Billy Soose (August 2, 1915 – September 5, 1998) was an American boxer who won the world middleweight championship in 1941.
Biography Soose was undefeated in his collegiate boxing career at Penn State and was a three-time Golden Gloves winner before turning professional in 1938.
By the end of his first year in the paid ranks he had beaten the former world champion Eddie Babe Risko although he lost a unanimous decision to Charley Burley. In 1940 Soose defeated two future middleweight champions, Ken Overlin and Tony Zale. He began 1941 by defeating future heavyweight and light heavyweight title challenger Tami Mauriello. In May of that year he challenged Overlin for the middleweight title at Madison Square Garden and won by a controversial, but unanimous points decision. He made no defences and in November it was reported that he had relinquished the championship in order to pursue the light-heavyweight title.
After losing a bout to light-heavyweight contender Jimmy Bivins in January 1942 Soose joined the United States Navy and retired from professional boxing at the age of twenty-six.
Soose was featured on the cover of the June 1941 Ring magazine and is a member of the World Boxing Hall of Fame. He is also the subject of a book, Billy Soose - The Champion Time Forgot. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2009.
Soose was found dead at his home at Tafton, Pennsylvania in 1998.
Professional boxing record
ResultRecordOpponentTypeRoundDateLocationNotes41Loss Jimmy BivinsUD10Jan 13, 1942 40Win34–5–1 Jimmy ReevesPTS10Dec 18, 1941 39Draw33–5–1 Ceferino GarciaTD8 (12)Jul 30, 1941 38Loss33–5 Georgie AbramsUD10Jul 30, 1941 37Win33–4 Tony CelliTKO2 (10)Jul 11, 1941 36Win32–4 Ken OverlinUD15May 9, 1941 35Win31–4 Ernie VighPTS12Mar 7, 1941 34Win30–4 Ernie VighUD10Feb 7, 1941 33Win29–4 Tami MaurielloSD10Jan 3, 1941 32Win28–4 Jimmy CasinoPTS10Dec 13, 1940 31Win27–4 Vince PimpinellaUD10Nov 7, 1940 30Win26–4 Tony ZaleUD10Aug 21, 1940 29Win25–4 Ken OverlinSD10Jul 24, 1940 28Win24–4 Jack EnnisPTS10May 30, 1940 27Win23–4 Ernest PeircePTS10May 15, 1940 26Win22–4 Frankie NelsonPTS10Mar 25, 1940 25Win21–4 Enzo IannozziKO4 (10)Mar 5, 1940 24Loss20–4 Georgie AbramsUD10Feb 12, 1940 23Win20–3 Bud MignaultUD10Jan 29, 1940 22Win19–3 Jimmy ClarkTKO3 (10)Jan 22, 1940 21Win18–3 Vince PimpinellaPTS8Jan 15, 1940 20Win17–3 Jimmy JonesTKO5 (6)Dec 19, 1939 19Win16–3 Paul PirronePTS6Dec 11, 1939 18Win15–3 Butch LynchKO4 (10)Nov 29, 1939 17Win14–3 Johnny DucaUD10Nov 15, 1939 16Win13–3 Jack MunleyTKO5 (10)Oct 18, 1939 15Loss12–3 Georgie AbramsUD8Sep 25, 1939 14Win12–2 Joe FedzTKO1 (10)Sep 11, 1939 13Win11–2 Johnny DucaPTS10Feb 20, 1939 12Loss10–2 Charley BurleyUD10Nov 21, 1938 11Loss10–1 Johnny DucaMD10Oct 13, 1938 10Win10–0 Eddie Babe RiskoKO3 (10)Oct 5, 1938 9Win9–0 Charley WeiseKO2 (10)Sep 13, 1938 8Win8–0 Freddie LennUD10Aug 29, 1938 7Win7–0 Eric LawsonTKO5 (8)Aug 2, 1938 6Win6–0 Al QuaillUD10Jul 25, 1938 5Win5–0 Johnny FosterPTS4Jun 17, 1938 4Win4–0 Joe LujanTKO3 (6)Jun 6, 1938 3Win3–0 Sewell HippsTKO4 (4)Apr 5, 1938 2Win2–0 Jimmy BrentPTS4Mar 29, 1938 1Win1–0 Marine Johnny DeanTKO4 (4)Mar 15, 1938
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