A. Joseph DeNucci


A. Joseph DeNucci was a middleweight boxer and the Auditor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Early life and career

At 10 years old, he started working in a bowling alley as a pin boy, someone who picks up the pins and racks them. Still in high school, DeNucci started his boxing career at 16 years of age by winning the Golden Gloves Championship.
A boxer in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, DeNucci compiled a record of 54-15 with 4 draws. 27 of his victories came by knockout. He lost the Middleweight championship versus Emile Griffith twice; both by split decisions. However, he still holds the record for the most fights ever in the Boston Garden; twenty-three.

Political career

DeNucci served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives for ten years, where he was chairman of the Human Services Committee. DeNucci then served as the Auditor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts from 1987 to 2011. DeNucci was the longest-serving Auditor in Massachusetts history. He decided not to seek re-election in 2010.

Personal life

DeNucci had five children and fourteen grandchildren, and was married to Barbara DeNucci. He was a member of the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame.
DeNucci died on September 8, 2017 from complications related to Alzheimer's disease. Postmortem analysis of DeNucci's brain confirmed that he suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy.