Virgil Akins vs. Tony DeMarco (1st meeting)

Virgil Akins 144 lbs beat Tony DeMarco 146 lbs by KO at 1:17 in round 14 of 15

• Date: 1957-10-29
• Location: Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
• Referee: Jimmy McCarron 120-125
• Judge: Jim Shaughnessy 123-123
• Judge: Joe Santarpio 121-120

"Virgil Akins, 29, St. Louis, floored former welterweight titlist Tony DeMarco three times in the 14th round for a knockout tonight in a war of attrition. The fight, billed in Massachusetts as a welterweight title match, though not recognized by the NBA or the NYSAC as a championship contest, was one of the most savage and exciting the Boston Garden ever had known. Akins spent the early rounds sending out left jabs and hooks to score against the hard-hitting DeMarco and picking off Tony's blows with a slip of the shoulder and dart of the glove. Akins, down himself in the 12th round, polished off the 25 year old DeMarco with a smashing two-handed flurry at 1:17 of the 14th - the 6th time in the bout DeMarco had been on the canvas." -Associated Press