Mike Rossman (born Michael Albert DePiano on July 1, 1955) is an American former professional boxer who was the WBA light heavyweight champion of the world. He is of both Italian and Jewish descent, which led to his monikers "The Kosher Butcher" and "The Jewish Bomber".

Mike Rossman
Rossman in 2012
Born
Michael Albert DePiano

(1955-07-01) July 1, 1955 (age 69)
NationalityAmerican
Other namesThe Jewish Bomber
The Kosher Butcher
Statistics
Weight(s)Light heavyweight
Height5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Reach73+12 in (187 cm)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights54
Wins44
Wins by KO27
Losses7
Draws3

Life and career

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Rossman was born in Turnersville, New Jersey, as[1] Michael Albert DePiano. Rossman is his mother's maiden name, which he uses rather than that of his father. Rossman's father was Italian, and his mother Jewish. He is Jewish, and boxed with a Star of David on his shorts.[2][3][4][5] He began boxing at 14 and turned pro on August 10, 1973.

Rossman fought Víctor Galíndez for the light heavyweight championship of the world on the undercard of an AliSpinks rematch in September 1978. Many thought Galindez would defeat him, but Rossman opened up cuts over Galindez's eyes and continued fighting until near the end of the 13th round, when the referee stopped the fight, and Rossman became world champion. Rossman made one successful defense before his hometown Philadelphia fans in December of the same year, stopping Italian challenger Aldo Traversaro in the fifth round after opening a wound on Aldo's forehead with a left hook.[citation needed]

Later, after losing the title back to Galindez in 1979 (see below), his career declined as he lost several matches; he never again fought a title match. He fought into the early 1980s, and perhaps the biggest name he faced in post-championship status was the upstart Dwight Braxton (today known as Dwight Muhammad Qawi), who defeated him in seven rounds in May 1981.[citation needed]

Rossman vs. Galindez championship rematch

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In February 1979, Rossman participated in what is sometimes considered one of professional boxing's most embarrassing moments (at least in modern times). At a scheduled rematch between Rossman and Galindez, Rossman was left waiting in the ring as Galindez failed to appear: A dispute about the judges of the match between the WBA and the Nevada Athletic Commission prevented the fight from being for the title, so Galindez camp refused to fight. After immediate attempts to remedy the situation failed, the fight was suspended, and rescheduled two months later in April 1979.

With Rossman perhaps still fretting about boxing politics, Galindez was focused on regaining the title, and was able to defeat Rossman. Rossman apparently broke his right hand during the bout, severely limiting his boxing ability. The pain became worse over the course of the fight, and unbearable to a point where Rossman told his father-manager after the ninth round that he could not continue. Galindez was thus able to reclaim the championship.

