Barney Ross Barney Ross ( born Dov - Ber " Beryl " David Rosofsky ; December 23 , 1909 – January 17 , 1967 ) was an American professional boxer . Ross became a world champion in three weight divisions and was a decorated veteran of World War II . Early life . Dov - Ber ( or Beryl ) Rosofsky was born in New York City to Isidore " Itchik " Rosofsky and Sarah Epstein Rosofsky . His father was a Talmudic scholar who had emigrated to America from his native Brest - Litovsk after barely surviving a pogrom . The family then moved from New York to Chicago . Isidore became a rabbi and owner of a small vegetable shop in Chicago ' s Maxwell Street neighborhood , a vibrant Jewish ghetto akin to the New York ' s Lower East Side of the 1920s and ' 30s . Dov - Ber was being raised to follow in his footsteps . The young Rasofsky grew up on Chicago ' s mean streets , ultimately ignoring his father ' s desire for him to become a rabbi and his admonition that Jews do not resort to violence . " ' Let the " goyim " be the fighters , ' " Ross later recalled being told by his father . " ' The trumbeniks , the murderers – we are the scholars . ' " Ross ' s ambition in life was to become a Jewish teacher and a Talmudic scholar , but his life was changed forever when his father was shot dead resisting a robbery at his small grocery . Prostrate from grief , his mother Sarah suffered a nervous breakdown and his younger siblings — Ida , Sam and George - were placed in an orphanage or farmed out to other members of the extended family . Dov was left to his own devices . In the wake of the tragedy , Dov became vindictive towards everything and turned his back on the orthodox religion of his father . He began running around with local toughs ( including another wayward Jewish ghetto kid , the future Jack Ruby ) , developing into a street brawler , thief and money runner ; he was even employed by Al Capone . Dov ' s goal was to earn enough money to buy a home so that he could reunite his family . He saw boxing as that vehicle and began training with his friend Ruby . After winning amateur bouts , Dov would pawn the awards — like watches — and set the money aside for his family . There is speculation that Al Capone bought up tickets to his early fights , knowing some of that money would be funneled to Dov . Plagued by his father ' s death and feeling an obligation not to sully his name , Dov Rosofsky took the new name " Barney Ross . " The name change was also part of a larger trend by Jews to assimilate in the U . S . by taking American - sounding names . Strong , fast and possessed of a powerful will , Ross was soon a Golden Gloves Champion and went on to dominate the lighter divisions as a pro . At a time — the late 1920s and ' 30s — when rising Nazi leader Adolf Hitler was using propaganda to spread his virulently anti - Jewish philosophy , Ross was seen by American Jews as one of their greatest advocates . He represented the concept of Jews finally fighting back . Idolized and respected by all Americans , Ross showed that Jews could thrive in their new country . He made his stand against Hitler and Nazi Germany a public one . He knew that by winning boxing matches , he was displaying a new kind of strength for Jews . He also understood that Americans loved their sports heroes and if Jews wanted to be embraced in the U . S . they would have to assume such places in society . So even though Ross had lost faith in religion , he openly embraced his role as a leader of his oppressed people . Boxing career . Ross occupies the rarifed place as one of boxing ' s few triple division champions — lightweight , light welterweight and welterweight . He was never knocked out in 81 fights and held his title against some of the best competition in the history of the divisions . Ross defeated great Hall of Fame champions like Jimmy McLarnin and Tony Canzoneri in epic battles that drew crowds of more than 50 , 000 . His first paid fight was on September 1 , 1929 , when he beat Ramon Lugo by a decision in six rounds . After ten wins in a row , he lost for the first time , to Carlos García , on a decision in ten . Over the next 35 bouts , his record was 32 – 1 – 2 , including a win over former world champion Battling Battalino and one over a boxer named Babe Ruth ( not the baseball player ) . Another bout included former world champion Cameron Welter . Then , on March 26 , 1933 , Ross was given his first shot at a world title , when he faced World Lightweight and Light Welterweight Champion and fellow three division world champion club member Tony Canzoneri in Chicago . In one night , Ross became a two division world champion when he beat Canzoneri by a decision in ten rounds . It should be pointed out that Ross campaigned heavily in the city of Chicago . After two more wins , including a knockout in six over Johnny Farr , Ross and Canzoneri boxed again , with Ross winning again by decision , but this time in 15 . Ross was known as a smart fighter with great stamina . He retained his title by decision against Sammy Fuller to finish 1933 and against Peter Nebo to begin 1934 . Then he defended against former world champion Frankie Klick , against whom he drew in ten . Then came the first of three bouts versus Jimmy McLarnin . Ross vacated the Light Welterweight title to go after McLarnin ' s Welterweight Championship and won by a 15 round decision , his third world championship . However , in a rematch a few weeks later , McLarnin beat Ross by a decision and recovered the title . After that , Ross went back down to light welterweight and reclaimed his title with a 12 round decision over Bobby Pacho . After beating Klick and Henry Woods by decision to retain that title , he went back up