Name: Tony Zale Alias: Man of Steel Birth Name: Anthony Florian Zaleski Born: 1914-05-29 Birthplace: Gary, Indiana, USA Died: 1997-03-20 (Age:82) Nationality: US American Hometown: Chicago, Illinois, USA Stance: Orthodox Height: 5′ 7½″ / 171cm Reach: 69″ / 175cm Boxing Record: click Tony Zale (May 29, 1913 - March 20, 1997) (real name Anthony Florian Zaleski) "the man of steel" was an American boxer. Zale was born and raised in Gary, Indiana, a steel town, which gave him his nickname. In addition, he had the reputation of being able to take fearsome punishment and still rally to win, reinforcing that nickname. Zale was known as a strong body puncher, who punished his opponents and steadily wore them down before knocking them out. He 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. 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 (16 July 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, when he rallied and knocked Zale out in the sixth round, thereby becoming middleweight champion of the world. Their last fight was held in New Jersey the following year (10 June, (1948). Zale regained his crown and won the match by a knockout in the third round. The knockout combination consisted of a picture perfect left hook to the right upper abdomen ("liver"), and in the same motion, Zale brought his hook up to Graziano's jaw. Graziano was knocked out cold. This fight was Zale's last hurrah. His age and the many ring wars he fought seemed to catch up with him in his next fight against European Champion Marcel Cerdan later that year, who stopped him in the eleventh round to win the middleweight championship of the world (21 September 1948). All three Graziano fights and the Cerdan fight were awarded Ring Magazine fights of the year. Nevada State Journal 29 May 1941 Tony Zale Floors Hostak Nine Times for TKO In Second Dropped In First Tony Switches to Hard body Attack CHICAGO, May 28th – unleashing a terrific body attack, Champion Tony Zale, the man of steel from Gary, Ind, tonight floored Al Hosak of Seattle nine times in the second round of their scheduled 15 round bout for the National Boxing Associations middleweight championship in 2;32 of the second round. Floored for a nine count in the first round as the former champion roared from his corner, Zale Cleared his head and fought cautiously throughout that round. Punches Kidneys Suddenly, at the start of the second, Zale switched to the tactics with which he won the title . from Hostak last summer- a terrific round house right to Hostak’s kidneys. With the first of these blows the crowd of 15,087 sweltering in the Chicago stadium Could sense the change and soon Hostak wilted before their eyes, He groaned audibly as the first right sank home, then as the second sank into his ribs Hostak folded in pain and took a count of nine. From that moment on Hostak was a beaten fighter. As quickly as he hauled himself to his feet Zale was after him like a cat, one hand only swinging its deadly tattoo- the right. - Pounds to Ribs He drove it hard to Hostak's ribs three times in succession without a return blow and Al slipped to the floor ,but struggled up with no count. Thereafter Zale floored him for a count of two, no count, then for a long count of eight all achieved with that devastating blow to the ribs. As he collapsed for the eight count, Hostak's face was twisted in agony but up he came and made his one grand bid to win the championship for the third time in his brief career. He came up swinging both fists and blasted Zale across the ring with a terrific assault of lefts and rights to the head. Tony moved in close, tied up Hostak and the flurry ended when Zale stepped back without warning, then buried another, long right roundhouse into Hostak's ribs. Tony's glove bit into the flesh ,seemingly up to the cuff and down bounced Hostak for a no count. Sprawls In Pain Twice more Al came off the Floor with great effort. Then, after the ninth trip to the mat, he just couldn't, make it back to his feet. Holding his injured ribs, he sprawled there on the floor, made one effort to get up and just missed as the referee, Johnny Behr. reeled off the last of the 10-count. It was Zale's second defense of the title he won a year ago by knocking out Hostak in the 13th round at Seattle. For the brutal punishment he meted out in tonight's "grudge" match he receives 35 per cent of a gross gate of $48.475. Hostak received 20 per cent. It also was their third meeting. Zale won the first meeting, 10-round decision in a non-title fight in the stadium ring 15 months ago. The Mansfield News Journal 29 November 1941 Tony Zale Shows Up Wise Boys 5 to 8 Under dog Wins Title on Body Attack. By JACK CUDDY NEW YORK - Never in ring history has any middleweight achieved such a triumph as Tony Zale, the Indiana thunderbolt, garnered last night in dynamiting out a lopsided 15-round decision over Georgie Abrams of the naval air corps, at Madison Square Garden. This victory brought to Zale the undisputed middleweight Championship of the world, making him the first universally recognized 160-pound king since Mickey Walker gave up the crown in 1931 to campaign in heavier divisions. He captivated the fans by rising from the floor in the first round and fighting from groggy land in the eighth to stage one of the finest demonstrations of devastating body punching and accurate head barraging the metropolis has witnessed in years. In the third place, Zale was so impressive in his first New York showing since he rose to prominence, that he captured the fancy of Promoter Mike Jacobs, who immediately matched him for an over-the-weight 12-round bout with Billy Conn, former light heavyweight ruler, at the Garden on Feb. 13. Zale, already recognized as middleweight champion by the National Boxing association, crawled through the ropes an 8-5 underdog against 23-year-oldAbrams,whose speed and boxing brilliance had enabled him to beat Billy Soose three times in non-title matches. The decision of Referee Billy Cavanagh and Judge George Le Cron and Charlie Draycott was unanimous. The United Press scored 10 rounds for Zale, four for Abrams and one even. In the first round it seemed that the smart-money boys of 49th street were right in making "Cutie" Abrams a heavy favorite. Although a light puncher, Abrams caught Zale off balance with a straight right to the chin and sent him rolling. Zale took a nine count on one knee, rose and weathered the round' without difficulty. The Berkshire Evening Eagle 17 July 1947 Rocky Wins Over Zale On Technical Kayo in 6th Graziano Driven To One Knee In Third, Rallies to Win Before Crowd Of 18,547 By Jack Cuddy United press Sports Writer Rocky Graziano, a desperate, dead end guy from the streets of New York, was middleweight champion of the world today. His luck and his gameness turned seemingly certain defeat into a technical knockout victory in the sixth round over gallant Tony Zale in their tumultuous return title match before 18,547 at Chicago Stadium last night. Rocky is Lucky Rocky was lucky because he got the licking of his life in at least the first three rounds, after which Dr. John J. Drammis, the boxing commission physician, came into the ring to investigate whether challenger Graziano — with the deeply gashed left brow and nearly closed right eye — should be permitted to continue. It seemed at the end of that third round, in which Graziano had been driven to one knee for a "one count" by a terrific right to the chin, that he must lose on a technical kayo—must suffer his second knockout at the hands of the champion from Gary, Ind., who had belted him out for the full count at 1:43 of the sixth round their first title brawl at New York's Yankee Stadium last Sept. 27. But Sheldon Clark, chairman of the Illinois Boxing Commission, received the physician's report and ordered the bout to continue. This gave 25-year-old Graziano a new lease on his pugilistic life in this make-or-break battle with 33-year-old Zale. It enabled the desperate "Happy Hoodlum" to continue the battle that might win him the world's 160-pound crown and might get back his license to fight in his home state of New York, where he had been barred last Feb.