square Garden, New York | |
| 18 | Win | 13–5 | Gene Parker | TKO | 6 (6) | Mar 09, 1951 | Madison Square Garden, New York | |
| 17 | Loss | 12–5 | Gene Parker | UD | 6 | Jan 18, 1951 | Auditorium, Minneapolis | |
| 16 | Win | 12–4 | Joe Sgro | UD | 10 | Dec 06, 1950 | Arena, Saint Louis | |
| 15 | Win | 11–4 | Rudy Zadell | TKO | 3 (8) | Nov 01, 1950 | Arena, Saint Louis | |
| 14 | Win | 10–4 | Nelson Levering | KO | 2 (8) | Oct 24, 1950 | Kiel Auditorium, Saint Louis | |
| 13 | Win | 9–4 | Art Edmundson | PTS | 8 | Oct 05, 1950 | Arena, Saint Louis | |
| 12 | Loss | 8–4 | Joe Fisher | PTS | 8 | Jul 15, 1950 | Denver | |
| 11 | Loss | 8–3 | Nelson Levering | PTS | 6 | Jul 06, 1950 | Warren Bowl, Cheyenne | |
| 10 | Loss | 8–2 | Arthur Persley | PTS | 6 | Sep 29, 1949 | Sunnyside Garden, Sunnyside, Queens | |
| 9 | Win | 8–1 | Clem Custer | PTS | 8 | Mar 30, 1949 | Kiel Auditorium, Saint Louis | |
| 8 | Win | 7–1 | Willie Cheatum | PTS | 8 | Mar 08, 1949 | Kiel Auditorium, Saint Louis | |
| 7 | Win | 6–1 | Russ Moore | KO | 2 (6) | Feb 15, 1949 | Forum, Wichita | |
| 6 | Win | 5–1 | Joe Henderson | KO | 3 (6) | Jan 17, 1949 | Kiel Auditorium, Saint Louis | |
| 5 | Win | 4–1 | Danny Robinson | PTS | 6 | Nov 23, 1948 | Kiel Auditorium, Saint Louis | |
| 4 | Win | 3–1 | Ollie Cobbins | PTS | 6 | Jul 12, 1948 | Kiel Auditorium, Saint Louis | |
| 3 | Win | 2–1 | Charlie Baxter | PTS | 6 | Apr 21, 1948 | Kiel Auditorium, Saint Louis | |
| 2 | Loss | 1–1 | Charlie Baxter | TKO | 3 (6) | Apr 05, 1948 | Kiel Auditorium, Saint Louis | |
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Albert Adams | PTS | 6 | Mar 10, 1948 | Kiel Auditorium, Saint Louis |
Honors
- Named The Ring magazine Progress of the Year fighter for 1958.
- Elected to the Gateway Classic Walk of Fame
See also
References
- ^ "The Lineal Welterweight Champs". Cyber Boxing Zone.
- ^ "BLINKY PALERMO, MOBSTER WHO RAN BOXING DIES!". Ring Talk. Archived from the original on February 25, 2012. Retrieved September 9, 2011.
- ^ http://www.stlamerican.com/sports/local_sports/article_86810998-2801-11e0-91bb-001cc4c03286.html
Sources
- Boxing record for Virgil Akins from BoxRec
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Carmen Basilio Vacated | World Welterweight Champion June 6, 1958 – December 5, 1958 | Succeeded by Don Jordan |
- https://boxrec.com/media/index.php/National_Boxing_Association%27s_Quarterly_Ratings:_1958
- https://boxrec.com/media/index.php/National_Boxing_Association%27s_Quarterly_Ratings:_1959
- Biographical Information from: (i) The Ring Record Book & Boxing Encyclopedia, 1959 (Nat Fleischer, The Ring Book Shop Inc., 1959). See p. 4. (ii) STL Today [1].
- Details of Akin’s Ring Record from: (i) The Boxing Records Archive [2]. (ii) The Cyber Boxing Zone [3].