Tony Zale

Tony Zale
Data
Birth Name	Anthony Florian Zaleski
Weight class	medium weight
nationality	US-american
birthday	May 29, 1913
place of birth	Gary
Date of death	March 20, 1997
Place of death	Portage , Indiana
style	Left delivery
size	1.73 m
Combat Statistics
Struggles	87
Victories	67
Knockout victories	45
Defeats	18th
draw	2

Tony Zale , actually Anthony Florian Zaleski , (born May 29, 1913 in Gary , Indiana , † March 20, 1997 in Portage , Indiana) was an American boxer of Polish origin in the middleweight division.

career

The "Man of Steel", Zale initially worked as a steel worker, turned professional in 1934. He was not very successful at the beginning of his career and repeatedly suffered defeats in the first few years. But with characteristic tenacity and solid punching power, he was making progress. In 1939 he played an even series of four fights against world class man Nate Bolden.

In 1940 he defeated the world champion Al Hostak , one of the most powerful boxers in middleweight boxing history, only in a non-title fight on points and six months later, on July 19, 1940, in the fight for the NBA world middleweight title even prematurely.

In 1941 he boxed against Billy Pryor in front of over 135,000 spectators. After his victory against NYSAC title holder Georgie Abrams on November 28, 1941, he was then generally recognized as the undisputed middleweight world champion.

Against the famous light heavyweight Billy Conn he lost in 1942 only on points. After that defeat, he joined the US Navy and did not fight for the next four years.

After the end of the Second World War he returned to the ring in 1946 and was still a recognized middleweight world champion despite the long inactivity. As a result, three of his most famous fights should take place, the duels with Rocky Graziano in 1946, 1947 and 1948. He won the first encounter, but lost the second fight and with it his world title. With his victory over Graziano in 1948 he became only the second middleweight after Stanley Ketchel , who could win the middleweight title twice.

In his next fight he was lost to Marcel Cerdan , was outclassed and knocked out. He then ended his career. The fights with Graziano in 1946 and 1947, as well as against Cerdan in 1948, were each named “Fight of the Year” by the “ Ring Magazine ”.

In 1991 he was inducted into the " International Boxing Hall of Fame "

Web links

• Tony Zale in the BoxRec database