Boxing’s Greats of the States | Idaho: Young Firpo

Boxers come from every corner of the globe. Sometimes, fighters are products of their environment, favoring styles prevalent in the country or state from which they hail. Various regions of the United States are considered factories for great fighters, though that certainly is not the case with each state. In this weekly Sherdog.com series, the spotlight will shine on the best boxer of all-time from each of the 50 states. Fighters do not necessarily need to be born in a given state to represent it; they simply need to be associated with it. For example, all-time great heavyweight legend Joe Louis was born in Alabama, but he is identified almost universally with Detroit.

***
Idaho has always been known more for its potatoes than its contributions to the Sweet Science. However, that does not mean the “Gem State” has been devoid of boxing history. One man stands above the rest on the list of accomplished Idaho boxers: Guido Bardelli, better known as Young Firpo.

Born in Vermont in 1907, Firpo moved to northern Idaho with his mother and family following the death of his father. There, he stumbled across the sport of boxing. Firpo enjoyed a terrific career, took on many of his generation’s best fighters and retired with a 74-15-3 record and 43 knockouts. Though Firpo captured the Pacific Coast light heavyweight championship and defended it five times, he was never afforded the opportunity to fight for a world title at the weight. He battled Wesley Ketchell, George Manley, Tiger Jack Fox, John Henry Lewis and countless others, but a proposed mega-fight with Maxie Rosenbloom unfortunately never came to fruition.

Firpo was inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame in 2008.

HONORABLE MENTIONS: Logan B. Swallow