Tony Zale
| Tony Zale | |
|---|---|
| Statistics | |
| Real name | Anthony Florian Zaleski |
| Nickname(s) | Man of Steel |
| Rated at | Middleweight |
| Height | 5 ft 7 1⁄2 in (1.71 m) |
| Reach | 69 in (175 cm) |
| Nationality |
 American
|
| Born |
May 29, 1913 Gary, Indiana |
| Died | March 20, 1997 (aged 83) |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 87 |
| Wins | 67 |
| Wins by KO | 45 |
| Losses | 18 |
| Draws | 2 |
| No contests | 0 |
Tony Zale, born Anthony Florian Zaleski (May 29, 1913 – March 20, 1997) was an American boxer. Zale was born and raised in Gary, Indiana, a steel town, which gave him his nickname, "Man of Steel." In addition, he had the reputation of being able to take fearsome punishment and still rally to win, reinforcing that nickname. Zale, who held the World Middleweight title multiple times, was known as a crafty boxer and strong body puncher who punished his opponents and steadily wore them down before knocking them out.
Zale met Georgie Abrams in Madison Square Garden in a World Middleweight Championship match on November 28, 1941 before a crowd of nearly 10,000. Despite knocking Zale down in the first round, a poke in the eye from Zale's glove left him with pain and blurred vision. From the fourth round on, Abrams fought with his left eye nearly closed. Blood from a cut opened above his right eye in the third from an accidental head butt from Zale caused additional vision problems from blood that dripped from the wound. Despite fighting half blind, Abrams fought courageously for fifteen rounds. The Associated Press actually placed Abrams with the win at eight rounds to Zale's seven. Abrams lost in a close match, due to the incessant body attacks of Zale in the late rounds, particularly the ninth where he received a severe two handed attack to the midsection.
Zale was a 2-time world middleweight champion and made the Ring Magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time. Zale is best remembered for his three bouts over a 21-month period with Rocky Graziano for the middleweight crown. These three bouts were among the most brutal and exciting middleweight championship matches of all time. The first match took place in Yankee Stadium, New York City. Zale had served in World War II, was thirty-three years old, and had been inactive for about four years. Graziano was on a winning knockout streak and seemed to be in his prime. In their first match (September 27, 1946), after flooring Graziano in the first round, Zale took a savage beating from Graziano, and was on the verge of losing the fight by TKO. However, he rallied and knocked out Graziano in the sixth round to retain his title. The rematch, a year later in Chicago (July 16, 1947), was a mirror image of their first fight. Graziano was battered around the ring, suffered a closed eye and appeared ready to lose by a knockout, then rallied and knocked Zale out in the sixth round, becoming middleweight champion of the world.
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