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Tony Zale Boxing Autograph
A Matted Vintage boxing Autograph from former
Middleweight Champion and boxing legend Tony Zale. The inscription
on this photo reads; World's Champion 1940-1948. Tony held
the middleweight Championship longer than any other boxer
in the world.
Tony Zale
SOLD
Tony Zale signed picture. Matted and ready
to frame. Approx. overall size 9 1/4" x 12".
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. 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,
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. 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 Eurpoean
Champion Marcel Cerdan, who stopped him in the eleventh
round to win the middleweight championship of the world.
All three Graziano fights and the Cerdan fight were awarded
"fights of the year" by Ring Magazine.
