Billy Costello Documentary - Boxing's Hometown Hero
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- Опубликовано: 5 фев 2025
- A look back at former WBC Junior Welterweight Champion Billy Costello, the hero of Kingston, New York.If you wish to donate/support the channel please click here:
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Billy Costello was one of my father’s (Bill Clancy) closest friends. He used to come to North Carolina to visit us when he was the champ. I have pictures of him holding me when I’m about 3 years old. He also lived with us in 1996 when he was going through his divorce with Jane. He was extremely tough on me at a time in my life when I needed it. RIP Billy
I used to run and train with Billy before he turned pro, we would run up at Hasbrouck Park when he had his two doberman pinschers and his van. I was preparing for Marine Corps recruit training (1977) Billy's family the Costello's are a "class act" God bless them all!
Thank you for this! I just stumbled upon it! I miss my father dearly this brightened up my day!
The pleasure is mine,Christine, and thank you for the response. Your father is respected and remembered by us boxing fans.
He was also my uncle and never got to meet him since I was born 2012 rip and hI Christine
This channel is awesome! These professionals shouldn’t be left out of our memories. Thanks my friend for keeping the memories of these boxers alive!
I used to spar with Billy at the West Hempstead PAL daily in his last come back. I learned so much from him and he was a great man. I was so said when I heard he past. RIP Friend
Billy Costello, Solid Fighter and Respectable. Always seemed calm and collective, True Professional
Never heard of Costello before. Big heart, helluva fighter.
The Black Lights. One of best books I ever read
Same here. Every boxing fan should read it.
Oh yeah , i'm gonna look into it , just refinised ,' Four Kings ' and never heard of Black Lights
@@daveyboy_ its a real good read and gives us some insight into the Don King of 1984 and the world's most corrupt boxing person, Jose Sulaiman.
I had the honor of meeting him in 1996 while he was attending a card in Ft
Bragg,NC.I wish I could find the photos we took.Just a nice guy.Rest his soul 🙏🏾
Great champ, great story, such a sad ending... rock on champ "R.I.P"...
ANOTHER GREAT DOCUMENTARY!THESE DOCUMENTARIES BRING ME BACK TO MY FAVORITE ERA IN BOXING. RIP BILLY✌❤👊
On behalf of the Costello family, I'd like to thank you for such a well done piece. It was well researched. It's amazing how accurate it is considering that you didn't use any of us as a source. Very impressive!
Such a wonderful tribute to my brother. Thank you so much! This channel is so well done. Excellent content remembering some wonderful stories behind many of the most courageous athletes! Tip o' the cap!
My pleasure, Seven Thirty, and thank you for the kind words on the channel. Billy was my late uncle's favorite fighter. Still have memories talking about his fights with him.
@@RichtheFightHistorian That's so awesome!!! Keep up the great work!
Anybody who lived in upstate New York during the 1980s remembers Billy Costello-- great show about a mostly forgotten Champ of the past
Wow. Outstanding work.
The end of this one hit me right in the feels. RiP Billy
Can't remember when a fight highlight made me twitch as the Costello vs Curry fight. Those punches were cataclysmic. Talk about giving and taking. 💪💪
I really enjoyed his short run as champ. RIP
Knew Billy and his brother Vinny personally when they lived in Queens NY Billy was a great guy sorry we lost him at a young age
Great video once again Rich. You are shining a light on very good fighters who are often forgotten about, good work buddy 👏🏻.
Much appreciated, thank you.
RIP Champ. And thanks for these AMAZING docs Rich.
Thanks, Marcos.
beautiful human being with another bittersweet ending. rip champ🛐
This boxing history is truly fantastic brings back so many memories. The fighters back then were so tough I don’t think many of today’s fighters would be able to compete with these guys.
A credit to his sport and the human race. None are more, most are less...
Great job on profiling boxers that I vaguely recall with a well crafted style . Their life stories help me better appreciate the gladiators of my youth.
Cool feature..very good TV fighter
Those so called experts who said he had no skill should get In a ring and fight another highly trained fighter and see if they can float like a butterfly and sting like a bee.that man fought with a style that best suited him and won by doing it and also he was huge at the weight. Him vs Aaron Pryor would of been very good
Never heard of you. Hurler in the ditch
Ah man, fantastic documentary. It's so good to see a video of a good guy again, uplifting to. I been through Scott, Animal and Jumbo lately and my faith in the African-American fighters (and the US as a whole) of the 80's was taking a serious hit so it was great to see one of your videos on a true gentleman and a true fighter. I loved it. Thanks again mate.
Another great video! And yes Black Lights Out was one of the best boxing books I ever read.
Wow this is a real champ !!! A man among men. If I'm lucky maybe I'll meet this gr8 champ in Valhalla. Gr8 doc. Wish it was longer.... 🙏
I am a subscriber & love your presentations! You are informative and respectful. All your videos are top of the line, I never miss one. Thank You for tributes to boxing warriors known & unknown👊😏👍
Billy Costello was a good solid fighter who became a World Champion. His time was short but he had some nice wins.
