Boxing Referee Frank Cappuccino Dies at Age 86 in Pennsylvania
By Robert Brizel, Head Real Combat Media Boxing Correspondent
Frank Cappuccino, whose 50 year career as a boxing referee out of Pennsylvania between 1958 to 2008 put him in the middle of some of history’s most memorable bouts, died June 8, 2015, at the age of 86. Most of Cappuccino’s bouts refereed were in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Connecticut. On occasion he traveled abroad for world title bouts from Japan to the United Kingdom.
Cappuccino refereed many bouts with the heavyweight ‘big boys’, including Mike Tyson, Michael Spinks, Riddick Bowe, Tony Tubbs, Michael Moorer, Carl Williams, Oleg Maskaev, Tim Witherspoon, Tommy Morrison, Donavan Ruddock, Mike Hunter, Francesco Damiani, Tyrell Biggs and Michael Dokes. Cappuccino also refereed many future champions and champions in other divisions, such as middleweight Bennie Briscoe and light heavyweight Matthew Saad Muhammad. Michael Spinks versus Gerry Cooney, Lennox Lewis versus Shannon Briggs, Mickey Ward versus Arturo Gatti (first meeting), and Michael Spinks versus Mike Tyson, were just a few of Cappuccino’s most memorable bouts as referee.
His real name was Frank Capcino, but people began calling him Frank Cappucino in error, and the new name stuck as it sounded good. His brother, Vic Capcino, was a southpaw lightweight who fought 28 pro bouts between 1946 and 1950 with a respectable 22-6 record.
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