Two Ton Tony

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When I was a kid, and doing my first Golden Glove match, I admired Jack Dempsey above all.  How foolish.  I should never have tried to model myself on the best, no sir.  The man I should have been impressed by was this guy,






Tony Galento.

"Two Ton Tony", 5 foot 9, 250 lbs, was probably one of the worst of the best contenders.  No defense, known for getting into the ring after an all day beer orgy, refused to work out, but damn near K.O. 'd  Joe Louis during his bum of the month tour. But Louis was knocked down by a number of guys who should not have been able too, Max Schmeling comes to mind.  Billy Conn, Light Heavyweight champ. won the fight against him and all he had to do was finish the fifteenth round and the title was his.  But he went for the knockout, and Boom Boom, Baby! Louis acting on programmed reflexes knocked him out.  Joe Louis was one of the greats, but his mental problems and mobbed up management doomed him as the greatest.  Galento was a slob and I think a jerk but this was his moment.  Although he did not win, he cemented his place in history in this fight.  Tony was known for making his sparring partners run laps while he ate pizza and drank (a lot) of beer. I pay them, wiping his mouth, they don't pay me. 






A New Jersey bar owner, this guy was just tough.  Real tough.  True, Louis clocked him after Tony knocked him down but he was never expected to last at all against the schizophrenic fantastic fighter that Joe Louis was. Nor was he so stupid as to allow the mob to sell him over and over.   Tony died of diabetes after having his legs removed, no surprise there.  My point is that sheer determination can sometimes carry the day.  This guy was one tough motherfucker, and did not end his days smearing mayonnaise on hotel room ceilings to keep out radio waves, all the while addicted to cocaine and booze.


  

Yeah, dat's right!  23 skidoo, Kid!

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