# Mike Rossman

Mike Rossman (born Michael Albert DePiano on July 1, 1955) is an American former professional boxer who was the WBA light heavyweight champion of the world. He is of both Italian and Jewish descent, which led to his monikers "The Kosher Butcher" and "The Jewish Bomber".

## Life and career

Rossman was born in Turnersville, New Jersey, as Michael Albert DePiano. Rossman is his mother's maiden name, which he uses rather than that of his father. Rossman's father was Italian, and his mother Jewish. He is Jewish, and boxed with a Star of David on his shorts. He began boxing at 14 and turned pro on August 10, 1973.
Rossman fought Víctor Galíndez for the light heavyweight championship of the world on the undercard of an Ali–Spinks rematch in September 1978. Many thought Galindez would defeat him, but Rossman opened up cuts over Galindez's eyes and continued fighting until near the end of the 13th round, when the referee stopped the fight, and Rossman became world champion. Rossman made one successful defense before his hometown Philadelphia fans in December of the same year, stopping Italian challenger Aldo Traversaro in the fifth round after opening a wound on Aldo's forehead with a left hook.
Later, after losing the title back to Galindez in 1979 (see below), his career declined as he lost several matches; he never again fought a title match. He fought into the early 1980s, and perhaps the biggest name he faced in post-championship status was the upstart Dwight Braxton (today known as Dwight Muhammad Qawi), who defeated him in seven rounds in May 1981.

### Rossman vs. Galindez championship rematch

In February 1979, Rossman participated in what is sometimes considered one of professional boxing's most embarrassing moments (at least in modern times). At a scheduled rematch between Rossman and Galindez, Rossman was left waiting in the ring as Galindez failed to appear: A dispute about the judges of the match between the WBA and the Nevada Athletic Commission prevented the fight from being for the title, so Galindez camp refused to fight. After immediate attempts to remedy the situation failed, the fight was suspended, and rescheduled two months later in April 1979.
With Rossman perhaps still fretting about boxing politics, Galindez was focused on regaining the title, and was able to defeat Rossman. Rossman apparently broke his right hand during the bout, severely limiting his boxing ability. The pain became worse over the course of the fight, and unbearable to a point where Rossman told his father-manager after the ninth round that he could not continue. Galindez was thus able to reclaim the championship.

