Carmen Basilio，Born Carmine Basilio in Canastota, New York, in 1927, Carmen Basilio began boxing at age 22, winning 19 of his first 24 bouts. In 1950 he defeated former world welterweight champion Lew Jenkins, and Basilio's management decided it was time to broaden his horizons and leave the New York area, where he had been boxing exclusively, and head west.