Alfredo "Fred" Apostoli (February 2, 1913 – November 29, 1973) was a rugged, accomplished body punching middleweight, who was recognized as the world champion when he defeated Marcel Thil on September 23, 1937. Statistical boxing website BoxRec lists Apostoli as the #8 ranked middleweight of all time. He was inducted into the Ring Magazine Hall of Fame in 1978, the World Boxing Hall of Fame in 1988, and the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2003.

Early life Freddie Apostoli was born in San Francisco and lived in North Beach and Fisherman's Wharf as a young child. His father worked as both a fisherman and laborer in the San Francisco area but had grown up in a farming community near Gibbstown, NJ in the late 19th century.

The Apostoli family immigrated to NYC in the 1880s from the city San Benedetto del Tronto in the Ascoli Piceno Province in the Marche region of Italy. Apostoli's mother died in child birth in the early 1920s and his father sent his other younger children back to live with relatives on the East coast and placed Freddy in the care of a Catholic orphanage in San Francisco. Apostoli attended grade school and high school in North Beach and was a lifelong friend of classmate Joe Dimaggio.

Apostoli's father was one of the workers killed in 1928 while working on a construction detail trying to access the damaged portion of a dam which had failed in Los Angeles County. During his time in the orphanage, Apostoli and the other teens were encouraged by the nuns of the parish to work their disputes out through boxing. Freddie quickly became a master of said technique and showed such promise that the parish arranged for him to receive more formal training. These lessons at a local YMCA gym were partially funded thru the donations the parish had received over the years from his family back East. Apostoli, who won the Pacific Coast Junior Welterweight championship, Golden Gloves Middleweight championship, and the National AAU middleweight championship in 1934, turned pro later that year.

Pro career

Middleweight contender He quickly moved up the ladder and fought future middleweight champion Freddie Steele within his first seven months as a professional. Although the more experienced Steele stopped him in 10 rounds, Apostoli went on to defeat top fighters such as Swede Berglund, Babe Marino, Babe Risko, Solly Krieger and Lou Brouillard to become the leading contender for the world championship.

World middleweight champion Eventually, Apostoli was matched with title claimant Marcel Thil; he defeated the Frenchman via a 10th-round TKO. The New York Boxing Commission, however, still recognized Freddie Steele as champion. In 1938, Apostoli fought Steele in a non-title rematch and avenged his earlier defeat with a 9th-round KO. On November 18, 1938, Apostoli won by TKO in the 8th round against Young Corbett III and was officially recognized by the NYSAC as absolute middleweight world champion. Apostoli also fought as a light heavyweight. Although he dropped two close decisions to Hall of Famer Billy Conn, Conn always credited Apostoli as a great fighter who hurt him in both matches. On October 2, 1939, Apostoli's title reign ended when he lost the middleweight crown to Ceferino Garcia.

World War II service and retirement Apostoli served in the United States Navy during World War II as a gunner aboard the light cruiser in the Pacific theater. Wounded in battle, he received a Bronze Star and returned to San Francisco in 1946. He rehabilitated from injuries sustained in the Battle of Midway at Letterman Army Hospital located in the Presidio of San Francisco. He retired from the ring in 1948 and served as a member of the Olympic Club in San Francisco.