## Professional boxing record

| 54 fights | 44 wins | 7 losses |
| By knockout | 27 | 5 |
| By decision | 17 | 2 |
| Draws | 3 | 3 |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
| 54 | Win | 44–7–3 | Henry Sims | TKO | 5 (10) | 1983–11–17 | Sands Casino Hotel, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. | |
| 53 | Win | 43–7–3 | Robert White | SD | 10 | 1983–08–17 | Sands Casino Hotel, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. | |
| 52 | Win | 42–7–3 | Al Fracker | TKO | 6 (10) | 1983–06–15 | Playboy Hotel & Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. | |
| 51 | Win | 41–7–3 | Charles Smith | TKO | 10 (10) | 1983–04–13 | Resorts International Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. | |
| 50 | Loss | 40–7–3 | Dwight Muhammad Qawi | KO | 7 (10) 1:59 | 1981–05–31 | Resorts International Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. | |
| 49 | Win | 40–6–3 | Luke Capuano | UD | 10 | 1981–02–22 | Conrad Hilton Hotel, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | |
| 48 | Win | 39–6–3 | Luke Capuano | MD | 10 | 1980–11–13 | International Amphitheatre, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | |
| 47 | Win | 38–6–3 | Al Bolden | KO | 10 (10) 2:32 | 1980–09–09 | Resorts International Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. | |
| 46 | Win | 37–6–3 | Don Addison | UD | 10 | 1980–07–12 | Resorts International Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. | |
| 45 | Loss | 36–6–3 | Ramon Ranquello | TKO | 6 (10) | 1979–09–18 | Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, U.S. | |
| 44 | Loss | 36–5–3 | Víctor Galíndez | RTD | 9 (15) 3:00 | 1979–04–14 | Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. | Lost WBA Light heavyweight title. |
| 43 | Win | 36–4–3 | Aldo Traversaro | TKO | 6 (15) 1:15 | 1978–12–05 | The Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | Retained WBA Light heavyweight title. |
| 42 | Win | 35–4–3 | Víctor Galíndez | TKO | 13 (15) | 1978–09–15 | Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. | Won WBA Light heavyweight title. |
| 41 | Win | 34–4–3 | Matt Ross | KO | 2 (10) | 1978–07–15 | Convention Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. | |
| 40 | Win | 33–4–3 | Lonnie Bennett | TKO | 2 (10) 1:41 | 1978–05–24 | The Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
| 39 | Loss | 32–4–3 | Yaqui López | RTD | 6 (10) | 1978–03–02 | Felt Forum, New York City, New York, U.S. | |
| 38 | Win | 32–3–3 | Gary Summerhays | UD | 10 | 1977–09–29 | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S. | |
| 37 | Win | 31–3–3 | Marcel Clay | KO | 1 (10) 2:51 | 1977–07–17 | Miami Beach Convention Center, Miami Beach, Florida, U.S. | |
| 36 | Win | 30–3–3 | Mike Quarry | RTD | 6 (11) | 1977–05–11 | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S. | |
| 35 | Win | 29–3–3 | Ray Anderson | TKO | 4 (10) | 1977–03–02 | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S. | |
| 34 | Win | 28–3–3 | Mike Quarry | MD | 10 | 1976–12–11 | The Aladdin, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. | |
| 33 | Draw | 27–3–3 | Christy Elliott | PTS | 10 | 1976–11–10 | Walsh Gymnasium, South Orange, New Jersey, U.S. | |
| 32 | Win | 27–3–2 | Christy Elliott | KO | 3 (10) 1:59 | 1976–09–28 | Yankee Stadium, New York City, New York, U.S. | |
| 31 | Win | 26–3–2 | Steven Smith | TKO | 6 (10) | 1976–08–06 | Convention Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. | |
| 30 | Loss | 25–3–2 | Tony Licata | MD | 10 | 1976–06–12 | Municipal Auditorium, New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. | |
| 29 | Win | 25–2–2 | José Anglada | KO | 9 (10) | 1976–05–14 | Weehawken HS, Weehawken, New Jersey, U.S. | |
| 28 | Win | 24–2–2 | Gene Wells | UD | 10 | 1976–03–08 | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S. | |
| 27 | Draw | 23–2–2 | Casey Gacic | PTS | 10 | 1976–02–13 | Painters Mill Theatre, Owings Mills, Maryland, U.S. | |
| 26 | Win | 23–2–1 | Al Styles, Jr. | UD | 10 | 1975–12–10 | Catholic Youth Center, Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
| 25 | Loss | 22–2–1 | Mike Quarry | UD | 10 | 1975–09–30 | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S. | |
| 24 | Win | 22–1–1 | Mike Nixon | KO | 7 (10) | 1975–08–01 | Tropicana Hotel & Casino, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. | |
| 23 | Loss | 21–1–1 | Mike Nixon | SD | 10 | 1975–05–19 | Broome County Arena, Binghamton, New York, U.S. | |
| 22 | Win | 21–0–1 | David Adkins | MD | 10 | 1975–04–29 | Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland, U.S. | |
| 21 | Win | 20–0–1 | Matt Donovan | UD | 10 | 1975–02–17 | The Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
| 20 | Win | 19–0–1 | Matt Donovan | UD | 10 | 1975–01–21 | Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland, U.S. | |
| 19 | Win | 18–0–1 | Harold Richardson | TKO | 3 (10) | 1974–12–11 | Catholic Youth Center, Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
| 18 | Win | 17–0–1 | John Pinney | TKO | 5 (8) 1:39 | 1974–11–22 | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S. | |
| 17 | Win | 16–0–1 | Mike Morgan | UD | 8 | 1974–10–25 | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S. | |
| 16 | Win | 15–0–1 | Nate Dixon | TKO | 4 (8) | 1974–09–09 | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S. | |
| 15 | Win | 14–0–1 | Mike Baker | UD | 8 | 1974–07–29 | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S. | |
| 14 | Draw | 13–0–1 | Nate Dixon | PTS | 8 | 1974–07–15 | The Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
| 13 | Win | 13–0 | Ray Hernandez | UD | 6 | 1974–06–17 | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S. | |
| 12 | Win | 12–0 | Walter Riley | TKO | 1 (6) | 1974–05–29 | Catholic Youth Center, Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
| 11 | Win | 11–0 | Tyrone Freeman | UD | 6 | 1974–04–29 | The Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
| 10 | Win | 10–0 | Joey Blair | TKO | 6 (8) | 1974–03–20 | Catholic Youth Center, Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
| 9 | Win | 9–0 | Greg Burch | PTS | 6 | 1974–02–18 | The Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
| 8 | Win | 8–0 | Maximo Pierret | UD | 6 | 1974–02–09 | Catholic Youth Center, Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
| 7 | Win | 7–0 | Elwood Townsend | TKO | 2 (6) | 1973–12–15 | Catholic Youth Center, Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | Lester Camper | TKO | 6 (6) | 1973–12–08 | Convention Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. | |
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Nate Dixon | TKO | 3 (6) | 1973–11–14 | Catholic Youth Center, Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Larry Parker | TKO | 1 (4) | 1973–10–31 | Baltimore Civic Center, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. | |
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Herman Nance | KO | 1 (4) 2:03 | 1973–10–22 | The Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Robert Ziegler | TKO | 3 (4) | 1973–09–24 | The Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Stanley Dawson | KO | 2 (4) | 1973–08–10 | Convention Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. | |

## Miscellaneous

* Rossman has a tattoo of the Star of David on the calf of his right leg.
* Rossman now lives in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
* Rossman was inducted into the New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame.