As an amateur, 6 foot 3 inch Joe De Angelis scored a decision over The Brockton Blockbuster.

"There was no doubt that the fight was stolen from him," he says. "In my mind he had won the match, but the judges didn't see it the same way."

Rawson began teaching at Harvard the same year he retired as well. He had coached as an assistant at MIT during the 1930s while still in boxing, and felt a deep connection to the city he grew up in.

"I always came from the Boston area, East Boston, and wanted to settle down here," he says.

As a professional referee, Rawson began to distinguish himself just as he had done when he was the one handing down the punishment in the ring. He actually worked two of Sugar Ray Robinson's title bouts, and was often called upon by the boxing commission for the more important fights.

He ended up joining the boxing commission after refereeing for quite a few years, and met the likes of Joe Frazier, Muhammad Ali, and Sugar Ray Lee.

Yet Rawson has always remained loyal to Harvard since he first came here in 1941. Known simply as "Coach" at the MAC, he tries to confer some of his vast boxing wisdom upon the lucky Harvard students who get to train in his presence on the second floor.