Roland La Starza

Roland La Starza
Statistics
Rated at Heavyweight
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Nationality  American
Born (1927-05-12)May 12, 1927
The Bronx
Died September 30, 2009(2009-09-30) (aged 82)
Port Orange, Florida
Stance Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights 66
Wins 57
Wins by KO 27
Losses 9 (2 by KO)

Roland La Starza (May 12, 1927 – September 30, 2009) was an American boxer and actor. Originally from the Van Nest section of the Bronx, La Starza fought 66 professional bouts from July 7, 1947 to May 8, 1961. He won 57 of the fights, 27 by knockout.

In a March 24, 1950 fight that went against him on a split decision, La Starza may have come closer than any other boxer to defeating Rocky Marciano. The scoring for the bout was 5–4, 4–5, 5–5, but La Starza lost on a supplemental point system used by New York and Massachusetts at that time. Both boxers were undefeated at the time of the fight, with La Starza's record at 37–0. According to newspaper reports, the decision was "universally condemned around ringside as a miscarriage of justice". La Starza himself went on record in the New York Herald Tribune, March 25, 1950, as saying, “The fact is his manager Al Weill was matchmaker for the Garden. I would say that had a lot to do with the decision.” He continued to maintain that belief for over 50 years after the bout.

La Starza later won a heavyweight title eliminator against Rex Layne, setting himself up for what was arguably the most important fight of his career: a world heavyweight championship bout that was a rematch against Marciano on September 24, 1953. La Starza fought Marciano on even terms for the first six rounds but began to tire afterwards. Referee Ruby Goldstein stopped the fight in an eleventh round TKO as Marciano battered La Starza relentlessly. This was La Starza's first fight (out of 53) in which he was stopped.

After his boxing career La Starza appeared on television in a number of stereotypical tough-guy roles. His biggest break was a regular role as Pvt. Ernie Lucavich on the short-lived World War II series The Gallant Men. He also did guest appearances on various shows including 77 Sunset Strip, The Wild Wild West and Perry Mason. He appeared in some episodes (13 and 14) of the Batman series of the 1960s, and appeared in movies such as Point Blank (1967) and The Outfit (1973).

He, his wife (Jane) and two children (Amy and Mark) left California to retire at their family's cattle ranch outside of New Smyrna Beach, Florida in 1972.

La Starza died on September 30, 2009, in Port Orange, Florida at the age of 82.[1] >>


Professional boxing record

57 Wins (27 knockouts), 9 losses (2 knockouts), 0 Draws[2]
Res. Record Opponent Type Round Date Location Notes
Win 1-0-0 United States Dave Glanton (1-10-0) Pts - 07/07/1947 Queensboro Arena, Long Island City, Queens, New York, United States
Win 2-0-0 United States Zack Johnson (1-0-0) KO 6 (6) 07/15/1947 Jerome Stadium, Bronx, New York, United States
Win 3-0-0 United States Al Zappala (16-20-1) KO - 08/12/1947 Jerome Stadium, Bronx, New York, United States
Win 4-0-0 United States Jimmy Dodd (7-7-2) TKO - 08/25/1947 Queensboro Arena, Long Island City, Queens, New York, United States
Win 5-0-0 United States Jim Johnson (3-15-2) KO - 09/09/1947 Jerome Stadium, Bronx, New York, United States
Win 6-0-0 United States Zeke Brown (0-7-0) KO - 10/10/1947 Saint Nicholas Arena, New York, New York, United States
Win 7-0-0 United States Matt Mincey (0-4-0) PTS - 10/21/1947 Park Arena, Bronx, New York, United States
Win 8-0-0 United States Jimmy Evans (14-4-0) PTS - 10/31/1947 Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, United States
Win 9-0-0 United States Lorne McCarthy (1-6-1) PTS - 11/11/1947 Park Arena, Bronx, New York, United States
Win 10-0-0 United States Matt Mincey (0-6-0) PTS - 12/01/1947 Saint Nicholas Arena, New York, New York, United States
Win 11-0-0 United States Fred Ramsey (8-8-1) TKO - 12/13/1947 Ridgewood Grove, Brooklyn, New York, United States
Win 12-0-0 United States Luther McMillan (13-16-1) TKO - 12/23/1947 Park Arena, Bronx, New York, United States
Win 13-0-0 United States Mike Belluscio (12-9-1) PTS - 01/30/1948 Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, United States
Win 14-0-0 United States Frankie Reed (1-7-0) TKO - 02/14/1948 Ridgewood Grove, Brooklyn, New York, United States
Win 15-0-0 United States Jimmy White (9-16-0) KO - 02/24/1948 Park Arena, Bronx, New York, United States
Win 16-0-0 United States Steve King (9-1-1) PTS - 03/19/1948 Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, United States
Win 17-0-0 United States Claude McClintock (0-2-0) PTS - 04/07/1948 State Armory, Bridgeport, Connecticut, United States
Win 18-0-0 United States John Holloway (2-9-0) TKO - 04/24/1948 Ridgewood Grove, Brooklyn, New York, United States
Win 19-0-0 United States Freddie McManus (6-11-1) PTS - 05/04/1948 Park Arena, Bronx, New York, United States
Win 20-0-0 United States Ben Rusk (18-14-5) PTS - 06/25/1948 Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York, United States
Win 21-0-0 United States Tony Gangemi (20-15-2) PTS - 07/14/1948 Jerome Stadium, Bronx, New York, United States
Win 22-0-0 United States Oscar Goode (43-22-2) TKO - 07/27/1948 MacArthur Stadium, Brooklyn, New York, United States
Win 23-0-0 United States Teddy George (none) KO - 08/17/1948 MacArthur Stadium, Brooklyn, New York, United States
Win 24-0-0 United States Mel McKinney (7-9-1) KO - 08/30/1948 Queensboro Arena, Long Island City, Queens, New York, United States

References

  1. ↑ http://www.saddoboxing.com/boxingforum/55917-r-i-p-roland-lastarza.html
  2. ↑ Roland La Starza's Boxing Record. boxrec.com. Retrieved 01 May 2015.
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