Sammy Mandell (a.k.a. Samuel Mandella; February 5, 1904 – November 7, 1967) was an American World lightweight boxing champion from 1926-1930. Born in Rockford, Illinois, and named Salvatore Mandala, he was known as the "Rockford Sheik" due to his Rudolph Valentino like good looks and as the "Rockford Flash" due to his fast hands and foot speed. His father was an Albanian and his mother

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

. Statistical boxing website BoxRec ranks Mandell as the 13th greatest lightweight boxer to have ever lived. He was inducted into the

International Boxing Hall of Fame The modern International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF), located in Canastota, New York, honors boxers, trainers and other contributors to the sport worldwide. Inductees are selected by members of the Boxing Writers Association of America. The I ...

in 1998.

Amateur career

Mandell developed his fighting skills at the Camp Grant barracks in Rockford, Illinois. He was too young and underweight to join the army, weighing 105 lbs. Despite this, his persistence in hanging around the wrestling and boxing training areas saw him gain permission to join in with the military personnel. The camp boxing instructor at the time was Fred Dyer, "The Singing Boxer," who recalled in a 1926 interview how Mandell beat every soldier in the

bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class is derived from bantam chickens. B ...

class and was able to best men 10 lbs heavier than him. Dyer also stated that he advised Mandell to turn professional.

Pro career

On July 17, 1925, future champion Mandell fought Solly Seeman in East Chicago, Indiana. Seeman knocked down Mandell in the first round, and in the opinion of many ringside had the edge throughout the bout. Trained by the legendary Jack Blackburn, Mandell was an outstanding, clever fighter who carried a solid punch, fast hands and superb defensive skills. He won the championship when he outpointed Rocky Kansas on July 3, 1926. He successfully defended his crown against four contenders, including against hall of famers and future champions

Tony Canzoneri Tony Canzoneri (November 6, 1908 – December 9, 1959) was an American professional boxer. A three-division world champion, he held a total of five world titles. Canzoneri is a member of the exclusive group of boxing world champions who have won ...

and Jimmy McLarnin. In a startling upset, Mandell lost the crown when he was KOed by Al Singer in the first round.

Professional boxing record

All information in this section is derived from BoxRec, unless otherwise stated.

Official record

All

newspaper decision A newspaper decision was a type of decision in professional boxing. It was rendered by a consensus of sportswriters attending a bout after it had ended inconclusively with a "no decision", as many regions had not adopted the National Sporting Club ...

s are officially regarded as “no decision” bouts and are not counted to the win/loss/draw column.

Unofficial record

Record with the inclusion of

s to the win/loss/draw column.

Notes

External links

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Cyber Boxing Zone - Sammy Mandell
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Mandel, Sammy 1904 births 1967 deaths Boxers from Illinois American boxers of Italian descent Lightweight boxers International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees American male boxers