Athletes - Young Firpo

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	Athletes - Young Firpo

Ring Name: Young Firpo Alias: Wild Bull of Burke Birth Name: Guido Bardelli Nationality: Italian-American Birthplace: Barre, VT, USA Hometown: Burke, ID, USA Born: 1907-04-25 Died: 1984-08-21 Age at Death: 77 Stance: Right or Left Handed Height: 5' 8 Reach: 74 Managers: Chuck Snyder (early career only) Managed himself. Trainer: Mel Epstein (1930-37)

Guido Bardelli was born in Barre, Vermont in 1907. When his father died in Vermont, his mother moved the Bardelli family to northern Idaho, ultimately settling in the mountainous mining town of Burke.

To try to capture the essence of Guido Bardelli, the man, and Young Firpo, the fighter, within the limited framework of this capsule summary, is well neigh impossible to do. However, the following will give the reader a glimpse of the greatness of Young Firpo, the fighter, who was often described by fans and boxing writers during the 1920s and 1930s as the "uncrowned light heavyweight champion of the world."

Guido bypassed a fling at amateur fighting and engaged in his first professional fight in Mullan, Idaho as a 17 year old against Ben Grenich, a seasoned ring campaigner. The fight lasted one punch from the right hand of teenage Guido. Grenich was knocked out and he was only able to leave the ring with the assistance of his cornermen after regaining his senses.

Nicknamed "Young Firpo" by an old time fighter and trainer, who had seen similarities in Guido to Luis Firpo of Argentina, Guido Bardelli soon became recognized as a knockout sensation unlike any fighter witnessed throughout the history of Pacific Northwest boxing.

A dozen or so fights and he had the Coeur d'Alene Mining District and the Pacific Northwest in his grasp for the combination of his physique, quicksilver feet, hand speed and dynamite punching power, captured the imagination of fight fans who realized that within their midst was the makings of a world champion.

He was called "Young Firpo" by the media and "Guido" or "Firp" by those closest to him. The media also tagged him with the sobriquet of "the Wild Bull of Burke."

Young Firpo's fighting style and vicious punching was described by sport's writers of the time, including the likes of L.H. Gregory, Don McCloud, Dan Walton, Billy Stepp, and Reddy Gallagher, in terms that dramatically recognized that Young Firpo was unique in the annals of boxing history. For example, in a 1937 Portland Oregonian editorial, Gregory wrote "There's only one Young Firpo on earth. No other battler, anywhere, fights as he does. His is one of those peculiar styles a man has to be born with."

L.H. Gregory, the dean of Pacific Northwest boxing writers, in a 1971 Portland Oregonian editorial, recalled the exploits of Young Firpo when he described Firpo and wrote that he had "never seen more active fighting in the ring," in more than fifty years as a sports writer, than the "sensational," overwhelming force of Young Firpo. "Young Firpo was unforgettable,” he wrote.

His fight career commenced in 1924 and he retired from the ring in 1937. There were many great light heavyweights during that era and Young Firpo's record reveals that he took on all who were willing to enter the ring with him. As one's mind drifts to a bygone era, the names and visages of some of the opponents he faced ... Harry Dillon, Jimmy Darcy, Del Fontaine, Pete Cerkan, Frankie Wine, Dusty Miller, George Dixon, Tiger Thomas, Fred Lenhart, Leo Lomski, Wesley KO Ketchell, George Manley, KO White, Tiger Jack Fox, and John Henry Lewis ... eventually emerge from the shadows of the past and into the ring spotlight, again awaiting the clang of the bell to face the lethal and sensational punching capabilities of Young Firpo.

After capturing the Pacific Coast Light Heavyweight Title by dethroning Wesley (Kayo) Ketchell on January 24, 1933, the consensus was that it might be easier to win the Light Heavyweight Championship of the World than it was to dethrone the Pacific Coast Light Heavyweight Champion, at least while the title was being held by Young Firpo.

In the spring of 1934, enroute to Butte, Montana, to fight Gorilla Jones, Young Firpo was involved in a car wreck where he suffered serious injuries. At the time, the injuries, which hampered him for the balance of his career, were thought to signify the end of his ring career. He was hospitalized and following his release from the hospital, he sought to recuperate within the beloved mountains enveloping his home in Burke, Idaho. As he started to get his strength back by the late summer of 1934, the Portland Boxing establishment offered him a "tune-up" fight with none other than Tiger Jack Fox, who had made a name for himself in the boxing world. Firpo ducked none and accepted the challenge and put his coast Light Heavyweight championship on the line against Fox who entered the fight as a heavy favorite due to Firpo's injuries and inactivity as well as the sensational punching display made on the coast by the Tiger, John Linwood Fox.

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