Fred Apostoli, "The Boxing Bell Hop" (February 2, 1913 - November 29, 1973 in San Francisco) was a rugged, accomplished body punching middleweight, who was recognoized as the world champion when he defeated Marcel Thil on September 23, 1937.
An orphan, Apostoli won the 1934 National AAU middleweight championship, and turned pro later that year. Quickly, he moved up the ladder and fought future middleweight champion Freddie Steele in his first seven months as a professional. Althought, the more experienced Steele stopped him in 10 rounds, Apostoli went on to defeat top fighters such as Swede Berglund, Babe Marino, Babe Risko , Solly Krieger and Lou Brouillard to become the leading contender for the world's championship.
Eventually, Apostoli was matched with Thil and he defeated the Frenchman via 10th round TKO. The New York Boxing Commission, however, still recognized Freddie Steele as champion. In 1938, Apostoli fought Steele in a non-title rematch and avenged his earlier defeat with a 9th round KO. Finally, Apostoli gained universal acceptance as the title holder when he TKO'd Young Corbett III on November 18,1938.
Apostoli also fought as a light heavyweight. Although he dropped two close decisions to Hall of Famer Billy Conn, Conn always credited Apostoli as a great fighter who hurt him in both matches. On October 2, 1939, Apostoli's title reign ended when he lost the middleweight crown to Ceferino Garcia .
Apostoli served in the United States Navy during World War II. He retired from the ring in 1948 with a 61-10-1 (31KOs) record.