Professional boxing record

ResultRecordOpponentTypeRoundDateLocationNotes72LossEarl TurnerUD10Dec 1, 194871Win61–9–1Georgie AbramsMD10Nov 17, 194770Win60–9–1Reuben ShankUD10Aug 25, 194769Win59–9–1Reuben ShankRTD8 (10)Jul 14, 194768Win58–9–1Bobby VolkSD10May 21, 194767Win57–9–1George DukePTS10May 2, 194766Win56–9–1Bobby VolkKO3 (10)Apr 7, 194765Loss55–9–1Bobby VolkTKO1 (10)Feb 28, 194764Win55–8–1Paul LewisUD10Dec 11, 194663Win54–8–1Frankie AngustainMD10Nov 18, 194662Win53–8–1Tommy EganPTS10Oct 21, 194661Win52–8–1George DukeKO9 (10)Sep 20, 194660Win51–8–1Sheik RangelPTS10Aug 27, 194659Win50–8–1Dencio Cabanela JrTKO7 (10)Sep 9, 194658Win49–8–1Pedro JimenezTKO4 (10)Aug 12, 194657Win48–8–1Saverio TurielloPTS10Aug 24, 194256Draw47–8–1Ken OverlinPTS10Jun 26, 194255Win47–8Joe MulliTKO2 (8)Apr 4, 194254Win46–8Augie ArellanoTKO5 (8)Mar 7, 194253Win45–8El BrookmanTKO6 (10)Oct 14, 194152Win44–8Joey SpanglerTKO5 (10)Sep 15, 194151Win43–8Bill McDowellTKO2 (10)Aug 21, 194150Loss42–8Tony ZalePTS10Nov 19, 194049Win42–7Bobby PachoPTS10Sep 16, 194048Win41–7Big Boy HoguePTS10Aug 19, 194047Win40–7Dale SparrKO5 (10)Jul 22, 194046Loss39–7Melio BettinaRTD12 (15)Feb 2, 194045Win39–6Melio BettinaMD12Jan 5, 194044Loss38–6Ceferino GarciaKO7 (15)Oct 2, 193943Win38–5Glen LeeMD10Aug 28, 193942Win37–5Mohamed FahmyTKO3 (10)Aug 7, 193941Win36–5Eric SeeligSD10May 1, 193940Win35–5George NicholsKO2 (10)Apr 17, 193939Loss34–5Billy ConnUD15Feb 10, 193938Loss34–4Billy ConnUD10Jan 6, 193937Win34–3Al CocozzaTKO4 (10)Dec 20, 193836Win33–3Young Corbett IIITKO8 (15)Nov 18, 193835Win32–3Butch LynchTKO2 (10)Sep 16, 193834Win31–3Mike PayanKO2 (10)Sep 6, 193833Win30–3Glen LeePTS10Apr 1, 193832Loss29–3Young Corbett IIIPTS10Feb 22, 193831Win29–2Glen LeeSD12Feb 4, 193830Win28–2Freddie SteeleTKO9 (12)Jan 7, 193829Win27–2Tony CelliTKO2 (10)Oct 25, 193728Win26–2Marcel ThilTKO10 (15)Sep 23, 193727Win25–2Tommy JonesKO2 (10)Jun 22, 193726Win24–2Dale SparrPTS10Jun 11, 193725Win23–2Solly KriegerTKO5 (12)Apr 14, 193724Win22–2Butch LynchTKO9 (10)Mar 15, 193723Win21–2Solly KriegerUD10Feb 17, 193722Loss20–2Ken OverlinMD10Jan 27, 193721Win20–1Babe MarinoPTS10Dec 14, 193620Win19–1Lou BrouillardPTS10Oct 9, 193619Win18–1Marty SimmonsPTS10Aug 21, 193618Win17–1Eddie Babe RiskoPTS10May 8, 193617Win16–1Young StuhleyPTS10Apr 6, 193616Win15–1Paul PirroneRTD7 (10)Feb 28, 193615Win14–1Frankie BrittPTS10Jan 20, 193614Win13–1Swede BerglundPTS10Nov 27, 193513Win12–1Babe MarinoPTS10Oct 25, 193512Win11–1Young StuhleyPTS10Oct 4, 193511Win10–1Rudy MendezPTS8Aug 14, 193510Win9–1Dick FosterTKO6 (8)Jul 31, 19359Win8–1Eddie SchneiderKO1 (8)Jul 17, 19358Win7–1Mike PayanPTS10May 31, 19357Loss6–1Freddie SteeleTKO10 (10)Apr 1, 19356Win6–0Newsboy MillichTKO4 (6)Feb 22, 19355Win5–0Andy DiVodiPTS6Jan 28, 19354Win4–0Eddie FoxTKO5 (6)Jan 7, 19353Win3–0Eddie DanielsTKO2 (6)Nov 30, 19342Win2–0Jack RileyKO1 (6)Nov 12, 19341Win1–0Gilbert AttellTKO3 (6)Oct 8, 1934

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