THE GREATNESS OF TONY ZALE

Anthony Zaleski came out of the steel town, and literally the steel mills, of Gary, Indiana as a twenty year old. Zale had lost his father very young and worked in the mills beginning in his childhood. He was an exceedingly muscular and squat middleweight at only 5'7 and with a 69 inch reach. Zalea was a hard man in every way possible. A body puncher so ferocious HOFer Billy Soose once said "It was like having a hot poker driven into your stomach and left there." He had a very good chin but mostly Zale was just bad-ass tough. His favorite combination was the right to the belly and the left hook to the head. Tony Zale was the consummate professional, family man and straight arrow. Zale began slow as a pro and fought mostly out of Chicago. After 30 fights Zale is 19-9-2. At one point he loses six of eight and retires for a year. But he returns and begins to make some noise.

Nate Bolden-Another young comer, Bolden will later get wins over Jake LaMotta and Curtis Shepard as well as a draw with Anton Christofordis. Zale loses their fisrt fight and then records back to back wins all in two months time. Two years later, with a 38-14-2 record, Zale gets a big fight.

Al Hostak-Hostak, the two-time reigning NBA middleweight champ agrees to an over the weight fight. Hostak had taken the crown from Solly Krieger in their rematch after first knocking out HOFer Freddie Steele in one round. Hostak is the physical oppsite of Zale at a rangy 6'. Zale dominates the champion to win a ten round decision and to earn a title shot.

Ben Brown-ranked #5 in the world and is coming off two draws and a close loss to HOFer and #1 ranked contender Ken Overlin. Zale absolutely blows him away. KO3.

Hostak II-This time Zale delivers just a savage beating. Hostak cannot keep Zale away. Zale batters the champion until he is cut, has a closed eye and is exhausted. Zale uses his favorite combo to floor Hostak in the 12th. Hostak somehow makes it out of his corner in the 13th and gets dropped immediately. Referee Benny Leonard stops the fight and Tony Zale is champion.

Billy Soose-The HOFer is ranked #3 and he wins a clear, over the weight decision over Zale a month after Zale wins the crown.

Fred Apostoli-The former champion and HOFer is still hanging around the fringes of the top ten and six months before had knocked off #2 ranked light heavy Melio Bettina. Zale is again too much. He drops Apostoli twice and then with less than ten seconds left in the fight zaps him again. The fight ends with Apostoli on the floor with the bell ringing to save him. UD10.

Steve Mamakos-For the LIFE of me I have no idea how he got these fights. Zale beats the hell out of him in their first fight, dropping him twice to earn an easy decision. But then they fought for the title and Mamkos controlled the fight for ten rounds including putting Zale on the canvas. In the tenth Zale began to turn the tide with his bodywork. By the 13th he had knocked Mamakos twice and the challenger never really recovered. KO14.

Hostak III-The former champ has won three in a row and he gets a title shot. Hostak starts very fast and earns a flash knockdown in the first thirty seconds. But Zale begins going to the body and doesn't stop until Hostak has been dropped nine times in the second round. KO2.

Billy Prior-Prior was just an over-matched journeyman. The reason I mention this fight is it is one of the great crowd in boxing history. Pabst, the beer company, based in Milwaukee put on this fight outdoors in Juneau Park for free as a way of saying thank you to the citizens of its hometown. Zale headlined the card in front of 135,000 people! KO9.

Georgie Abrams-The #1 ranked middleweight contender. In the last year he had a draw with ATG Charley Burley, a win over Cocoa Kid, a win over HOFer Billy Soose and a win over #4 ranked Coley Welch. He is a very, VERY slick boxer but surprisingly Zale is dropped in round one and the fight is touch and go all the way. Zale in pursuit and Abrams sticking and moving. Zale does enough. UD15.

One week later Pearl Harbor is bombed. Tony Zale is 27, undisputed middleweight champion of the world and he will fight only one more time in the next four years.

Billy Conn-Six months previously, Conn had come within a whisker of taking the heavyweight crown from Joe Louis. Conn has won twice since then. Zale gives up 12 pounds and Conn is simply better and gets a clear decision.

It is now February 1942 and Tony Zale joins the United States Navy. When he reported the officer asked his name He answered Anthony Zaleski. When asked his occupation he answered "Middleweight." The officer replied "I'd hate to be in your shoes, Tony Zale arrives next week." Zale served with distinction for the remainder of the war. The titles were frozen for the duration and in 1946 when he came back he was 31 years old and fought perhaps the most savage trilogy in history.

