This photo gets me emotional. They were both gladiators, and their rivalry was brutal, intense, and heated at times but they were human beings first. A concerned Tony Zale checks on Rocky Graziano after the knockout.
And indeed Rocky Graziano was the same way, this is a photo of Graziano helping Freddie "Red" Cochrane back to his corner after knocking him out in 1945.
This is the original painting for that Ring magazine cover, by artist Stanley Weston. He painted 57 cover illustrations for The Ring, spanning from December 1939 (his first cover) through the 1940s and 1950s.
Tony Zale and Al Hostak fought a historic three-match middleweight boxing series between 1940 and 1941, with Tony Zale winning all three bouts. Al Hostak was nicknamed "The Savage Slav" because of his murderous punching power.
• First Meeting (Jan 29, 1940): Zale was dropped by a short right to the jaw in the first round. He rallied strongly as Hostak dealt with a broken left hand, taking a 10-round unanimous decision.
• Second Meeting (July 19, 1940): Fought in Hostak's hometown of Seattle for the NBA middleweight title. Hostak went down in the 12th round and was stopped by referee Benny Leonard in the 13th round, crowning Zale as the world middleweight champion.
• Third Meeting (1941): Zale decisively closed out the trilogy with a fast, brutal 2nd-round knockout to defend his middleweight belt.
Here are a few images from that trilogy. This is a photo of Al Hostak dropping Tony Zale in their first meeting in Chicago in 1940.
Tony Zale hitting Al Hostak with a brutal body shot to the rib area. You gotta love Zale's body punching mentality, "kill the body and the head will die" as Joe Frazier famously said.
Photos from the third meeting between Tony Zale and Al Hostak.
Credit: Boxing History on Facebook
"The Man of Steel" Tony Zale made his second defense of the National Boxing Association middleweight title with a merciless 2nd round KO of Al Hostak at the Chicago Stadium Outdoor Arena in Chicago, Illinois on May 28 in 1941.
Hostak previously held the NBA title twice before losing it to Zale, and he was out to regain his belt. This was the third fight between the two, with Zale winning the first non-title bout, but the second was a middleweight war that saw Zale nearly stopped before roaring back to take the title.
Zale was a heavy-punching and rugged warrior. He lost in a non-title match to the skilled and underrated Billy Soose after winning the title, then won four straight fights before closing out his series with Hostak.
Even though Hostak was a good puncher himself, Zale didn't give him a chance to get going. Hostak tried attacking Zale in the 1st round, and this time he connected with a punch that made Zale touch the canvas with his glove. That would be the extent of his success.
In the 2nd, Zale unleashed his underrated body work and sent Hostak down, signaling the beginning of the end. Zale put Hostak down seven more times, but the last time came from a hook that put Hostak down in a heap, face-first. The fight was stopped.
While Zale established himself as a terrific puncher who could get sucked into a vicious fight, he still had his trilogy with Rocky Graziano to go."
Tony Zale with Sugar Ray Robinson in 1947. Tony Zale is seen holding his Edward Neil Award and welterweight champion Sugar Ray Robinson is holding his Ring magazine championship belt which they received at the boxing writers dinner in New York. This would have been one heck of a fight at middleweight, Zale's body-punching pressure vs. Robinson's speed and combination punching.
Tony Zale with the legendary light heavyweight Bob Satterfield (far right) in 1967. Satterfield was legitimately one of the hardest punchers in boxing history.
That photo was actually taken at Jack Dempsey's Restaurant in New York in 1974, quite a few boxing legends were there that evening. From left: Jersey Joe Walcott, Jack Dempsey, Tony Zale, Joey Giardello, and Carmen Basilio.
Epic photo of Tony Zale visiting Chicago Stadium in 1968 and reminiscing about the 1947 encounter with Rocky Graziano, when he lost his middleweight championship to Graziano at the stadium. He pulled the best gate of his life that night, $140,000.
Tony Zale nailing his boxing gloves to the wall after announcing his retirement from the ring in 1949. Pictured with him are his trainer Art Winch and his manager Sam Pian.
The two gladiators together almost 25 years after their last fight, Rocky Graziano and Tony Zale on March 5, 1973 at the Americana Hotel in New York City.
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Tony Zale looks down at Rocky Graziano after striking the knockout blow.
Referee Paul Cavalier stands over Rocky Graziano after the knockout.
Rocky Graziano lies unconscious on the canvas after the knockout as water is poured on his face to try and bring him around.
This photo gets me emotional. They were both gladiators, and their rivalry was brutal, intense, and heated at times but they were human beings first. A concerned Tony Zale checks on Rocky Graziano after the knockout.
And indeed Rocky Graziano was the same way, this is a photo of Graziano helping Freddie "Red" Cochrane back to his corner after knocking him out in 1945.
Tony Zale after regaining his middleweight crown against Rocky Graziano on June 10, 1948 and winning the most action-packed trilogy in boxing history.
A great book about the trilogy.
Awesome Ring magazine cover from the trilogy.
