Billy Costello
Encyclopedia
Billy Costello was a professional boxer
in the United States.
, on April 10, 1956, to a white father and Asian Indian mother, one of nine children. Costello was active in the Boy Scouts
. He played third base on the Kingston High School
baseball team and had originally hoped for a career as a professional baseball player.
Open Championship. Costello stopped Raymond Johnson of the United Block Association in the second round to win the Championship. Costello began began boxing in the Police Athletic League
program in Kingston, and later trained at the Castle Hill Athletic Club in the Bronx, New York.
and Wilford Scypion
. Costello fought a lot of his early professional bouts around the Hudson Valley
-NYC
area, after a successful amateur career that culminated in a Golden Gloves
award. Kingston, New York
(about 90 miles north of NYC) eventually became his home, at least while he was champion. But before winning a title, he put together an early undefeated streak, which included a 10-round decision over Willie Rodriguez on CBS
television in November 1982. He and his management then became closely associated with the CBS
network, which aired several of his fights.
The one and only title he held in his career, the WBC
junior welterweight title, was won by knocking out Bruce Curry
in the 10th round in January 1984 in front of a pro-Curry crowd in Beaumont, Texas
. He would then make three defenses of the belt, all in Kingston, and all by 12-round unanimous decision. His first foe as champion was Ronnie Shields
, with whom he traded first-round knockdowns before eventually securing the points win. Next was former WBC 140-lb. champion and veteran Saoul Mamby
, who replaced Leroy Haley
, another former possessor of Costello's belt, on five days notice. Costello defeated ex-champion Mamby unanimous decision.
His next fight was finally against Leroy Haley
. The result was a unanimous win over 12 rounds for Costello. Next, a Denver, Colorado
fighter named Lonnie 'Lightning' Smith
defeated him, knocking down and cutting the defending champion en route to an eighth-round stoppage in New York City
to claim the title in August 1985.
Billy kept coming back, next fighting three-time champion Alexis Argüello
in February 1986. Arguello, behind on points, stopped Costello in Round 4 after knocking him down. Costello then took some time off from the ring, fighting on a sporadic 'here-and-there' basis until the early 1990s. In his last bout in 1999, he defeated former world champion Juan Laporte
by ten round decision in a Pay Per View fight, avenging a 1986 loss to LaPorte by his brother Vinnie. All in all, Costello's professional career had lasted as astounding 20 years, from 1979-1999, and ended with a win over a former world champion. His respectable career had only two losses to world champions.
Costello is perhaps best remembered for his stoppage loss to the late legendary Alexis Arguello
.
. On evenings and weekends, Costello remained active in pro boxing as a professional boxing judge and referee in New York State at many sanctioned events. There is a Billy Costello Boxing Gym in Kingston, and Costello was involved in boxing shows in the area.
, was given access to the contractual negotiations, and painted a literary portrait of the inside wheels of boxing as it affected Costello.
. He was married and divorced, and had a son and a daughter, who survive him. He was close with his younger brother Mario 'Vinnie' Costello, a noted professional boxer super featherweight boxer from 1981-1990 with a pro record of 20-2-2 but who never fought for a title, who trained with his brother under the late Victor Vallee , who also trained Gerry Cooney
.
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
in the United States.
Early Life
Costello was born in Kingston, New YorkKingston, New York
Kingston is a city in and the county seat of Ulster County, New York, USA. It is north of New York City and south of Albany. It became New York's first capital in 1777, and was burned by the British Oct. 16, 1777, after the Battles of Saratoga...
, on April 10, 1956, to a white father and Asian Indian mother, one of nine children. Costello was active in the Boy Scouts
Boy Scouts
A Boy Scout is a member of a Scouting organization. There are thousands of national Scouting organizations or federations; these are grouped into six international Scouting associations with some non-aligned organizations....
. He played third base on the Kingston High School
Kingston High School
Kingston High School is a co-educational high school in Kingston, Tasmania.The school teaches students in grades 7-10 and currently has approximately 650 students enrolled...
baseball team and had originally hoped for a career as a professional baseball player.
