Mercante,Arthur Vintage Photo

The dean of boxing referees worldwide, Arthur Mercante began his career while serving in the U.S. Navy under Gene Tunney in 1942. He was a fixture at the prestigious New York Golden Gloves tournament for 10 years before embarking on a career in professional boxing. Mercante may be best remembered for being the third man in the ring for some of the sport's classic heavyweight title fights. Mercante counted out Ingemar Johannson when Floyd Patterson became the first man to regain the heavyweight title, he officiated the Fight of the Century when Muhammad Ali met Joe Frazier the first time and presided over George Foreman's first heavyweight title fight when Foreman stopped Frazier in Kingston, Jamaica. Mercante, who has worked on five continents, has refereed over 120 world title fights. That statistic takes on a new dimension considering there was just eight weight classes and one champion per division for much of Mercante's career. Arthur boxed in the 1938 New York Golden Gloves and also attended New York University, where he was a member of the varsity football and swimming teams. Mercante is a member of the Boxing Hall Of Fame. Offered here is a vintage photograph of Mercante.
This photo measures 8 inches by 10 inches. The photo has a crease in the two lower corners. The rest of the photo shows just minor ware. The back has a stamp and some glue residue. The image is vivid.