When Andy Ruiz Jr. steamrolled Anthony Joshua in June 2019, many wondered how a boxer with such a flabby physique could rise among the top contenders in the heavyweight division. However, Ruiz was not the first heavyweight with a “questionable” body shape to leave his mark in boxing history. 115 years ago, on March 12, 1910, a famous predecessor of his was born in the United States—the colorful “fat man” with iron fists, Tony Galento. His waistline (over 220 pounds packed onto a 5’9″ frame) was offset by a formidable left hook and an unreal chin, so much so that his personal doctor believed Tony was “insensitive to pain.” On the anniversary of his birth, let’s take a look back at his story.
The Ultimate Anti-Professional
As the owner and operator of a bar in his hometown of Orange, New Jersey, Galento trained only after closing up shop at two in the morning—a first clue to just how eccentric he was as an athlete. Tony never knew the meaning of professionalism: a heavy drinker and insatiable eater, he not only failed to abstain from excess before his fights but sometimes even during them! It is said that on May 1, 1931, when he fought three matches in a single night as part of a mini heavyweight tournament, he was seen drinking beer between fights.
However, his true “masterpiece” came the following year when, to win a bet and pocket ten dollars, he devoured 52 hot dogs in a row on the same day as his fight against Arthur De Kuh. For three rounds, Galento took punch after punch, struggling even to move, but then he settled the fight with his notorious left hook.
Adopted and Abandoned by the Great Jack Dempsey
Some had recognized Galento’s raw talent long before he made a name for himself. In fact, legendary champion Jack Dempsey decided to become his manager in 1933 and convinced a reluctant Jay Arcel to train him, even though the esteemed coach considered it a waste of time and money. However, their partnership didn’t last long and ended in a rather unusual way. One day, Dempsey entered the gym unnoticed and saw his fighter in terrible shape—fatter than ever—mocking his sparring partners by clowning around in the ring.
When Galento finally noticed his manager’s presence, he was unfazed; instead, he burst out laughing at the sight of Dempsey’s elegant suit, which seemed out of place on the once-feared “Manassa Mauler.” Without hesitation, Dempsey stripped down, put on a pair of gloves, and gave the young boxer an unforgettable beating. As Galento wiped the blood from his face, still dazed from the blows, Dempsey told him to find another manager. Then, turning to Arcel, he said, “You were right, Ray. It’s a waste of time trying to make a champ out of this chump”.
Galento’s Redemption: Knockout After Knockout to the World Title
Perhaps the humiliation suffered at the hands of Dempsey remained buried in his memory, eventually fueling his thirst for redemption, or perhaps there were other reasons. Either way, starting in the summer of 1937, when he steamrolled the unfortunate Al Ettore—sending him flying out of the ring twice with his punches—Tony Galento became unstoppable. Eleven consecutive opponents were knocked out, and his impressive winning streak led the big man from Orange to a shot at the World Heavyweight Title, held by the legendary Joe Louis. It was such a prestigious opportunity that it even convinced him to abstain from alcohol—for two whole days before the fight.
Some believe that trash talking in boxing, meant to irritate opponents before a fight, was introduced by Muhammad Ali, but they are mistaken. Galento approached his title shot with every kind of provocation imaginable. His famous phrase, “I’ll moider da bum,” spoken in a thick, mangled accent, made headlines across all major media outlets of the time. Louis later admitted that his opponent had truly managed to anger him, and he stepped into the ring that night determined to punish him.
The Almost-Miracle: Joe Louis vs. Tony Galento
The fight between Louis and Galento was short but intense and spectacular. Charging in with too much fury, the champion was stunned in the first round by a left hook, shocking the crowd. Recovering from the blow, Louis began to unleash his devastating shots, dropping his opponent in the second round—the first time in his eleven-year career that Galento had ever been knocked down.
However, the drama was far from over. In the third round, a thunderous left hook from the challenger caught Louis off guard, sending him crashing to the canvas! The audience was in disbelief; a miracle seemed to be unfolding. But Galento lacked the finishing touch, and the champion managed to recover, closing the show in the very next round. A relentless barrage of vicious punches finally broke the challenger’s resistance for good.
For several minutes, an inconsolable Galento sat on his stool, his face covered in blood. “You didn’t let me fight my fight. I woulda knocked that bum out,” he kept telling his cutman, Whitey Bimstein, shoving him away every time he tried to tend to his wounds.
The Final Antics of an Unrepentant Wildman
“His fight,” as Bimstein later explained, would have been an all-out brawl with no rules, the kind of dirty scrap Galento was used to. His corner had convinced him not to foul and to move his upper body to evade punches—a strategy that, according to Bimstein, had nearly led him to victory.
But for Tony, a clean fight was an absurd concept. “I don’t see nothin’ wrong with stickin’ a thumb in a guy’s eye… maybe just a little bit,” he once said. Galento was willing to do anything to win, including not showering for days before a fight to disgust his opponents. According to Max Baer, Galento’s stench resembled that of a rotten tuna.
All the fouls he had held back in his title fight, he made up for in his next bout against Lou Nova, a contest later ranked by The Ring magazine as the third dirtiest fight of all time. Despite that controversial win, Galento’s star was fading. He suffered stoppage losses to both Max and Buddy Baer and soon retired from boxing.
Even after his career ended, Tony remained a larger-than-life character. He dabbled in professional wrestling, landed small acting roles—including one in the classic film On the Waterfront—and participated in bizarre stunts, including a highly controversial wrestling match with an octopus. Animal rights activists were outraged, until it was revealed that the octopus had actually died of natural causes before the show and was being moved artificially.
Suffering from diabetes, Galento passed away following a heart attack on July 22, 1979.