Rocky Graziano I-The dead end kid. Graziano was a street thug and the opposite of Zale in every way but two. He could punch and he was a ring warrior. The HOFer is ranked #5 at this point. Graziano is simply an impossibly heavy handed swing for the fences puncher. Ring Magazine called these three fights "Wars without survivors." Held in Yankee Stadium this was one for the books and the 1946 FOTY. Early Zale drops Graziano but Graziano gets up to hurt Zale. That is just round one. In the second Graziano knocks Zale down and through the ropes just before the bell. Graziano was pulling away so badly Zale went to the wrong corner after the fifth round. The Man of Steel summoned himself though and in the sixth round he landed a right handed body shot took the starch out of Graziano and sent him to the canvas. When he got up Zale tore his head off with a hook and Graziano was done. KO6.

Graziano II-Almost a year later they do it again. Zale has won four fights in the interim over nondescript competition while Rocky has won twice. Afterwards Graziano would write of this fight "It wasn't a boxing match, this was a war and if there hadn't been a referee, someone would have died." In this case the fight ends in six with Zale helpless along the ropes. The 1947 FOTY.

Graziano III-This time the 33 year old Zale knocks Graziano down twice and though Graziano has his moments in the third round Zale lands a crunching right to the body of an already reeling Graziano and then lands a left hook so hard it hurts to watch it. Zale becomes a two-time champion.

Marcel Cerdan-Ranked #3 the HOFer comes to the US for the first time. This is just a marvelous fight between two rugged and gifted comeptitors. What tands out is that Cerdan is just a little bit more athletic and just a little bit quicker. But it is very close right up until the end. At the end of the eleventh round Cerdan lands a barrage of pucnhes just before the bell that leaves Zale unconscious on the ropes. But the bell saves him, sort of, and his corner drags, and I mean drags Zale to his stool. But he cannot recover. TKOby12. The 1948 FOTY.

At 34 Zale surrenders his title and retires. A gallant way to go out.

A marvelous career and a deserving HOFer. One does wonder however had the war not intervened what might have happened. Zale like Muhammad Ali missed his prime years. But he also didn't fight names like Burley and Holman Williams and Ezzard Charles and Archie Moore who would have all deserved title cracks in 1942 or 1943 and who, by 1946 had either retired or moved to 175.

Anyone who calls themselves a fan of the middleweight divisioin should know about the "Zale - Graziano" wars. When I saw films of the fights, I couldn't believe the punches these guys were landing on each other. When I see Zale land his body blows on Rocky, I still have to watch him lose to Cerdan just to make sure it happened. (Note: ESPN's Classic Sports channel once put on real classics.) One thing I notice from the old timers in the 50s. To be champ, for the most part, you had to be exceptional. No phonies fighting 30 fights against nobodies and getting a shot at an alphabet paper championship. There was one belt in each division and you'd go through pure hell to get a shot at it, then make the right connections, legal or otherwise, to receieve it. Thanks for the piece on Zale. Good work.

marble as usual the greatness articles is exceptional...frank excellent post...whenever great triologies comes up as a topic the zale-graziano fights are always mentioned by all..to some its a hallmark in which triologies are measure by...both fighters are a example of there era which was a special one..tough feerless ill fight anyone no talk lets fight and no prisioners are taken attitude...

good stuff. zale was a warrior. we need more people like zale in boxing now.

Good read and thread Marble, it's funny how most people remember Rocky Graziano better then they do Tony Zale who was a much better fighter. Perhaps it's because they made a movie ("somebody up there likes me") out of Rocky Graziano's life.

Ring wrote:

Good read and thread Marble, it's funny how most people remember Rocky Graziano better then they do Tony Zale who was a much better fighter. Perhaps it's because they made a movie ("somebody up there likes me") out of Rocky Graziano's life.

Zale tried to play himself in that movie. After he knocked Paul newman out for the second time they figured they'd better get a stand in.

4445Frank wrote:

Anyone who calls themselves a fan of the middleweight divisioin should know about the "Zale - Graziano" wars. When I saw films of the fights, I couldn't believe the punches these guys were landing on each other. When I see Zale land his body blows on Rocky, I still have to watch him lose to Cerdan just to make sure it happened. (Note: ESPN's Classic Sports channel once put on real classics.) One thing I notice from the old timers in the 50s. To be champ, for the most part, you had to be exceptional. No phonies fighting 30 fights against nobodies and getting a shot at an alphabet paper championship. There was one belt in each division and you'd go through pure hell to get a shot at it, then make the right connections, legal or otherwise, to receieve it. Thanks for the piece on Zale. Good work.