This is the original painting for that Ring magazine cover, by artist Stanley Weston. He painted 57 cover illustrations for The Ring, spanning from December 1939 (his first cover) through the 1940s and 1950s.
Tony Zale and Al Hostak fought a historic three-match middleweight boxing series between 1940 and 1941, with Tony Zale winning all three bouts. Al Hostak was nicknamed "The Savage Slav" because of his murderous punching power.
• First Meeting (Jan 29, 1940): Zale was dropped by a short right to the jaw in the first round. He rallied strongly as Hostak dealt with a broken left hand, taking a 10-round unanimous decision.
• Second Meeting (July 19, 1940): Fought in Hostak's hometown of Seattle for the NBA middleweight title. Hostak went down in the 12th round and was stopped by referee Benny Leonard in the 13th round, crowning Zale as the world middleweight champion.
• Third Meeting (1941): Zale decisively closed out the trilogy with a fast, brutal 2nd-round knockout to defend his middleweight belt.
Here are a few images from that trilogy. This is a photo of Al Hostak dropping Tony Zale in their first meeting in Chicago in 1940.
Tony Zale hitting Al Hostak with a brutal body shot to the rib area. You gotta love Zale's body punching mentality, "kill the body and the head will die" as Joe Frazier famously said.
Photos from the third meeting between Tony Zale and Al Hostak.
Credit: Boxing History on Facebook
"The Man of Steel" Tony Zale made his second defense of the National Boxing Association middleweight title with a merciless 2nd round KO of Al Hostak at the Chicago Stadium Outdoor Arena in Chicago, Illinois on May 28 in 1941.
Hostak previously held the NBA title twice before losing it to Zale, and he was out to regain his belt. This was the third fight between the two, with Zale winning the first non-title bout, but the second was a middleweight war that saw Zale nearly stopped before roaring back to take the title.
Zale was a heavy-punching and rugged warrior. He lost in a non-title match to the skilled and underrated Billy Soose after winning the title, then won four straight fights before closing out his series with Hostak.
Even though Hostak was a good puncher himself, Zale didn't give him a chance to get going. Hostak tried attacking Zale in the 1st round, and this time he connected with a punch that made Zale touch the canvas with his glove. That would be the extent of his success.
In the 2nd, Zale unleashed his underrated body work and sent Hostak down, signaling the beginning of the end. Zale put Hostak down seven more times, but the last time came from a hook that put Hostak down in a heap, face-first. The fight was stopped.
While Zale established himself as a terrific puncher who could get sucked into a vicious fight, he still had his trilogy with Rocky Graziano to go."
Tony Zale with Sugar Ray Robinson in 1947. Tony Zale is seen holding his Edward Neil Award and welterweight champion Sugar Ray Robinson is holding his Ring magazine championship belt which they received at the boxing writers dinner in New York. This would have been one heck of a fight at middleweight, Zale's body-punching pressure vs. Robinson's speed and combination punching.
The Mieders Alpine Coaster on Mt. Serles in the Stubai Valley, Austria.
Tony Zale with the legendary light heavyweight Bob Satterfield (far right) in 1967. Satterfield was legitimately one of the hardest punchers in boxing history.
Tony Zale shadow boxing. Notice the wall beside him.
This photo of Tony Zale training speaks for itself.
Tony Zale poses on an advertisement postcard for the bowling alley that he owned on W. 5th Ave. in his hometown of Gary, Indiana.
Tony Zale posing with his hands taped.
Two all-time greats, Tony Zale with Barney Ross in 1948.
Another all-time great, Georges Carpentier drops by to chat with Tony Zale during training in 1948.
Tony Zale on the cover of The Ring magazine as the World Middleweight Champion.
This is an awesome photo, Tony Zale with Robert F. Kennedy on the campaign trail in 1968.
Love the suit Tony Zale is wearing in this 1974 photo.
That photo was actually taken at Jack Dempsey's Restaurant in New York in 1974, quite a few boxing legends were there that evening. From left: Jersey Joe Walcott, Jack Dempsey, Tony Zale, Joey Giardello, and Carmen Basilio.
Epic photo of Tony Zale visiting Chicago Stadium in 1968 and reminiscing about the 1947 encounter with Rocky Graziano, when he lost his middleweight championship to Graziano at the stadium. He pulled the best gate of his life that night, $140,000.
Speaking of Rocky Graziano, this is a photo of Tony Zale and Rocky Graziano signing the contracts for their third fight in 1948.
This is one of my favorite images of Tony Zale, ripping into a heavy bag 19 years after retirement from boxing.
Another personal favorite image of Tony Zale.
Awesome up-close photo of Zale.
Tony Zale with the legendary welterweight Fritzie Zivic.
Tony Zale nailing his boxing gloves to the wall after announcing his retirement from the ring in 1949. Pictured with him are his trainer Art Winch and his manager Sam Pian.
The two gladiators together almost 25 years after their last fight, Rocky Graziano and Tony Zale on March 5, 1973 at the Americana Hotel in New York City.