Mike Rossman

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 Jewish–Italian origin, which led to his monikers "The Kosher Butcher" and "The Jewish Bomber".

Life and career

Rossman was born in Turnersville, New Jersey.^[1] His birth name was Michael Albert DePiano; Rossman is his mother's maiden name, which he uses rather than that of his father as part of an appeasement agreement. Rossman's father was Italian, and his mother Jewish. 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 Ali–Spinks 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.

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.

Rossman vs. Galindez championship rematch

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: the challenger's camp was disputing the neutrality of the judges scoring the 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.

Hall of Fame

Rossman was inducted into the New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame.^[2]

Professional boxing record

44 Wins (27 knockouts), 7 Losses (4 knockouts), 3 Draws[3]
Res.	Record	Opponent	Type	Round Time	Date	Location	Notes
Win	44–7–3	Henry Sims	TKO	5 (10)	1983–11–17	Sands Casino Hotel, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Win	43–7–3	Robert White	SD	10	1983–08–17	Sands Casino Hotel, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Win	42–7–3	Al Fracker	TKO	6 (10)	1983–06–15	Playboy Hotel & Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Win	41–7–3	Charles Smith	KO	10 (10)	1983–04–13	Resorts International Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Loss	40–7–3	Dwight Qawi	KO	7 (10) 1:59	1981–05–31	Resorts International Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Win	40–6–3	Luke Capuano	UD	10	1981–02–22	Conrad Hilton Hotel, Chicago, Illinois
Win	39–6–3	Luke Capuano	MD	10	1980–11–13	International Amphitheatre, Chicago, Illinois
Win	38–6–3	Al Bolden	KO	10 (10) 2:32	1980–09–09	Resorts International Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Win	37–6–3	Don Addison	UD	10	1980–07–12	Resorts International Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Loss	36–6–3	Ramon Ranquello	TKO	7 (10)	1979–09–18	Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
Loss	36–5–3	Víctor Galíndez	RTD	9 (15) 3:00	1979–04–14	Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana	Lost WBA Light heavyweight title.
Win	36–4–3	Aldo Traversaro	TKO	6 (15) 1:15	1978–12–05	The Spectrum, Philadelphia	Retained WBA Light heavyweight title.
Win	35–4–3	Víctor Galíndez	TKO	13 (15)	1978–09–15	Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana	Won WBA Light heavyweight title.
Win	34–4–3	Matt Ross	KO	2 (10)	1978–07–15	Atlantic City Convention Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Win	33–4–3	Lonnie Bennett	TKO	2 (10) 1:41	1978–05–24	The Spectrum, Philadelphia
Loss	32–4–3	Yaqui López	TKO	6 (10)	1978–03–02	Felt Forum, New York City
Win	32–3–3	Gary Summerhays	PTS	10	1977–09–29	Madison Square Garden, New York City
Win	31–3–3	Marcel Clay	KO	1 (10) 2:51	1977–07–17	Miami Beach Convention Center, Miami Beach, Florida
Win	30–3–3	Mike Quarry	RTD	6 (11)	1977–05–11	Madison Square Garden, New York City
Win	29–3–3	Ray Anderson	TKO	4 (10)	1977–03–02	Madison Square Garden, New York City
Win	28–3–3	Mike Quarry	MD	10	1976–12–11	The Aladdin, Paradise, Nevada
Draw	27–3–3	Christy Elliott	PTS	10	1976–11–10	Wagner Gym at Seton Hall University, South Orange, New Jersey
Win	27–3–2	Christy Elliott	KO	3 (10) 1:59	1976–09–28	Yankee Stadium, New York City
Win	26–3–2	Steven Smith	KO	6 (10)	1976–08–06	Atlantic City Convention Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Loss	25–3–2	Tony Licata	MD	10	1976–06–12	Municipal Auditorium, New Orleans, Louisiana
Win	25–2–2	José Anglada	KO	9 (10)	1976–05–14	Weehawken, New Jersey
Win	24–2–2	Gene Wells	UD	10	1976–03–08	Madison Square Garden, New York City
Draw	23–2–2	Casey Gacic	PTS	10	1976–02–13	Painters Mill Theatre, Owings Mills, Maryland
Win	23–2–1	Al Styles, Jr.	PTS	10	1975–12–10	Scranton, Pennsylvania
Loss	22–2–1	Mike Quarry	UD	10	1975–09–30	Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, New York
Win	22–1–1	Mike Nixon	KO	7 (10)	1975–08–01	Tropicana Hotel & Casino, Paradise, Nevada
Loss	21–1–1	Mike Nixon	SD	10	1975–05–19	Binghamton, New York
Win	21–0–1	David Adkins	SD	10	1975–04–29	Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland
Win	20–0–1	Matt Donovan	PTS	10	1975–02–17	The Spectrum, Philadelphia
Win	19–0–1	Matt Donovan	UD	10	1975–01–21	Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland
Win	18–0–1	Harold Richardson	KO	3 (?)	1974–12–11	Catholic Youth Center, Scranton, Pennsylvania
Win	17–0–1	John Pinney	TKO	5 (8) 1:39	1974–11–22	Madison Square Garden, New York City
Win	16–0–1	Mike Morgan	UD	8	1974–10–25	Madison Square Garden, New York City
Win	15–0–1	Nate Dixon	KO	4 (8)	1974–09–09	Madison Square Garden, New York City
Win	14–0–1	Mike Baker	PTS	8	1974–07–29	Madison Square Garden, New York City
Draw	13–0–1	Nate Dixon	PTS	8	1974–07–15	The Spectrum, Philadelphia
Win	13–0	Ray Hernandez	PTS	6	1974–06–17	Madison Square Garden, New York City
Win	12–0	Walter Riley	KO	1 (6)	1974–05–29	Catholic Youth Center, Scranton, Pennsylvania
Win	11–0	Tyrone Freeman	PTS	6	1974–04–29	The Spectrum, Philadelphia
Win	10–0	Joey Blair	KO	6 (?)	1974–03–20	Scranton, Pennsylvania
Win	9–0	Greg Burch	PTS	6	1974–02–18	The Spectrum, Philadelphia
Win	8–0	Maximo Pierret	PTS	6	1974–02–09	Catholic Youth Center, Scranton, Pennsylvania
Win	7–0	Elwood Townsend	KO	2 (6)	1973–12–15	Scranton, Pennsylvania
Win	6–0	Lester Camper	TKO	6 (6)	1973–12–08	Atlantic City Convention Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Win	5–0	Nate Dixon	KO	3 (?)	1973–11–14	Catholic Youth Center, Scranton, Pennsylvania
Win	4–0	Larry Parker	KO	1 (?)	1973–10–31	Baltimore Civic Center, Baltimore, Maryland
Win	3–0	Herman Nance	KO	1 (4) 2:03	1973–10–22	The Spectrum, Philadelphia
Win	2–0	Robert Ziegler	TKO	3 (?)	1973–09–24	The Spectrum, Philadelphia
Win	1–0	Stanley Dawson	KO	2 (4)	1973–08–10	Atlantic City Convention Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey

Miscellaneous

• Rossman has a tattoo of the Star of David on the calf of his right leg.
• Rossman now lives in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

See also

• List of select Jewish boxers

References

External links

• NJ Boxing Hall of Fame bio and record
• boxing record