Amateur career
Billy Costello won the 1978 135 pound New York Golden GlovesGolden Gloves
The Golden Gloves is the name given to annual competitions for amateur boxing in the United States. The Golden Gloves is often the term used to refer to the National Golden Gloves competition, but it also can represent several other amateur tournaments, including regional golden gloves...
Open Championship. Costello stopped Raymond Johnson of the United Block Association in the second round to win the Championship. Costello began began boxing in the Police Athletic League
Police Athletic League
The Police Athletic League is an organization in many American police departments in which members of the police force coach young people, both boys and girls, in sports, and help with homework and other school-related activities. The purpose is to build character, help strengthen police-community...
program in Kingston, and later trained at the Castle Hill Athletic Club in the Bronx, New York.
Professional career
During his career, he was managed by Mike Jones, who was also famous for managing Gerry CooneyGerry Cooney
Gerry Cooney is a retired Irish-American professional boxer from Huntington, New York best known for his loss to Larry Holmes and defeat of aging ex-champion/contender Ken Norton.-Life before boxing:...
and Wilford Scypion
Wilford Scypion
-Pro career:In February 1983, Scypion beat Frank Fletcher by a twelve round decision to take the USBA's regional Middleweight title. This victory guaranteed him a world championship try, against Marvin Hagler. The two competitors met on May 27, in a fight televised by HBO Boxing, which was...
. Costello fought a lot of his early professional bouts around the Hudson Valley
Hudson Valley
The Hudson Valley comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in New York State, United States, from northern Westchester County northward to the cities of Albany and Troy.-History:...
-NYC
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
area, after a successful amateur career that culminated in a Golden Gloves
Golden Gloves
The Golden Gloves is the name given to annual competitions for amateur boxing in the United States. The Golden Gloves is often the term used to refer to the National Golden Gloves competition, but it also can represent several other amateur tournaments, including regional golden gloves...
award. Kingston, New York
Kingston, New York
Kingston is a city in and the county seat of Ulster County, New York, USA. It is north of New York City and south of Albany. It became New York's first capital in 1777, and was burned by the British Oct. 16, 1777, after the Battles of Saratoga...
(about 90 miles north of NYC) eventually became his home, at least while he was champion. But before winning a title, he put together an early undefeated streak, which included a 10-round decision over Willie Rodriguez on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
television in November 1982. He and his management then became closely associated with the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
network, which aired several of his fights.
The one and only title he held in his career, the WBC
World Boxing Council
The World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
junior welterweight title, was won by knocking out Bruce Curry
Bruce Curry
Bruce Curry , is a former professional boxer. He was the WBC Super Lightweight Champion from 1983 to 1984.-Amateur career:...
in the 10th round in January 1984 in front of a pro-Curry crowd in Beaumont, Texas
Beaumont, Texas
Beaumont is a city in and county seat of Jefferson County, Texas, United States, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's population was 118,296 at the 2010 census. With Port Arthur and Orange, it forms the Golden Triangle, a major industrial area on the...
. He would then make three defenses of the belt, all in Kingston, and all by 12-round unanimous decision. His first foe as champion was Ronnie Shields
Ronnie Shields
Ronnie Shields was a professional boxer in the Featherweight division and is currently a boxing trainer.-Amateur career:...
, with whom he traded first-round knockdowns before eventually securing the points win. Next was former WBC 140-lb. champion and veteran Saoul Mamby
Saoul Mamby
Saoul Paul Mamby was a professional boxer between 1969 and 2008.- Personal :Mamby, the child of a mother of Spanish descent and father from Jamaica, converted to Judaism at age 4.Mamby is also a Vietnam veteran....
, who replaced Leroy Haley
Leroy Haley
Leroy Haley , is a former American boxer at Light Welterweight.- Professional career :Known as "Irish", Haley turned pro in 1973 and captured the WBC light welterweight title with a split decision win over Saoul Mamby in 1982. He defended the belt twice before losing it to Bruce Curry by decision...
, another former possessor of Costello's belt, on five days notice. Costello defeated ex-champion Mamby unanimous decision.
