Johnny LoBianco
American boxer (1915-2001)
- Born
- 7 October 1915
- Died
- 16 July 2001
- Citizenship
- United States, Italy, Kingdom of Italy
- Sport
- boxing
- Occupation
- boxer
Giovanni "Johnny" LoBianco (October 7, 1915 – July 16, 2001) was an American boxing referee for over 30 years, who was referee for a number of championship fights, including several that ended controversially, most notably Roberto Durán's successful 1972 dethroning of Ken Buchanan in which LoBianco ruled Durán the victor by knockout despite having appeared to have hit Buchanan with a low blow.
Born in Sicily on October 7, 1915, LoBianco immigrated to the United States as a five-year-old and was raised in Corona, Queens. LoBianco took over his father's barber shop on Delancey Street at age 15 after his father's death. He started boxing in his teens, cutting hair during the day and fighting at night, and ended up winning 52 of his 54 professional bouts as a lightweight boxer. He became a boxing referee in 1954, and otherwise worked as a liquor salesman, continuing his boxing role until 1986.
External links
Facts from Wikidata Q6267132 (CC0); quoted introduction from English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Data retrieved 2026-10-22.
Data: Wikidata (CC0 1.0); Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.