It was August 1987 when I first read the name Lenny LaPaglia, mmmmm correction possibly a few month’s earlier when I read somewhere in the English trade paper Boxing News about an Italian American called Lenny LaPaglia wanting to fight the then World I.B.F super middle champ Chong Pal Park after dismantling one of Park’s former challenger’s in Marvin Mack inside of a round, Mack had taken Park the full course!
Let’s roll forward a few month’s and I read that my hero Doug Dewitt has got a win over a certain Lenny LaPaglia and was back to winning way’s after the shattering loss the previous Febraury at the hands of Puerto Rican puncher Jose ‘Pepo’ Quinones.
Reading that Dewitt had been badly hurt in the ninth, I kind of figured this Lapaglia guy whom I vaguely remembered reading of a few months back must be able to punch to be able to shake a tough guy like Doug, telling my great uncle Alf himself of Italian parentage and a former pro flyweight back in the 1930’s of Dewitt’s win, Alf a scholar of the noble art remarked of LaPaglia and seemed surprised I knew little of him as Alf remarked of Lenny as the kayo king!
Sadly Alf would pass the following December and I remember him saying I’d soon give up following my new found hobby and get interested in something else, if only he knew that I wouldn’t and some day I’d even interview the guy he called the kayo king! I’m sure he’s somewhere up there now smiling down on me during this interview……now he know’s…..
Michael Angelo Serra: So tell me Lenny how did life begin? and what was the place you grew up like?
Lenny LaPaglia: I grew up in Melrose park, Illinois, an all Italian neighbourhood.
M S: How did you become a fighter? what was it that told you that you were going to be a boxer?
L L: I became a fighter by not taking any shit from anybody that I believe had it coming to them in my opinion anyway.
I guess it was a gift I just had, I had a lot of fights just by hanging out with all my Italian friends, and with them noticing the way I punched they said ‘you should box and that might just keep you out of trouble’.
M S: Other than yourself did any one else box in your family before you box?
L L: No
M S: So Lenny you mentioned that your friends told you about the way you punched, so would you consider yourself a naturally gifted puncher? was your power something that you was born with?
L L: Yes, it’s almost like throwing a ball, some people can just throw good and other’s like myself can throw it all the way!!! that’s the way I fought, I just went for it!! I always gave it 110%.
M S: So you have what I would call raw power, a gift from God?
L L: No, I had the raw power.
M S: So do you feel it was something you feel you were born with? and not something a trainer nurtured by teaching you to turn your shoulder into a punch?
L L: It really came from being trained to me by my trainer Pat La Cassa.
M S: Sounds to me you got plenty of knockouts on the streets before you ever did in the ring?
L L: Yes I did have a lot of knockout street fights also.
M S: When you first began boxing, how old was you? And what did you achieve in the unpaid game?
L L: I started boxing at the age of 16 years old. And I achieved experience and confidence, enough confidence and determination to win the 1978 Chicago Golden Gloves Novice middleweight championship at 165lbs.
M S: So what was your record in the amatuers? kayo’s etc?
L L: I’m not sure about that, I’ll have to find out, I have that somewhere around here.
M S: Bet you scored some pretty vicous kayo’s in the streets? if so what one street fight or street fights stand out in your memory?
L L: I don’t really want to talk about that Mike, sorry. {Lenny changes his mind}
Yeah I guess you can say that, well there were a few that when we did {streetfight} you can say it was RAGE-O-LICHIS!!!
M S: What is RAGE-O-LICHIS? {laughs}
L L: RAGE-O-LICHIS speaks for itself!!! when the Rage is RAGING it’s RAGE-O-LICHIS!!!
M S: So how did the nickname ‘The Rage’ come about?
L L: So I got my name {The Rage} from before boxing. From friends of mine from fighting in the streets really, and it just stuck with me.
M S: You had a terrific kayo streak before the Collins fight, you stopped every opponent, many inside of a few rounds, with one lasting just before the fifth round, surely it must have been the best kayo streak at the time in World boxing?
L L: Well I never researched it. But John Collins was right up there with his record as well, I have to give all props to John Collins as he was a true champion as well.
M S: Lenny the Collins fight was a war and despite being dropped twice by Collins you showed so much heart that Lou Duva took an interest in you after this fight, tell me more about your thoughts going into the Collins fight?
L L: Well, by me fighting Collins was really a next step up in class in my career and Collins career at the same time.
We both being undefeated and both of us having a great ko record, I had no bad feeling towards John Collins going into this fight, and as far as the Italian-Irish stuff, everyone know’s that’s all PR and the build up for the fight.
M S: Would you say the Collins loss improved you as a fighter?
L L: For sure it did, first it teaches you how to lose. Second it gave me more experience, taught me how to get knocked down and get back up and finish a ten round fight for the first time in my career, John Collins was a great fighter.
M S: So you go on after the loss to Collins to lose to half decent Danny Blake twice, so after three consecutive losses, piling up a few more ko win’s you then go fight Carlos Tite in his home state, what happened in that fight? Tite wasn’t a bad fighter, how come you lost the fight?
L L: I don’t think I lost that fight!! we fought in his hometown of Hammond, Indiana and I was ROBBED!!!!
M S: After the loss to Tite, a few more wins get you a fight with Mike Moore for the Illinois state championship, it must have been nice to have been a champion of your own place of origin? was it one of the high’s in your career?
L L: No, that was not one of my high’s in my career, I knew I was going to knock out Moore, with a 6-9 record and the boxers he fought, I knew he wasn’t in the same league as me.
Be sure to look out for part two of my interview with Lenny in the coming weeks!
Michael Angelo Serra interviewing former World cruiserweight champion Lenny ‘The Rage’ LaPaglia