I believe he lost some of his passion. Getting the big 💰whilst you're the guy has so much to do with your management. We all know the story on those dudes. Either way his ✨ came true. He did it
R.I.P.
These documents are like gold. I can watch them again and again. And never get bored. Rich is the greatest boxing broadcaster. Thanks Rich.
Thanks for the support, L N
@@RichtheFightHistorian your very welcome Rich. . I salute your genius and passion for boxing.
Your channel is simply par excellence. I cant wait till you feature The Black Murderers roe of boxrrd, Ted kid Lewis and Jimmy Wilde.
The way you edit the fights totally changes my perspective on boxing. Not because you make it "easier" or anything. They're just perfect visual synopses of the fights as they occurred. You totally track the ebb and flow of the respective fighters' momentum in the fight. Really remarkable.
Excellent bio on an exciting fighter. Keep em comin!
Another great video. Keep 'em coming. Can't help but notice Mr. Compassion Richard Steele letting Bruce Curry get beaten half to death and not stopping the fight. Meldrick Taylor must be watching like "WTF" Thanks Again!!
Another excellent documentary ! Thank you and keep them coming please .
Thanks, will do!
Best one yet and so many bangers that’s saying alot
This is best shit i've seen in a while, lol keep doing this stuff my man. This is golden.
I miss you billy we butted heads but I'm blessed to have had you teach me boxing love and miss you
Another great video Rich. You forgot to mention that Costello is the focus of a great book, The Black Lights, written by Thomas Houser
Thanks again Rich
Rich, you're the greatest. I remember Costello, but never knew his story. Thanks....
Sure thing, Britt.
thank you my friend for bringing us such wonderful boxers love the use of music
Thanks, Edward.
Thanks for the video, RICH THE FIGHT HISTORIAN
I'll be honest I don't know this man but I know I'm going to try and find his first title fight to watch right now
This is the best boxing channel on you tube.... Kp up the good work sir....All the best from Scotland.......
Much appreciated, Thomas.
Wow I didn't know Billy Costello passed away? He was a solid champion and I real nice guy, May God bless his soul, and give him a high ranking in Paradise🤲🏽🙏🏽🥊
great stuff! You should do one on Tony Ayala jr and Aaron pryor !
No fucking way I followed ur channel and watched ur videos before knowing u uploaded this. I'm extremely impressed by ur knowledge on the sports history this one hits home for me I grew up in poughkeepsie right next to Kingston very close to each other Billy is a huge inspiration to me seeing a guy come from my backyard in the same small county with the same dream and excelling at it is very motivating. I appreciate your work man thanku
Thank you. Costello was certainly popular in that area.
Love this channel.
Rich the Fight Historian Im reliving my youth through all your videos
Whooo! Love the profile pic!
This is an excellent channel. you describe fighters and tell their stories like no other can. Thanks for sharing!
I appreciate that, oncall21. Thank you.
Your segments just keep getting better and better. And I for one truly appreciate these posts of crowd pleasing fighters that we would otherwise never see again. Great stuff! Keep up the good work.
I appreciate that, thanks Michael.
Finally...I been clicking on this to watch it for the past 2days
This is my number one boxing channel
All of these great fighters are dying at relatively young ages. I watched many of them train at the Golden Gloves Gym in Las Vegas during the early and mid 80s. It was a very special time in boxing history and I'm very grateful to have experienced it. Great job!
Yet another great piece. Awesome work!
Thank you! Cheers!
Excellent documentary professional and well researched.
Thank you for all the great content you show. Your channel is wonderful, by far the best on the subject. Really enjoyed this story as well as the Jimmy Young and Jaime Garza stories. keep up the great work.
Thanks for watching!
40-2 he had a good record he was a b+ or a- fighter he was the best pound for pound light welterweight in the world once!!!!! Rip billy rest up soldier!!!!
Another Rich documentary classic. Thank You.
Glad you enjoyed it, thank you.
true champion use to love watching his fights RIP CHAMP
Great upload!
Big thanks
Very nice video & a very nice boxer & man..
Very tough fighter, always gave 100% effort. RIP Champ
You're living up to your name again Bro. Always got Billy Costello and John Conteh mixed up, lol...both great fighters though. Pristine job as usual.🤜🏾🤛🏻
Appreciate that...you're right, there is some facial resemblance between Conteh and Costello now that I think about it.
I always enjoyed watching Billy fight. You left out one of the best though. Billy vs an over the hill Alexis Arguello. I remember Gil Clancy at ringside saying how tired Alexis was and looked like he was walking up hill to his corner. He then said he didn't know if he had enough left to even hurt Billy if he landed. Then BOOM! Alexis knocked him out!!! A great finish to a great fight!
I missed this one? Wow!
I remember Billy Costello from the eighties and I remember the knockout defeat of Bruce curry and the Lonnie Smith fight.... Costello was the subject of the first book by Thomas Hauser on the reality of professional boxing and he seemed to be a decent person.... I did not know that he had died from cancer aged fifty five years old....
Great keep up the great 💪
He trained my friends before he passed away. They got a statue put up for him at least.