in weight for his third and last fight with McLarnin and recovered the Welterweight title by outpointing McLarnin again over 15 rounds . He won 16 bouts in a row after that , including three over future World Middleweight Champion Ceferino Garcia and one against Al Manfredo . His only two defenses , however , on that stretch were against Garcia and against Izzy Jannazzo , on points in 15 rounds . In his last fight , Ross defended his title on May 31 , 1938 against fellow three division world champion Henry Armstrong , who beat him by a decision in 15 . Although Armstrong pounded Ross inexorably and his trainers begged him to let them stop the fight , Ross absorbed the abuse and refused to stop or go down . Barney Ross was never knocked out in his career and was determined to leave the ring on his feet . Some boxing experts view Ross ' s performance against Armstrong as one of the most courageous in history . Some believe that Ross ' s will to survive every tough fight on his feet had to do with his understanding of his symbolic importance to Jews . That is , Jews would not only fight back , but they wouldn ' t go down . Ross retired with a record of 72 wins , 4 losses , 3 draws and 2 no decisions ( Newspaper Decisions : 2 - 0 - 0 ) , with 22 wins by knockout . He was ranked # 21 on Ring Magazine ' s list of the 80 Best Fighters of the Last 80 Years . World War II . In retirement in his early thirties , Ross enlisted in the United States Marine Corps to fight in World War II . The Marines wanted to keep him stateside and use his celebrity status to boost morale . Most of the athletes of the era like Heavyweight Champion Jack Dempsey had ceremonial roles in the military , but Ross insisted on fighting for his country . Before he was to go overseas , Ross decked a non - com who had made an anti - Semitic remark . He was to be court martialed at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot , San Diego . The other board members wanted to throw the book at Ross , but Captain Berthol E . Davis , who was also Jewish and knew of Ross ' achievements , convinced the rest of the board to allow Ross to go overseas and avoid punishment . So , he was sent to the Pacific theater . He was sent to Guadalcanal in the South Pacific . One night , he and three other comrades were trapped under enemy fire . All four were wounded ; Ross was the only one able to fight . Ross gathered his comrades ' rifles and grenades and single - handedly fought nearly two dozen Japanese soldiers over an entire night , killing them all by morning . Two of the Marines died , but he carried the third on his shoulders to safety ; the other man weighed 230 lb ( 104 kg ) compared to Ross ' 140 lb ( 64 kg ) . Ross was awarded America ' s third highest military honor , the Silver Star , as well as a Presidential Citation . As one of America ' s greatest " celebrity " war heroes , he was honored by President Roosevelt in a Rose Garden ceremony . During his time in Guadalcanal , Ross began a lifelong friendship with the famous Father Frederic Gehring , a wartime chaplain who wrote regular correspondences for " Reader ' s Digest " magazine . Gehring considered Ross a national treasure who defied logic when it came to bravery and the defense of principle . Ross was the only one capable of playing a temperamental organ on the tropical island . On Christmas Eve , before Barney and his Marines were to go to battle , Gehring asked him to learn " Silent Night " and other Christmas songs for the troops . After playing them Gehring , they asked Ross to play a Jewish song . Ross played " My Yiddishe Momma , " about a child ' s love for his self - sacrificing mother . Many of the Marines knew the melody of the song because Ross always had it played when he entered the ring . When the Marines heard the lyrics , newspaper reports say they were all in tears . Drug addiction and recovery . During his recovery at the hospital from his wounds suffered in that battle , Ross developed a habit for the morphine administered for pain . Back in the states , the morphine became heroin . This habit became so bad he would sometimes spend $ 500 a day on the drug . Ross went to a recovery center and beat his addiction . He gave lectures to high school students about the dangers of drug addiction . His struggle against morphine addiction is the subject of the 1957 film " Monkey on My Back " . Final days . Ross spent his last days using his celebrity status in promotional work for casinos and other businesses . He remained with his second wife Cathy Howlett , although they never had children . He was happy he reached the two goals he had set : reunite his family and become a world champion in boxing . He wrote an autobiography titled " No Man Stands Alone . " He also remained loyal to his friend Jack Ruby and testified as a character witness on Ruby ' s behalf at his trial for killing Lee Harvey Oswald , who was under arrest for the shooting death of Dallas patrolman , J . D . Tippit . Ross died in his hometown Chicago when he was 57 years old . His relatives include Yuri Rasovsky , Solomon Rosowsky and Baruch Leib Rosowsky . Honors . Ross was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame , the World Boxing Hall of Fame , the Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame , the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame and the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1997 . The Aleph Zadik Aleph chapter located in Chicago ' s South Suburbs , ( primarily in Flossmoor , Homewood , and Olympia Fields ) , is named in his honor and memory . The character Barney Ross played by Sylvester Stallone in the Expendables movies was chosen to honor the former world champion .