Barney David Ross

Barney David Ross 1909-67, American boxer, b. New York City as Dov-Ber Rasofsky; he was also known as Beryl David Rasofsky and Barnet David Rasofsky. After an amateur career, Ross turned professional in 1929 and lost only four decisions in 82 fights. He won the world lightweight championship in 1933 but relinquished it in 1935 when he failed to make the weight. In three bouts with Jimmy McLarnin, he gained the world welterweight crown in 1934, lost it the same year, and regained it in 1935. Ross lost the title to Henry Armstrong in 1938. During World War II, in action in Guadalcanal in 1942, Ross won the Silver Star for gallantry in action for attempting to save three wounded fellow marines. He was a victim of shell shock, minor shrapnel wounds, and malaria. Drugs administered to him caused addiction, and he entered a narcotics sanitarium in Lexington, Ky., where he was cured.

Bibliography: See his autobiography (with M. Abramson, 1957); biography by D. Century (2006).