Arthur Lakofsky (November 16, 1909 – April 2, 1980), also known as Art Lasky, was a heavyweight professional boxer from Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Personal life
Lasky was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota on November 8, 1908, and called Minneapolis his home. He was of Russian-Jewish ancestry. Both he and his brother Maurice worked in a scrap metal yard before taking up boxing. His brothers Dave and Eli both had short, but less successful careers as boxers during the depression years of the 1930s. Lasky's brother Maurice acted as his trainer, and trained the boxer Young Harry Greb for a time.
After his boxing career ended, Lasky went on to become a cameraman, stunt coordinator, and even dabbled in acting. Being a bit of a renaissance man, and always interested in new challenges, he had a short career in the Palm Springs police department, and later became a physical therapist with a practice in three California cities; San Bernardino, then Palm Springs, and later at his home in Sky Valley, thirteen miles from Hot Springs. Lasky was also skilled in carpentry, masonry and as a surveyor and did much of the work for a home he built in California around 1964 after his boxing retirement.
His son Aron was born in 1960, and his daughter Lana was born in 1964 from his third marriage to wife Irma.
Professional career
Lasky made his professional debut with a knockout of Sam Baker in May 1930. He faced his first notable opponent, Jimmy Gibbons of Saint Paul, on January 8, 1931, knocking the 28-0-2 Gibbons unconscious in the second round. Gibbons was down twice in the second from Lasky's left hooks. The round ended when Lasky' blows knocked Gibbons to the mat. He was completely out when the referee reached the count of six, and Gibbons's manager threw in the towel making the victory a technical knockout.
Lasky remained undefeated until his 16th bout, a newspaper decision loss to Dick Daniels, also of Minneapolis. He bounced back, however, and by September 1932 was sporting a 14–1 record when he faced Primo Carnera, one of his first rated opponents, in Saint Paul.
Meeting Primo Carnera and Joe Sekyra, 1932
Future World Heavyweight Champion Primo Carnera defeated Lasky in a ten-round newspaper decision in St. Paul on September 1, 1932. The loss appeared to do nothing to hamper Lasky's career but it was a brutal battle, as were many of Lasky's fights. In an odd spectacle of a fight, Lasky, at 188, was outweighed 78 pounds by the Italian giant, though Carnera had only a one-inch height advantage at 6' 5". The fight did not feature continuous blows by either boxer until the eighth round, and the decision was a close one according to one reporter. In the final rounds, the Italian giant's strength proved too great for Lasky.
Lasky became the first opponent to knock out Joe Sekyra in a brutal battle at the Auditorium in Minneapolis on November 29, 1932. The knockout, occurring one minute into the seventh round, came after Lasky's strong right to the chin and two powerful hooks to the jaw of his opponent. Earlier in the bout, Seykra reached Lasky with strong blows to the body and chin, but Lasky was able to fight on. The bout featured blows from both boxers landing almost continuously from the opening bell. Jack Blackburn, an exceptional Black lightweight, trained and seconded Lasky for the bout. Lasky started a strong offensive attack in the second round, and in the third, Sekyra retaliated with strong blows to the chin. Lasky took the fourth round with lighting lefts from a distance, and an occasional right to the chin. On the advice of Blackburn, he opened the sixth with a rapid two-handed attack that rocked his opponent who managed to stay on his feet. Showing determination, though exhausted, Seykra attempted a comeback by the end of the round. Pushing his advantage in the seventh, Lasky doubled his efforts and achieved the knock out. The win was one of the most convincing of his career, coming against a recognized heavyweight contender.
Lasky immediately embarked on a six fight winning streak, including a fifth-round knockout of Black heavyweight Tiger Jack Fox, a boxer with a 50–5 record, at Chicago Stadium in Illinois. He achieved the fifth-round knockout with a hard right to the jaw of the black boxer. Fox attempted to rise at the count of nine, but fell to his feet. His win over the well known opponent spotlighted Lasky as a fighter to watch.