When we think of the legendary Rocky Marciano, we immediately recall his KO victory over Joe Louis, his unforgettable battles with Jersey Joe Walcott and Ezzard Charles, and his farewell match against Archie Moore. Yet, when asked about the toughest fight of his illustrious career, the great Italian-American slugger did not mention any of these names familiar to the general public. Instead, he would bring up Carmine Vingo, the man with whom he shared a dramatic fight on December 30, 1949—exactly 75 years ago—that would forge a deep bond between the two fighters.
Vingo was a tall, brave Italian-American from the Bronx, known for his fearless approach in the ring. His reckless style earned him the nickname “Bingo Vingo,” as his constant search for violent exchanges turned every fight into a lottery. However, Vingo almost always managed to draw the winning ticket: of the 17 matches he fought since turning professional, he had won 16, with his sole loss resulting from a controversial decision.
The clash between these two rising Italian-American stars was a genuine crossroads, designed to determine which of them was better equipped to ascend to the upper echelons of the heavyweight division. The American public’s desperate search for the next “great white hope” left no room for hesitation, forcing very young fighters like Vingo—who had just turned 20 two days earlier—into the lion’s den without much ceremony. Sink or swim was the prevailing philosophy of the time.
The fight, held at Madison Square Garden in New York before a crowd of just over 9,000 spectators, was brutally intense. Rocky, more experienced and prepared than his rival, used his left hook effectively in the opening rounds, scoring two knockdowns in the first two rounds. However, Vingo got back up each time and responded furiously, his right hands shaking Marciano, who came close to hitting the canvas himself.
For five rounds, the contest remained evenly matched and uncertain, but in the sixth round, Vingo began to show signs of fatigue. Struck by a devastating left uppercut to the chin, he collapsed to the canvas, hitting his head hard and losing consciousness. With no ambulance on-site, Vingo was carried on a stretcher to a nearby hospital, where he fell into a coma.
It was a dramatic night, with doctors giving the young fighter no more than a 50% chance of survival. Rocky Marciano rushed to the hospital, pacing nervously in the corridors and praying for the man with whom he had shared such a fierce battle just hours earlier. A priest administered last rites to Vingo, but fortunately, to everyone’s immense relief, the young fighter pulled through. Although he suffered a slight paralysis on the left side of his body, he was able to return home to his family.
Rocky waited for his “colleague” to recover before stepping back into the ring: reconciling with the man his punches had nearly killed was an essential step for him to continue as a boxer. Marciano himself later admitted, “Carmine is my friend. He forgave me. If he hadn’t, I wouldn’t have been able to carry on.”
Such high-stakes events often forge unbreakable bonds, and indeed, Vingo attended Rocky’s wedding in 1950, was invited to watch some of his World Title fights in person, and even attended the great champion’s funeral after Marciano tragically died in a plane crash. For Vingo, Rocky was “one of the most pleasant men to have a conversation with.”
Carmine Vingo, who had come so close to death that night 70 years ago, went on to live a full and happy life. He never returned to the gym but married his high school sweetheart, found work as a “security porter” at a Manhattan building—a title he coined to describe his duties—and eventually passed away from natural causes in 2015 at the age of 85.
The boxing world has largely forgotten him, but anyone who loves the story of the great Rocky Marciano must know that among those who were part of his journey was “Bingo Vingo,” a young man who risked paying dearly for his courage but whom fate granted a second chance at life.