Famous Boxing Referee Filippo Dead At 83

November 3, 2009 5:01 p.m. EST

Los Angeles, CA (AHN) - Hall of Fame boxing referee and judge Lou Filippo died Monday in Los Angeles. He was 83.

The cause of the death was not released.

Filippo was a California referee and judge for more than 30 years and member of the World Boxing Hall of Fame.

Among the high-profile judging assignments he had was when he served in the panel of the controversial Marvin Hagler-Sugar Ray Leonard middleweight bout in 1987.

Filippo scored the fight for Hagler 115-113, but Leonard took the win via split-decision.

He also sat in the panel in the first Oscar De La Hoya-Shane Mosley encounter in 2000 in Los Angeles.

Before becoming one of the top ring officials and judges, Filippo boxed professionally as a lightweight from 1947 to 1957. He compiled a pro record of 23-9-3 with 8 KOs.

Filippo, who fought with an orthodox stance, finished his career as a fighter with a pair of bouts against Hall of Famer and former lightweight champ Carlos Ortiz.

His world-class status as referee led to several TV shows and Hollywood film appearances, including the last four installments of the "Rocky" series.

Filippo was inducted into both the World and California Boxing Hall of Fame.