His next fight was finally against Leroy Haley
Leroy Haley
Leroy Haley , is a former American boxer at Light Welterweight.- Professional career :Known as "Irish", Haley turned pro in 1973 and captured the WBC light welterweight title with a split decision win over Saoul Mamby in 1982. He defended the belt twice before losing it to Bruce Curry by decision...
. The result was a unanimous win over 12 rounds for Costello. Next, a Denver, Colorado
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
fighter named Lonnie 'Lightning' Smith
Lonnie Smith
Lonnie Smith is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. He made his debut for the Philadelphia Phillies on September 2, 1978 and later played for the St. Louis Cardinals, Kansas City Royals, Atlanta Braves, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Baltimore Orioles...
defeated him, knocking down and cutting the defending champion en route to an eighth-round stoppage in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to claim the title in August 1985.
Billy kept coming back, next fighting three-time champion Alexis Argüello
Alexis Argüello
Alexis Argüello , also known by the stage name El Flaco Explosivo , was a Nicaraguan professional boxer and politician...
in February 1986. Arguello, behind on points, stopped Costello in Round 4 after knocking him down. Costello then took some time off from the ring, fighting on a sporadic 'here-and-there' basis until the early 1990s. In his last bout in 1999, he defeated former world champion Juan Laporte
Juan Laporte
Juan Laporte is a former boxer who was born in Guayama, Puerto Rico.-Amateur career:Juan Laporte won the 1976 112 lb New York Golden Gloves Sub-Novice Championship. He defeated Long Island's Ricky Brown in the finals. Laporte was defeated by Joseph Nieto of the Police Athletic Leagues Lynch...
by ten round decision in a Pay Per View fight, avenging a 1986 loss to LaPorte by his brother Vinnie. All in all, Costello's professional career had lasted as astounding 20 years, from 1979-1999, and ended with a win over a former world champion. His respectable career had only two losses to world champions.
Costello is perhaps best remembered for his stoppage loss to the late legendary Alexis Arguello
Alexis Argüello
Alexis Argüello , also known by the stage name El Flaco Explosivo , was a Nicaraguan professional boxer and politician...
.
Life After Boxing
In retirement, Costello worked as a home contractor, active in building and road construction. Costello also served as the volunteer director of the Kingston PAL Boxing Club in Kingston, New YorkKingston, New York
Kingston is a city in and the county seat of Ulster County, New York, USA. It is north of New York City and south of Albany. It became New York's first capital in 1777, and was burned by the British Oct. 16, 1777, after the Battles of Saratoga...
. On evenings and weekends, Costello remained active in pro boxing as a professional boxing judge and referee in New York State at many sanctioned events. There is a Billy Costello Boxing Gym in Kingston, and Costello was involved in boxing shows in the area.
Book
Billy Costello's championship run was the subject of Thomas Hauser's "The Black Lights: Inside the World of Professional Boxing." One of the most widely heralded books ever written on boxing, Hauser appeared in the Costello training camp during last minute negotiations for a televised bout with substitute challenger Saoul MambySaoul Mamby
Saoul Paul Mamby was a professional boxer between 1969 and 2008.- Personal :Mamby, the child of a mother of Spanish descent and father from Jamaica, converted to Judaism at age 4.Mamby is also a Vietnam veteran....
, was given access to the contractual negotiations, and painted a literary portrait of the inside wheels of boxing as it affected Costello.
Personal Life
Costello lived his entire life in Kingston, New YorkKingston, New York
Kingston is a city in and the county seat of Ulster County, New York, USA. It is north of New York City and south of Albany. It became New York's first capital in 1777, and was burned by the British Oct. 16, 1777, after the Battles of Saratoga...
. He was married and divorced, and had a son and a daughter, who survive him. He was close with his younger brother Mario 'Vinnie' Costello, a noted professional boxer super featherweight boxer from 1981-1990 with a pro record of 20-2-2 but who never fought for a title, who trained with his brother under the late Victor Vallee , who also trained Gerry Cooney
Gerry Cooney
Gerry Cooney is a retired Irish-American professional boxer from Huntington, New York best known for his loss to Larry Holmes and defeat of aging ex-champion/contender Ken Norton.-Life before boxing:...
.