Professional boxing record

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54 fights 44 wins 7 losses
By knockout 27 5
By decision 17 2
Draws 3
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
54 Win 44–7–3 Henry Sims TKO 5 (10) 1983–11–17 Sands Casino Hotel, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
53 Win 43–7–3 Robert White SD 10 1983–08–17 Sands Casino Hotel, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
52 Win 42–7–3 Al Fracker TKO 6 (10) 1983–06–15 Playboy Hotel & Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
51 Win 41–7–3 Charles Smith TKO 10 (10) 1983–04–13 Resorts International Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
50 Loss 40–7–3 Dwight Muhammad Qawi KO 7 (10) 1:59 1981–05–31 Resorts International Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
49 Win 40–6–3 Luke Capuano UD 10 1981–02–22 Conrad Hilton Hotel, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
48 Win 39–6–3 Luke Capuano MD 10 1980–11–13 International Amphitheatre, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
47 Win 38–6–3 Al Bolden KO 10 (10) 2:32 1980–09–09 Resorts International Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
46 Win 37–6–3 Don Addison UD 10 1980–07–12 Resorts International Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
45 Loss 36–6–3 Ramon Ranquello TKO 6 (10) 1979–09–18 Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, U.S.
44 Loss 36–5–3 Víctor Galíndez RTD 9 (15) 3:00 1979–04–14 Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. Lost WBA Light heavyweight title.
43 Win 36–4–3 Aldo Traversaro TKO 6 (15) 1:15 1978–12–05 The Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. Retained WBA Light heavyweight title.
42 Win 35–4–3 Víctor Galíndez TKO 13 (15) 1978–09–15 Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. Won WBA Light heavyweight title.
41 Win 34–4–3 Matt Ross KO 2 (10) 1978–07–15 Convention Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
40 Win 33–4–3 Lonnie Bennett TKO 2 (10) 1:41 1978–05–24 The Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
39 Loss 32–4–3 Yaqui López RTD 6 (10) 1978–03–02 Felt Forum, New York City, New York, U.S.
38 Win 32–3–3 Gary Summerhays UD 10 1977–09–29 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
37 Win 31–3–3 Marcel Clay KO 1 (10) 2:51 1977–07–17 Miami Beach Convention Center, Miami Beach, Florida, U.S.
36 Win 30–3–3 Mike Quarry RTD 6 (11) 1977–05–11 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
35 Win 29–3–3 Ray Anderson TKO 4 (10) 1977–03–02 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
34 Win 28–3–3 Mike Quarry MD 10 1976–12–11 The Aladdin, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
33 Draw 27–3–3 Christy Elliott PTS 10 1976–11–10 Walsh Gymnasium, South Orange, New Jersey, U.S.
32 Win 27–3–2 Christy Elliott KO 3 (10) 1:59 1976–09–28 Yankee Stadium, New York City, New York, U.S.
31 Win 26–3–2 Steven Smith TKO 6 (10) 1976–08–06 Convention Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
30 Loss 25–3–2 Tony Licata MD 10 1976–06–12 Municipal Auditorium, New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
29 Win 25–2–2 José Anglada KO 9 (10) 1976–05–14 Weehawken HS, Weehawken, New Jersey, U.S.
28 Win 24–2–2 Gene Wells UD 10 1976–03–08 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
27 Draw 23–2–2 Casey Gacic PTS 10 1976–02–13 Painters Mill Theatre, Owings Mills, Maryland, U.S.
26 Win 23–2–1 Al Styles, Jr. UD 10 1975–12–10 Catholic Youth Center, Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
25 Loss 22–2–1 Mike Quarry UD 10 1975–09–30 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
24 Win 22–1–1 Mike Nixon KO 7 (10) 1975–08–01 Tropicana Hotel & Casino, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
23 Loss 21–1–1 Mike Nixon SD 10 1975–05–19 Broome County Arena, Binghamton, New York, U.S.
22 Win 21–0–1 David Adkins MD 10 1975–04–29 Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland, U.S.
21 Win 20–0–1 Matt Donovan UD 10 1975–02–17 The Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
20 Win 19–0–1 Matt Donovan UD 10 1975–01–21 Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland, U.S.
19 Win 18–0–1 Harold Richardson TKO 3 (10) 1974–12–11 Catholic Youth Center, Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
18 Win 17–0–1 John Pinney TKO 5 (8) 1:39 1974–11–22 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
17 Win 16–0–1 Mike Morgan UD 8 1974–10–25 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
16 Win 15–0–1 Nate Dixon TKO 4 (8) 1974–09–09 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
15 Win 14–0–1 Mike Baker UD 8 1974–07–29 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
14 Draw 13–0–1 Nate Dixon PTS 8 1974–07–15 The Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
13 Win 13–0 Ray Hernandez UD 6 1974–06–17 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
12 Win 12–0 Walter Riley TKO 1 (6) 1974–05–29 Catholic Youth Center, Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
11 Win 11–0 Tyrone Freeman UD 6 1974–04–29 The Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
10 Win 10–0 Joey Blair TKO 6 (8) 1974–03–20 Catholic Youth Center, Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
9 Win 9–0 Greg Burch PTS 6 1974–02–18 The Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
8 Win 8–0 Maximo Pierret UD 6 1974–02–09 Catholic Youth Center, Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
7 Win 7–0 Elwood Townsend TKO 2 (6) 1973–12–15 Catholic Youth Center, Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
6 Win 6–0 Lester Camper TKO 6 (6) 1973–12–08 Convention Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
5 Win 5–0 Nate Dixon TKO 3 (6) 1973–11–14 Catholic Youth Center, Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
4 Win 4–0 Larry Parker TKO 1 (4) 1973–10–31 Baltimore Civic Center, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
3 Win 3–0 Herman Nance KO 1 (4) 2:03 1973–10–22 The Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
2 Win 2–0 Robert Ziegler TKO 3 (4) 1973–09–24 The Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
1 Win 1–0 Stanley Dawson KO 2 (4) 1973–08–10 Convention Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.

Miscellaneous

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Peltz Boxing". Peltz Boxing. Archived from the original on July 15, 2011. Retrieved January 20, 2011.
  2. ^ The Big Book of Jewish Sports Heroes: An Illustrated Compendium of Sports ... – Peter S. Horvitz
  3. ^ Sports and the American Jew
  4. ^ Jewish Sports Stars (2nd Revised Edition): Athletic Heroes Past and Present – David J. Goldman
  5. ^ Jewish Currents
  6. ^ "Mike Rossman". Njboxinghof.org. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved January 20, 2011.
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Sporting positions
World boxing titles
Preceded by WBA light heavyweight champion
September 15, 1978 – April 14, 1979
Succeeded by
Víctor Galíndez