Introduction
Billy Soose (August 2, 1915 – September 5, 1998) was an American boxer who won the world middleweight championship in 1941.
Biography
After a collegiate boxing career, Soose became a professional boxer in 1938. That same year he met Charley Burley, defeated Soose by a unanimous decision. In 1940 Soose defeated two future middleweight champions, Ken Overlin and Tony Zale. He began 1941 by defeating future heavyweight and light heavyweight title challenger Tami Mauriello and then, in May of that year, beat old foe Overlin for Overlin's middleweight title. He never defended the title and retired in 1942 after losing a bout to Jimmy Bivins.
Soose was featured on the cover of the June 1941 Ring magazine and is a member of the World Boxing Hall of Fame. He is also the subject of a book, Billy Soose - The Champion Time Forgot.
Soose is set to be posthumously inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2009.