I did not like Billy after he bested Saoul Mamby, however, that was personal. Billy was everything a fighter could be with a great trainer and team behind him securing something stablemate Gerry Cooney never achieved. Saoul once said Billy literally broke you with punches, quite a comment from a great fighter who went 10 with Duran, beat DeJesus, Curry and Ronnie Shields. He looked like a mini-Ken Norton in person. Fascinating story on a great person, cannot thank you enough for such a well done piece.
great guy billy
pride makes us weaker not stronger, its just a Name.
there will always be someone above you, look up to them not fown to them
Hate to see my uncle go what sucks is he died in 2011 I was born in 2012 rip uncle Billy wish I could see you
Unfortunately these boxer's stories end tragically=(
Rip may God Rest His Soul
There is an excellent book called The Black Lights which features Billy Costello. If you haven't read it already, I highly recommend doing so.
19 years old and started boxing not bad
What an interesting fighter, Billy Costello. And another wonderful video, Rich. Thank you. Wow, that fight with Curry was another slugfest. And, double wow, and pow, for that Arguello straight right. Damn, what a punch. That division was something else. Arguello's bout with Aaron Pryor was one for the ages. (Did Pryor cheat with that concoction in the corner?). Fighters are the most interesting people; they're not monolithic, either. They're all different and unique personalities. I cannot believe humans can take all those punches to the head, and still be able to think. Love the music, btw; and the footage is a treat to watch. Btw, Bob Baker looked like he was as good, or better, than Marciano, very skilled, very strong.
Thanks, Christiaan. Baker would have been a handful but it seems as if brittle hands held up back. He wasn't spectacular but seemed solid all around. And yes, Pryor's trainer used crushed asthma pills in that mixed bottle.
@@RichtheFightHistorian Thanks, Rich. Crushed asthma meds, huh? He fought like a bat out of hell after that.... I'm still thinking about that Arguello right hand. That was a thing of beauty. Great balance, timing, weight transferral. He had that punishing, long straight jab, too. He effed up his opponents from the outside with the jab, then sent them into next week with that short, straight right. He basically sent Costello into retirement with that clean, perfect punch, Ali didn't throw anything close to that in Lewiston. Liston took a dive.
@@ChristiaanHartNibbrig Yep, if there were black belts in boxing, Arguello would be a 10th degree dan. You're most likely correct about the Liston debacle.
He is the second “Butcher Boy”. Dan “Butcher Boy” Bucceroni from South Philadelphia was the first. RIP Mr. Bucceroni. You were great!!
Respect G r.i.p
Ike Ibeabuchi would be an amazing documentary.
You see Richard Steele try and help Curry up after that 1st knockdown ? Then took forever to stop the fight . I'll wager Curry was one of DK'S Boys . On another note , Ronnie Shields, that is who Tysons talkin bout in his post fight vs Lewis . And damm - as Champ this Costello sure was busy between 84 85 . Great freakin channel . Im thinkin one of thee best . Givin' Rumy's Corner a run . Keep up the good work
14:38 Costello had to talk a little walk after that knockdown
Would love to see a special on Roger Leonard, Sugar Ray's older brother. How overcame addiction. Has a book out, standing in the shadows of a Champion 🏆.
I'll check out his book, thanks.
Wow, I didn't realize he had passed..RIP
RIP BILLY
Was costello ever between Memphis and Nashville tn?
I’d like to see his fight with Bob Harvey
Rip Champ
A good guy taken too early!🙏
Like 36 years ago not far from the month we watched Lighting Lonnie Smith embarrass Billy. Couldn't believe how easy Lonnie made it look. Seemed like Billy looked past Lonnie and got the shock of his life.
R.I.P.
Billy
Had watched several Lightning Lonnie fights prior to that. Didn’t see that coming at all. Always thought he was such an awkward fighter
@@bluelivesmatter719 had he kept up the pace and stayed in shape he would have been a force to reckon with.
None of today’s fighter’s will fight twice in one year. These guys were much more willing to do what they get paid to do…fight.
hmm, I stayed at a motel in Kingston not two weeks ago, just passing through. Didn't know it was famous for anything.
Richard Steele was a Don King ref back then curry must have a King fighter
I was just commenting that . Funny how he'll let one guy ( Curry) get brain damaged and then stop - lets say Ruddock, after a few love taps .
Thank you
Yeah , one could say those were the
glory days, idk...free fights on the
weekends we watched a generation
of talent. For an abortive amateur
record-that still is a remarkably high
KO%.
Castellini was a monster
Sorry, my computer cut the Arguello fight off.
ammy super star getting the pulp beat out of him by a guy that started boxing at 19, you love to see it
How about also making a tribute to one of my two friends, James Salerno, or Charlie White Lightning Brown.
I can do White Lightning at some point. Salerno, I think I only have one or two of his fights.
Well ok@@RichtheFightHistorian
THANKS! I appreciate whatever information can be shared about either fighter.
I met James early in 1980 as he was assigned as an assistant trainer for the All-Marine Corps boxing team.
I then met Charlie after my discharge in '82, as we were both being trained by Don Turner until it was discovered I had a "career-ending" eye injury preventing a pro debut in January '83.
@@godsownfool7 Thanks for the story. Will put them on the list.