Tony_Galento

Dominick Anthony Galento (March 12, 1910 – July 22, 1979) was an American heavyweight boxer. He is best remembered for scoring a third-round knockdown against Joe Louis in a world title stoppage loss in June 1939. Active from the late 1920s to the early 1940s, he compiled a record of 79 wins, 26 losses, and 6 draws. Besides Louis, Galento fought against several other prominent heavyweights of his era—including Al Ettore, Arturo Godoy, Lou Nova, and Max and Buddy Baer. Though assumed by some sportswriters to have been a reference to his "pulchritude" or physical appearance, Galento's nickname, "Two Ton", was apparently derived from his work as an iceman: a job he pursued in tandem with his pugilistic career. On one occasion, as a result of his ice-lugging commitments, Galento was reportedly upbraided by his cornerman for being late for a bout. "Take it easy", the New Jersey-born slugger reputedly replied to his colleague's complaint, "I had two tons of ice to deliver on my way here. I'll be right up." In addition to "Two Ton", Galento was also known as the "Jersey Nightstick", the "TNT Kid", the "One-Man Riot", the "Orange Orangutan", and the "beer barrel that walks like a man". The boxing historian Bert Sugar called him a "human butcher block".Galento is widely regarded as having been one of boxing’s most colorful characters. According to Chris Mead, a biographer of Joe Louis, he "was a press agent's dream." Anecdotes, some of which may be apocryphal, pertaining to his outlandish behavior and unschooled wit are common. On learning about Gene Tunney's predilection for reading George Bernard Shaw, Samuel Butler, and William Shakespeare while in training camp, Galento is said to have remarked, in characteristic fashion, "Shakespeare? I ain't never hearda him. He must be one of dem European bums[.] Sure as hell I'll moider dat bum." An alternative rendering of Galento's commentary on Shakespeare runs as follows: "Never hoid of him... What's he, one of those foreign heavyweights? I'll moida da bum." To Galento, all his potential opponents and competitors, even Joe Louis and the Bard of Avon, were "bums". In fact, to Galento, nearly everyone was a "bum".