Six championship belts have been stolen from the International Boxing Hall of Fame in central New York.
At least one suspect entered the museum at 2.45am on Thursday morning and broke three display cases containing the title belts, Canastota chief of police James Zophy told the Guardian.
Four of the belts had belonged to Carmen Basilio, a native of the tiny New York hamlet who captured world titles at welterweight and middleweight during the 1950s, including a famous 1957 win over Sugar Ray Robinson that earned him Ring magazine Fighter of the Year honors.
Two others belonged to Tony Zale, the two-time middleweight champion of the 1940s whose gripping series of fights with Rocky Graziano rates among the sport’s most memorable rivalries.
Zophy said on Tuesday that there had been no developments in the case, calling on the public for assistance in finding the “priceless” memorabilia.
The village of Canastota, located 20 miles east of Syracuse, has been the home of the Boxing Hall of Fame since 1990.
