Billy Backus

Billy Backus (born March 5, 1943) is a former world boxing champion whose coronation was considered by some to be as surprising as Team USA's ice hockey gold medal coronation at the 1980 Winter Olympic Games or James Buster Douglass knockout victory over Mike Tyson.

Rise to prominence

Backus had to resume his boxing career in 1966, but probably never in his wildest dreams could he have envisioned what happened next: In his comeback bout, he knocked out Tod Purtell in the first round, and that marked his embarkment on a seven fight winning streak that included avenging an earlier loss to Dick French. That streak was broken by a defeat at the hands of Percy Pugh in New Orleans, but soon he started on another winning streak, eight in a row, including two over Pugh. Then, Pugh broke his winning streak once again, beating him over 15 rounds, once again at New Orleans. After splitting two fights with Jerry Pellegrini and drawing in four rounds with Ricky Ortiz, Backus embarked on another winning streak, including an eight round knockout over Ortiz in a rematch.

Related Topics:
1966 - Tod Purtell - Dick French - Percy Pugh - New Orleans - Jerry Pellegrini - Ricky Ortiz

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