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The Cyber Boxing Zone Encyclopedia -- Lineal Champion

Virgil Akins
("Honey Bear")

BORN   March 10 1928; St. Louis, Missouri
HEIGHT 5-9
WEIGHT 134 1/2 - 153 lbs
MANAGERS Lou Wallach, George Gainsford, Bobby Gleason, Bernie Glickman, Eddie Yawitz

Akins was a lean, lanky fighter who packed a solid punch in each fist; To be such an excellent fighter as he could be at times, he was surprisingly lackluster on other occasions; Once he put it all together, however, he was a splendid fighter; During his career, Virgil won the Welterweight Championship of the World

He defeated such men as Joe Brown, Tony DeMarco, Isaac Logart, Wallace "Bud" Smith, Freddie Dawson, Luther Rawlings, Henry Hank, Harold "Baby Face" Jones, Garnet "Sugar" Hart, Joe Miceli, Vince Martinez, Henry Davis, Ronnie Delaney, Bill Sudduth, Stan Harrington, Charley "Tombstone" Smith, Jimmy Beecham and Nelson Levering

1948
Mar 10 Albert Adams                St. Louis, Mo                    W  6
Apr  5 Charles Baxter              St. Louis, Mo                   LT  3
Apr 21 Charles Baxter              St. Louis, Mo                    W  6
Nov 23 Danny Robinson              St. Louis, Mo                    W  6

1949
Jan 17 Joe Henderson               St. Louis, Mo                   KO  3
Feb 15 Russ Moore                  Wichita, Ks                     KO  2
Mar  8 Willie Cheatum              St. Louis, Mo                    W  8
Mar 30 Clem Custer                 St. Louis, Mo                    W  8
Sep 29 Arthur Persley              Queens, NY                       L  6

1950
Jul  6 Nelson Levering             Cheyenne, Wy                     L  6 
Jul 15 Joe Fisher                  Denver, Co                       L  8
Oct  5 Art Edmundson               St. Louis, Mo                    W  8
Oct 24 Nelson Levering             St. Louis, Mo                   KO  2
Nov  1 Rudy Zadell                 St. Louis, Mo                   TK  3
Dec  6 Joe Sgro                    St. Louis, Mo                    W 10

1951
Jan 18 Gene Parker                 Minneapolis, Mn                  L  6
Mar  9 Bill Neri                   New York, NY                    TK  6
Apr  4 Wallace "Bud" Smith         St. Louis, Mo                    W 10
Apr 17 Wallace "Bud" Smith         St. Louis, Mo                    W 10
May 25 Joe Brown                   New Orleans, La                  L 10
Jun  8 Tommy Campbell              New Orleans, La                  W 10
Jul  6 Joe Brown                   New Orleans, La                  L 10
Sep 26 Freddie Dawson              St. Louis, Mo                    W 10
          -Some sources report "L 10"
Oct 17 Luther Rawlings             St. Louis, Mo                    W 10
Dec  6 Joe Brown                   St. Louis, Mo                    W 10
Dec 14 Luther Rawlings             New York, NY                     L  8

1952
Feb  8 Baby LeRoy                  Hollywood, Ca                   TK  4
Feb 19 Joe Gilmer                  Los Angeles, Ca                 TK  9
Feb 29 Henry Davis                 Hollywood, Ca                   TK  9
May  7 Jay Watkins                 Chicago, Il                     KO  2
Jul 30 Johnny Saxton               Chicago, Il                      L 10
Sep 30 Joe Miceli                  Milwaukee, Wi                    L 10

1953
Apr  4 Johnny Gonsalves            Chicago, Il                      L 10
Aug 29 Phil Kim                    Chicago, Il                     LT 10

1954
Jun  2 Joey Greenwood              St. Louis, Mo                   KO  8
Oct 16 Andy Brown                  New Orleans, La                  L 10
Oct 26 Henry Hank                  Detroit, Mi                      W  8

1955
Mar  2 Johnny Brown                Miami, Fl                       TK 10
Mar 15 Tommy Maddox                Chicago, Il                     TK  4
Apr  8 Johnny Brown                St. Louis, Mo                    D  8
May  2 Ronnie Delaney              New York, NY                    KO  8
May 23 Joe Miceli                  New York, NY                    TK  1
Jun 21 Bill Sudduth                Chicago, Il                     TK  8
          -Some sources report "KO 9"
Aug  8 Isaac Logart                New York, NY                     W 10
Sep 13 Harold "Baby Face" Jones    Indianapolis, In                 W 10
Dec  2 Isaac Logart                New York, NY                     L 10

