Tony Zale

Tony Zale was a professional boxer from the United States who made his debut against Eddie Allen in June 1934. Zale's career spanned over 14 years, including a total of 87 fights. In that time, he recorded 67 wins, 18 losses, and two draws. Out of his 67 wins, 45 of them came via knockout.

At the age of 27, Zale had his first world title fight against Al Hostak. The middleweight NBA title bout saw Zale emerge victorious via 13th round TKT to become the middleweight champion of the world. Zale also won two world titles at middleweight and was a one-time unified middleweight world champion.

Throughout his career, Tony Zale came up against some of the toughest fighters of his time. Among his notable victories are wins over two Hall-of-Famers in Rocky Graziano and Fred Apostoli, as well as Al Hostak, Steve Mamakos, Ossie Harris, Len Wadsworth, Tommy Charles, and Al Timmons.

Of his 18 professional losses, two of them came in title bouts, whereas 16 came in non-title bouts. Zale suffered his first loss against Billy Hood via 6 round PTS in August 1934. Out of his 18 losses, Zale was stopped five times and lost 13 times via decision.

Tony Zale had some career highlights that are worth mentioning. On July 19, 1940, he won his first world title by defeating Al Hostak via 13th round TKO, making him the NBA middleweight world champion. On May 28, 1941, Zale successfully defended the NBA middleweight title against Al Hostak, winning the fight via 2nd round KO.

Another significant career highlight for Zale came on November 28, 1941, when he became a unified middleweight world champion by beating Georgie Abrams via 15th round unanimous decision. He then held the NBA, NYSAC , and The Ring middleweight world-champion belts.

In his fight against Rocky Graziano on September 27, 1946, Zale successfully defended the NBA, NYSAC, and The Ring middleweight titles, winning via 6th round KO. Then, on June 10, 1948, he won the NBA and The Ring middleweight titles by beating Graziano via 3rd round KO.

Zale retired from professional boxing with a record of 67-18-2, including five knockout wins and five losses via knockout, two title wins, and four title defenses. In recognition of his stellar career, he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) in 1991.

Tony Zale was a highly skilled boxer who faced many legendary opponents throughout his career. Although he suffered some losses, his victories over some of the sport's best fighters and his multiple middleweight titles prove that he was one of the greatest boxers of his time.

Tony Zale Fight Record