That's what I notice too. The only way to the crown is an brutally honest and testing road. There is a list of contenders in front of you and you're going to have to beat most of them. Just to survive that required exceptional durability, determination, skill and some luck. It had to have tempered a fighter in ways that just aren't possible today.

there is no film of the first 2 fights right? thats too bad because i want to see them.

i think theres films of the first one also..graziano use to joke there was no complete film of me winning just losing...

powerpuncher wrote:

there is no film of the first 2 fights right? thats too bad because i want to see them.

No there is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i--Xggp7ZMI

marbleheadmaui wrote:

Ring wrote:

Good read and thread Marble, it's funny how most people remember Rocky Graziano better then they do Tony Zale who was a much better fighter. Perhaps it's because they made a movie ("somebody up there likes me") out of Rocky Graziano's life.

Zale tried to play himself in that movie. After he knocked Paul newman out for the second time they figured they'd better get a stand in.

That's funny as hell, poor Newman, I guess Zale couldn't pull his punches.

Ring wrote:

marbleheadmaui wrote:

Ring wrote:

Good read and thread Marble, it's funny how most people remember Rocky Graziano better then they do Tony Zale who was a much better fighter. Perhaps it's because they made a movie ("somebody up there likes me") out of Rocky Graziano's life.

Zale tried to play himself in that movie. After he knocked Paul newman out for the second time they figured they'd better get a stand in.

That's funny as hell, poor Newman, I guess Zale couldn't pull his punches.

Didn't Stallone have the same problem with Ernie Shavers?

graziano said zale could not pull his punches indeed..he got tony that job..when tony clObbered newman with a shot and newman was history rocky jumped in the ring grabbed tony and said..tony what the F are you doing.are you F...ING CRAZY..TRUE STORY..

dmar5143 wrote:

graziano said zale could not pull his punches indeed..he got tony that job..when tony clObbered newman with a shot and newman was history rocky jumped in the ring grabbed tony and said..tony what the F are you doing.are you F...ING CRAZY..TRUE STORY..

I absolutely LOVE little tidbit stories like this! Boxing has TONS of funny and interesting little stories like this.

marbleheadmaui wrote:

Ring wrote:

marbleheadmaui wrote:

Ring wrote:

Good read and thread Marble, it's funny how most people remember Rocky Graziano better then they do Tony Zale who was a much better fighter. Perhaps it's because they made a movie ("somebody up there likes me") out of Rocky Graziano's life.

Zale tried to play himself in that movie. After he knocked Paul newman out for the second time they figured they'd better get a stand in.

That's funny as hell, poor Newman, I guess Zale couldn't pull his punches.

Didn't Stallone have the same problem with Ernie Shavers?

I'm not sure about Shavers, but someone posted some trivia a few weeks back about Stallone hiring Joe Frazier to work in one of his Rocky movies. During some "sparring" Stallone kept insisting that Frazier hit him with a good shot, (the dumb ass) Frazier refused at first, but then allegedly let loose with a left hook that put Sly's lights out. As a result, Frazier lost his job. hahaha.

dmar5143 wrote:

graziano said zale could not pull his punches indeed..he got tony that job..when tony clObbered newman with a shot and newman was history rocky jumped in the ring grabbed tony and said..tony what the F are you doing.are you F...ING CRAZY..TRUE STORY..

Unbelieveable!

Ring wrote:

marbleheadmaui wrote:

Ring wrote:

marbleheadmaui wrote:

Ring wrote:

Good read and thread Marble, it's funny how most people remember Rocky Graziano better then they do Tony Zale who was a much better fighter. Perhaps it's because they made a movie ("somebody up there likes me") out of Rocky Graziano's life.

Zale tried to play himself in that movie. After he knocked Paul newman out for the second time they figured they'd better get a stand in.

That's funny as hell, poor Newman, I guess Zale couldn't pull his punches.

Didn't Stallone have the same problem with Ernie Shavers?

I'm not sure about Shavers, but someone posted some trivia a few weeks back about Stallone hiring Joe Frazier to work in one of his Rocky movies. During some "sparring" Stallone kept insisting that Frazier hit him with a good shot, (the dumb ass) Frazier refused at first, but then allegedly let loose with a left hook that put Sly's lights out. As a result, Frazier lost his job. hahaha.

LOL, he got what he deserved.