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Kenneth Sigurani came into this
world on April 2 1973, and is a
graduate of Youngstown State
University. Likely inspired by
the massive success and hype of
local heros Mancini and Arroyo,
he picked up boxing early on and
embarked on a fine amateur
career that eventually lead him
to making his professional debut
on July 22 1994.
Sigurani won his first paid
contest with ease, knocking out
one Charles Miller in the first
round of their fight in
Youngstown, and inside only four
months he had established a fine
5-0 (3) record. In 1995 he was
also very active, racking up
another eight victories and
improving his undefeated ledger
to 13-0 (5).
Having already won fights over
the eight round distance several
times, Sigurani was kept on the
fast-track as 1996 began. In
January he stopped the usually
tough George Sams (8-8) in three
rounds, and in April he was
matched with fellow prospect
Richard McGill (9-1-1), in what
was to be his first real test.
In a battle for local pride,
McGill fighting out of nearby
Lima, Ohio, Sigurani passed the
test and won a twelve-round
decision in front of a loud
crowd at the Metro Plex Center
in Youngstown. His career was
progressing nicely, but, while
undefeated, some though things
were moving a bit too fast when
news broke of his next outing.
Going on the road to Bristol,
Tennessee, Sigurani took on
experienced Bobby Elkins (22-4)
on July 14 1976, with the vacant
WBF World Welterweight title on
the line. From Nashville, Elkins
was the local favorite, and had
fought much better opposition
than Sigurani who was largely
unknown outside of Ohio.
But, fired up by the challenge
at hand, Sigurani took Elkins,
and many if the fans at
ringside, by surprise when he
largely dominated the fight, and
eventually stopped Elkins in the
ninth round to become world
champion less than two years
after his pro debut.
Two months after his big night
in Bristol, Sigurani stayed busy
with a ten-round unanimous
decision over Miami-based Cuban
Alex Quiroga (9-1-2), on a show
promoted by Bob Arum´s Top Rank
at the Mountaineer Casino
Racetrack and Resort in Chester,
West Virginia.
Sigurani vs. Quiroga was the
co-featured bout on the card,
with legendary Roberto Duran
stopping Mike Culbert in the
headliner and future world
champion Paul Spadafora boxing
on the undercard. 23 years old
and 17-0, Ken Sigurani was
certainly making his way in the
sport.
His first defense of the WBF
world title was set for December
22 1996, close to home, in
Struthers, Ohio, against another
undefeated boxer in Robert “Puch
Up” Frazier (13-0), a 1992
National Golden Gloves champion
from Rochester, New York.
While Frazier was a quality
challenger and would remain a
world-class contender for many
years to come, win titles and
fight, even beat, big names, he
was no match for Sigurani on the
night, as the defending champion
won a clear unanimous decision.
But four months later, in April
1997, the Sigurani express came
to an abrupt halt in the
mountain city of Altoona,
Pennsylvania. In what was
supposed to be another
profile-building showcase
against former IBF World
Featherweight Champion Antonio
Rivera (34-12-2) from Puerto
Rico, disaster struck.
With three losses in a row,
albeit against very good
opposition, Rivera was not
expected to give the WBF world
champion too many problems, but
the veteran caught Sigurani with
a hard shot early, and stopped
the favorite only 1:26 into the
first round.
While it was not a title fight,
the loss to Rivera meant that
Sigurani was stripped of the WBF
title. He bounced back well, and
won four straight fights within
a year, lining up a massive
opportunity for himself against
living legend Julio Cesar Chavez
(99-2-2).
On another big Top Rank
promotion, this time at the
Foxwoods Resort in Mashantucket,
Connecticut, Sigurani started
the fight against Chavez well,
and at times held his own with
the iconic Mexican. But, after a
few entertaining rounds, Chavez
over-powered Sigurani and
eventually made him his
eighty-first knockout victim in
round three.
Only four months after the
Chavez fight, in October 1998,
Sigurani was given a second
chance to return to the top,
when he was pitted against
another former multiple world
champion and Hall-of-Famer in
Puerto Rican superstar Hector
“Macho” Camacho (65-4-1).
Fighting live on ESPN, “The
Cobra” did much better this
time, giving Camacho all he
could handle for ten rounds, and
many felt he was done wrong when
only one of the judges saw him
as the winner, and Camacho was
awarded a split decision.
The Camacho fight would be
Sigurani´s last bout, and in
some ways a very credible way to
go out. While he didn’t win, he
proved that he was still a
quality operator, and he didn’t
end his career on his back, as
is the case for many former
world champions.
With a final record of 22-3 (8),
all three losses against former
world champions and two of them
outright legends, Ken Sigurani
still lives in the Youngstown
area, where he works at General
Motors.
In 2007 he embarked on a short
career as a professional boxing
judge, and as late as 2014 he
fought a charity exhibition bout
against fellow Youngstown boxer
Jake Giuriceo.
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