5. Vince and Joe Dundee
Both were Italian born with the surname Lazzara, changing their names upon their stateside arrival. Both could mix it up and awe their way to victory. Both laid multiple claims as the very best fighter in their division—Vince Dundee at middleweight, Joe Dundee at welterweight.
And both Dundee brothers are inexplicably absent from the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
Joe, the elder by four years, fought his way up the welterweight ranks throughout the 1920’s, fighting primarily out of the east coast. He drew with Hall of Famer Lew Tendler and beat standouts and ranked contenders Sailor Friedman (three times) and Willie Harmon before really sending waves through the division with a TKO victory over former champion and eventual giant-killing legend Mickey Walker in 1926.
After getting off the canvas to beat another notable fighter in Eddie “KO” Roberts (avenging a big upset loss two months prior), Joe earned himself a title shot against Pete Latzo.
At the end of 15 rounds in front of 30,000 fans at New York’s Polo Grounds, Joe was awarded a 15-round decision over Latzo for the world welterweight championship. He made one defense, but soon after dropped a points loss to the excellent Johnny Indrisano.
Joe’s reign, however, didn’t end there.
Indrisano would eventually suffer a broken jaw in defeat to Clyde Hull who Joe knocked out in early 1928 to reclaim his place atop the division.
It was three years later that Vince made his presence known in the middleweight division beating Hall of Famer Len Harvery twice in 1931.
Making his pro debut at 16, Vince didn’t grow into a full-fledge middleweight until about 1929. After beating Harvey, he amassed a record of 34-3-2 over his next 39 fights, highlighted by wins over standout Solly Krieger and Hall of Famer and two-weight world champion, the brutish Lou Brouillard for the 160-pound title.
The only men to defeat him over this stretch were another couple of Hall of Famers, Marcel Thil and rival Teddy Yarosz.
The record he retired with was an outstanding one: 122-21-14.
