Former world (NBA) featherweight champion Sal Bartolo died on Tuesday February 19, 2002, in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He was 84.
Bartolo turned professional aged 19 in April 1937 and established himself as a skilful and stylish boxer, fighting mainly around his home city of Boston.
He is best remembered for his fights with the legendary Willie Pep, whom he faced three times. The brilliant Pep won all three of their encounters in April 1943 (w pts 10), June 1943 (w pts 15) and June 1946 (w ko 12) - with the world featherweight title at stake on the last two occasions.
In March 1944, Bartolo met Phil Terranova for the NBA title in Boston and won on points over 15 rounds. He defended successfully against Terranova (w pts 15), Willie Roache (w pts 15) and Spider Armstrong (w ko 6) before an attempt to unify the world title with New York champion Pep ended in that knockout defeat in June 1946.
Bartolo retired in 1949 with a 74-18-5 (16) record.
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