Stephen Michael "Steve" Halaiko (December 27, 1908, in
Auburn, New York
Auburn is a city in Cayuga County, New York, United States. Located at the north end of Owasco Lake, one of the Finger Lakes in Central New York, the city had a population of 26,866 at the 2020 census. It is the largest city of Cayuga County, the ...
– February 6, 2001) was an American
boxer Boxer most commonly refers to:
*Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing
* Boxer (dog), a breed of dog
Boxer or boxers may also refer to:
Animal kingdom
* Boxer crab
* Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans
* Boxer snipe ee ...
who competed in the
1928 Summer Olympics
The 1928 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the IX Olympiad (), was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from 28 July to 12 August 1928 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The city of Amsterdam had previously bid for ...
.
Amateur career
Because of his baseball skill, Halaiko won a scholarship to Cook Academy at Montour Falls, the oldest prep school in New York State. He organized
Cook's first boxing team, serving as coach and captain. Steve made rapid strides with his fists. He won the 1928 national amateur lightweight title, which qualified him for the Olympic Games in Amsterdam that same year. Halaiko won 115 of 116 amateur fights and was the U.S. AAU Champion at 135 lbs in 1928 and 1929.
At the Amsterdam Olympics in 1928, Halaiko won the silver medal in the lightweight class after losing the final against
Carlo Orlandi.
1928 Olympic results
Below are the results of Stephen Halaiko, an American lightweight boxer who competed in the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics:
* Round of 32: Defeated Tomas Poetsch (Czechoslovakia) on points
* Round of 16: Defeated
Witold Majchrzycki
Walter Witold Majchrzycki (4 February 1909 – 3 December 1993) was a Polish boxer who competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics.
He was born in Berlin, German Empire, and died in Poznań.
In 1928 he was eliminated in the second round of the ...
(Poland) on points
* Quarterfinal: Defeated
Pascual Bonfiglio
Pascual Bonfiglio (born March 15, 1907, date of death unknown) was an Argentine boxer who competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics.
In 1928 he was eliminated in the quarter-finals of the lightweight class after losing his fight to the upcoming silver ...
(Argentina) on points
* Semifinal: Defeated
Gunnar Berggren
Gunnar Alf Erik Berggren (26 January 1908 – 2 September 1983) was a Swedish boxer who won bronze medals in the lightweight division at the 1927 European Championships and 1928 Summer Olympics. After the Olympics he turned professional and had ...
(Sweden) on points
* Final: Lost to
Carlo Orlandi (Italy) on points
Professional career
Steve turned pro soon after the Olympics and quickly moved up the ladder with a string of victories. In 1930 he won his first important fight by winning an 8-round decision over former lightweight champion Sammy Mandell. 1933 would be one of his best years in the professional ring. He defeated
Cocoa Kid twice, he beat and had a draw with
Wesley Ramey and scored a decision over Paris Apice. In 1934 Steve defeated
Lou Ambers
Luigi Giuseppe d'Ambrosio (November 9, 1913 – April 25, 1995), lalso known as Lou Ambers, was an United States, American two-time list of undisputed world boxing champions#Lightweight, Undisputed World Lightweight boxing champion who fought fro ...
over 6 rounds in Syracuse and less than 3 weeks later they would battle to a 10-round draw in Providence. During Halaiko’s 13-year career he would break the top 10 rankings many times and fight the greats of his era. Among those greats were, Izzy Janazzo,
Pedro Montanez
Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician name for ''Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic form is Peter.
The counterpart patronymic surname of the name Pedro, meaning ...
,
Tippy Larkin
Tippy Larkin (November 11, 1917 – December 10, 1991), born Antonio Pilliteri, was an American boxer from New Jersey who took the world light-welterweight boxing championship on April 29, 1946, in a twelve-round unanimous decision against Willie ...
and
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 ...
. His final record was 74-35-11 with 22 KO’s which spanned from 1929 to 1942.
Halaiko died on February 6, 2001, at the age of 92.
References
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Halaiko, Stephen
1908 births
2001 deaths
Boxers from New York (state)
Lightweight boxers
Olympic boxers for the United States
Boxers at the 1928 Summer Olympics
Olympic silver medalists for the United States in boxing
Sportspeople from Auburn, New York
American male boxers
Medalists at the 1928 Summer Olympics
20th-century American sportsmen