broken hand received from a sparring session three days before the fight, and hurt his left thumb in the fifth round but continued to fight undaunted. Referee Jack Kennedy remembered Corbett as "vicious in those first five rounds. He ripped him like a tiger. Fields could not protect himself". Three months later, he was dethroned by Hall of Famer Jimmy McLarnin in a first round knockout. Corbett then moved up to the middleweight division. He scored wins over future light heavy champ Gus Lesnevich (TKO 5), as well as Hall of Famers Mickey Walker, and Billy Conn. On February 22, 1938 he beat Fred Apostoli, winning the middleweight championship. On November 18 of that year, he challenged Apostoli again, but was stopped in 8 rounds. Retirement and death Corbett boxed until August 20, 1940, winning his last fight against Richard "Sheik" Rangel. He retired with a 123-11-17 (33 KOs) record. He later operated a bar in Fresno. On October 2, 1945 Corbett survived a serious car accident on Highway 99 near Delano, suffering a fractured skull and other injuries. He died in Auberry, California at the age of 88, after about 20 years afflicted with Alzheimer's disease. A statue of him, posed in a fighting stance and boxing gloves, was erected in Fresno. The sculpture was realized by Clement Renzi. Personal life Beside the boxing career, Corbett was a physical education instructor for the California Highway Patrol and a grape grower. His cousin Al Manfredo (1912-1990) also was a boxer and later a boxing manager. Corbett is the great-grandfather of former American football safety Matt Giordano. Professional boxing record See also List of welterweight boxing champions List of middleweight boxing champions References Bibliography James B. Roberts, Alexander G. Skutt, The Boxing Register: International Boxing Hall of Fame Official Record Book, McBooks Press, 2006 David L. Hudson Jr., Combat Sports: An Encyclopedia of Wrestling, Fighting, and Mixed Martial Arts, ABC-CLIO, 2009 External links https://boxrec.com/media/index.php/The_Ring_Magazine%27s_Annual_Ratings:_Welterweight--1930s https://boxrec.com/media/index.php/National_Boxing_Association%27s_Quarterly_Ratings:_1933 https://titlehistories.com/boxing/na/usa/ny/nysac-wl.html 1905 births 1993 deaths Middleweight boxers American people of Italian descent International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees Welterweight boxers World welterweight boxing champions Italian male boxers Boxers from California People from Rionero in Vulture Sportspeople from the Province of Potenza Sportspeople from Fresno, California American male boxers Italian emigrants to the United States