“Rocky Balboa” like Billy Backus upsets future Hall of Famer

It took Jose Napoles 64 fights to get a title shot, and when he did, he didn’t waste it.

Napoles (a refugee from Cuba) faced defending champion Curtis Cokes at the Fabulous Forum in 1969. Cokes had defended his title four times. He was slick and quick. Napoles, though, was better.

He boxed and rocked Cokes for 13 rounds until the champion waved the white flag. Napoles repeated his win over Cokes two months later.

“He’s a much better fighter – definitely better than Curtis Cokes,” said an honest Cokes after losing the rematch.

Napoles, nicknamed Mantequilla – Spanish for butter.

The moniker fit. He’d glide in the ring and look for openings.

No false moves, just silky and precise.

Napoles turned away the challenges of Emile Griffith and Ernie Lopez. He stayed sharp by stopping Fighting Mack and Pedro Toro in non-title fights. A title fight was next, but not against a high-ranked contender. Someone in the top ten but not considered much of a risk.

They found a 26-year-old Italian from Canastota, New York. The guy was plucky and could swat, but he was also predictable. Many knew him because of his uncle, the tough and determined former welterweight and middleweight champion, Carmen Basillo. He grew tired of constantly being in his uncle’s shadow, but granted, the guy had defeated the great Sugar Ray Robinson.

Nevertheless, when his career began, Backus didn’t look like a promising fighter. He learned as he fought, engaging in 15 amateur fights (reportedly) before turning professional.

He won four fights in succession before dropping three in a row. The determination was there, just not the talent.

Backus kept training. He also made extra money by working multiple jobs. Backus had a winning percentage of slightly over 50 percent through his first 15 fights.

He retired for a couple of years, but missed boxing. Maybe he hadn’t really given himself a chance. He resumed training, returning to the ring in the fall of 1967.

Backus ran off seven wins in succession before running into tricky Percy Pugh. They fought three more times, with Backus winning two of them. The loss didn’t deter him. He put together another winning streak over fringe contenders.

In 1970, he faced highly ranked welterweight Manuel Gonzales in Syracuse, New York. Backus was supposed to lose, but stunned many by defeating Gonzalez easily. The win earned Backus a shot at Napoles title.

The venue was the War Memorial Auditorium in Syracuse. Backus had fought there many times. He’d have the home-field advantage, if nothing else. Oddsmakers weren’t impressed.

In an interview on Boxingnewonline.net years later, Backus said he was confident.”I was 100 percent ready for him and I was 100 percent willing. I respected him, but I didn’t fear him.”

As expected, Napoles did well in the round. A few minutes later, both fighters were bleeding from cuts.

Billy Backus vs. Jose Napoles I – World Welterweight Title

Thin skin was a Napoles flaw.

Backus was exploiting it, but paying a heavy price. The crimson was flowing like a faucet nobody could stop. Backus did better in round two, but Naploes was still tattooing him with shots. Backus continued to press.

In the next heat, a headbutt caused an even worse cut on the champion’s left eyelid. Referee Jack Millcich, on advice from the ringside physician, called the bout in round four.

“It was the worst cut I’ve ever seen. I could see his eyeball,” said Milicich. Billy Backus, the underdog from Canastota, was the new welterweight champion of the world.

Backus would lose the title in a rematch.

He lost several more fights later in his career.

No matter.

Billy Backus, the upstart from Canastota, would forever be a world champion.