1956
Jan  3 Rudolph Bent                Holyoke, Ma                     TK  5
Jan 19 Clarence Cook               Dallas, Tx                      KO  4
Jan 26 Mel Barker                  East St. Louis, Il              TK  8
Mar  8 Andy Watkins                East St. Louis, Il              TK  2
Mar 21 Hector Constance            St. Louis, Mo                    W 10
Jun 21 Don Jose                    Monroe, Mi                      TK  4
Sep 15 Charlie Sawyer              Hollywood, Fl                    L 10
Oct 22 Pat Lowry                   Miami, Fl                       KO  2

1957
Jan  8 Sammy Walker                Buffalo. NY                      W 10
Jan 31 Al Andrews                  St. Louis, Mo                   TK  6
Mar  4 Franz Szuzina               St. Louis, Mo                    W 10
May 24 Jimmy Beecham               Washington, DC                  TK  3
Jun 12 Walter Byars                Norfolk, Va                      W 10
Jul  8 Franz Szuzina               St. Louis, Mo                    L 10
Aug  9 Garnet "Sugar" Hart         Cleveland, Oh                   TK  8
Sep 18 Gil Turner                  Atlantic City, NJ                L 10
Oct 29 Tony DeMarco                Boston, Ma                      KO 14
          -Welterweight Championship of the World
          (as recognized by Massachusetts state)

1958
Jan 21 Tony DeMarco                Boston, Ma                      TK 12
          -Welterweight Championship of the World
          (as recognized by Massachusetts state)
Mar 21 Isaac Logart                New York, NY                    TK  6
Jun  5 Vince Martinez              St. Louis                       TK  4
          -Welterweight Championship of the World;
          Some sources report 6/06/58
Aug 20 Charley "Tombstone" Smith   Chicago, Il                     TK 10
Sep 18 Del Flanagan                St. Paul, Mo                     L 10
Dec  5 Don Jordan                  Los Angeles, Ca                  L 15
          -Welterweight Championship of the World

1959
Apr 24 Don Jordan                  St. Louis, Mo                    L 15
       -Welterweight Championship of the World
Jun 17 Luis Rodriguez              Miami Beach, Fl                  L 10
Aug  4 Stan Harrington             Honolulu, Oahu, Hi               W 10
Oct 28 Kenny Lane                  Washington, DC                   L 10
Dec 10 Denny Moyer                 Portland, Or                     L 10

1960
Jan 28 Don Fullmer                 St. Louis, Mo                    L 10
Mar  8 Wally Swift                 London, Eng                      L 10
Apr  1 Fernando Barreto            Sao Paulo, Brzil                 W 10
May 20 Charley Scott               St. Louis, Mo                    W 10
Jul  6 Luis Rodriguez              Louisville, Ky                   L 10
Nov 21 Carl Hubbard                Chicago, Il                     KO  5
Dec  6 Marvin "Candy" McFarland    Philadelphia, Pa                 L 10

1961
Jan 16 T.J. Jones                  Chicago, Il                     TK  9
          -Some sources report "KO 10"
Mar  4 Gerald Gray                 Kingston, Jamaica                W 10
          -Some sources report "Kingston, NY"
May 15 Billy Collins               Chicago, Il                      W 10
Jul 10 Cecil Shorts                Chicago, Il                     TK  8
Sep  5 Henry White                 Chicago, Il                      L 10
Sep 22 Kenny Lane                  Annapolis, Md                    L 10
Oct 16 Jose Burgos                 Caracas, Venezuela              TK 10
Nov 17 Stefan Redl                 Totowa, NJ                       D 10
Dec 13 Vince Bonomo                Miami Beach, Fl                 TK  4
Dec 27 Ralph Dupas                 Miami Beach, Fl                  L 10

1962
Mar 20 Garland "Rip" Randall       Houston, Tx                      L 10


*** Assistance Provided By Seth Callis ***


Record courtesy of Tracy Callis, Historian, International Boxing Research Organization
 

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