Tony Canzoneri
Encyclopedia
Tony Canzoneri was an American
boxer
who was born in the town of Slidell, Louisiana
.
Canzoneri, an Italian American
, was one of the members of the exclusive group of boxing
world champions who have won titles in three or more divisions.
.
on February 10, 1928. He retained that title one time, and then went up in weight and challenged world Lightweight champion Sammy Mandell, losing by a decision in ten rounds. But in 1930, Mandell was knocked out in the first round by Al Singer
to lose his title, and Canzoneri, who had already beaten Singer by a ten round decision before, challenged Singer for the title on November 14, 1930, knocking him out in the first to become a two division world champion. In defeat, Singer made history by becoming the first man, and only man up until now, to both win and lose the title by knockout in the first round.
Canzoneri's first defense was a unification of sorts: He faced world Jr. welterweight champion Jack Kid Berg
, who was putting his Jr. Welterweight title on the line and trying to take Canzoneri's Lightweight title away. Canzoneri became a three division world champion by knocking Berg out in the third round in their fight held on April 24, 1931. Canzoneri, Barney Ross
and Henry Armstrong
were the only boxing champions in history to be allowed to hold two or more world titles simultaneously (Sugar Ray Leonard
won both the vacant world's Super Middleweight and the world's Light Heavyweight title in one night in 1988, but he had to choose only one to keep and he chose to keep the Super Middleweight belt).
Canzoneri lost his world Jr. Welterweight championship to Johnny Jadick
, and he lost to Jadick again in a rematch. Meanwhile, Canzoneri kept retaining his lightweight belt, defending it against the likes of Billy Petrolle
and his brother, Frankie Petrolle.
Jadick lost his belt to Battling Shaw
, and Canzoneri once again challenged for the world Jr. Welterweight crown while keeping his Lightweight belt. He beat Shaw by decision and recovered the world Jr. Welterweight championship. In his next bout, versus Ross, he lost both belts, when Ross beat him by a ten round decision. There was an immediate rematch, and Ross won again, this time by decision in 15.
Canzoneri kept fighting and winning, and on May 10, 1935, he found himself in a ring for a world title again, this time against Lou Ambers
, who had earned the world Lightweight title that once had belonged to Canzoneri. Canzoneri once again won the world's Lightweight title by outpointing Ambers over 15 rounds. After successfully defending his Lightweight belt once, he lost it again, in a rematch with Ambers, by a decision in 15. There was a rubber match between the two, and Ambers once again won a decision in 15 rounds.
Canzoneri went on boxing professionally until 1939, but he never again challenged for a world title. Among other world champions that he beat were Frankie Klick, Baby Arizmendi
, Jimmy McLarnin
and Kid Chocolate
.
Canzoneri had a record of 141 wins, 24 losses, 10 draws and 3 no decisions (during his era, many states and countries still had no scoring on boxing fights, so each time a fight would go the scheduled distance in any of those areas where scoring was still not being held, the fight would be declared a no-decision). He had 44 knockouts. Tony was managed by Sammy Goldman.
He is a member of the International Boxing Hall Of Fame
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
boxer
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
who was born in the town of Slidell, Louisiana
Slidell, Louisiana
Slidell is a city situated on the northeast shore of Lake Pontchartrain in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 25,695 at the 2000 census. The Greater Slidell Community has a population of about 90,000...
.
Canzoneri, an Italian American
Italian American
An Italian American , is an American of Italian ancestry. The designation may also refer to someone possessing Italian and American dual citizenship...
, was one of the members of the exclusive group of boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
world champions who have won titles in three or more divisions.
Early life
When he was a teenager, he and his family moved to Staten Island, New York, where he campaigned most of his career. Canzoneri fit the mold of the typical American boxer of the era: He could box up to three or four times in one month and up to 24 or 25 times in one year, and he would seldom fight outside New York City, considered to be boxing's mecca at the time. As a matter of a fact, of his first 38 bouts, only one was fought west of New York City, and that one was in New JerseyNew Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
.
Professional career
Canzoneri won his first title, the world's Featherweight title, with a 15 round decision over Benny BassBenny Bass
Benny Bass, known as "Little Fish," was an American boxer....
on February 10, 1928. He retained that title one time, and then went up in weight and challenged world Lightweight champion Sammy Mandell, losing by a decision in ten rounds. But in 1930, Mandell was knocked out in the first round by Al Singer
Al Singer
Al Singer was an American boxer. He was born in the Lower East Side in New York City....
to lose his title, and Canzoneri, who had already beaten Singer by a ten round decision before, challenged Singer for the title on November 14, 1930, knocking him out in the first to become a two division world champion. In defeat, Singer made history by becoming the first man, and only man up until now, to both win and lose the title by knockout in the first round.
Canzoneri's first defense was a unification of sorts: He faced world Jr. welterweight champion Jack Kid Berg
Jack Kid Berg
Judah Bergman, known as Jack Kid Berg or Jackie Kid Berg , was an English boxer born in the East End of London.-Biography:Judah Bergman was born in Romford Street near Cable Street, St George in the East, Stepney...
, who was putting his Jr. Welterweight title on the line and trying to take Canzoneri's Lightweight title away. Canzoneri became a three division world champion by knocking Berg out in the third round in their fight held on April 24, 1931. Canzoneri, Barney Ross
Barney Ross
Barney Ross , born Beryl David Rosofsky, was a world champion boxer in three weight divisions and decorated veteran of World War II.-Early life:...
and Henry Armstrong
Henry Armstrong
Henry Jackson Jr. was a world boxing champion who fought under the name Henry Armstrong. He is universally regarded as one of the greatest fighters of all time by many boxing critics and fellow professionals.Henry Jr...
were the only boxing champions in history to be allowed to hold two or more world titles simultaneously (Sugar Ray Leonard
Sugar Ray Leonard
Sugar Ray Leonard is an American retired professional boxer and occasional actor. He was named Ray Charles Leonard, after his mother's favorite singer, Ray Charles...
won both the vacant world's Super Middleweight and the world's Light Heavyweight title in one night in 1988, but he had to choose only one to keep and he chose to keep the Super Middleweight belt).
Canzoneri lost his world Jr. Welterweight championship to Johnny Jadick
Johnny Jadick
John J. Jadick, better known as Johnny Jadick was an American light welterweight boxer. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.- Professional career :...
, and he lost to Jadick again in a rematch. Meanwhile, Canzoneri kept retaining his lightweight belt, defending it against the likes of Billy Petrolle
Billy Petrolle
William Michael Petrolle was a world lightweight boxing title contender.-Personal:Brother of fellow boxers Pete Petrolle and Frank Petrolle...
and his brother, Frankie Petrolle.
Jadick lost his belt to Battling Shaw
Battling Shaw
Jose Flores Perez, was a Mexican boxer better known as Battling Shaw or Benny Kid Roy. He was the first Mexican to become world champion.- Professional career :...
, and Canzoneri once again challenged for the world Jr. Welterweight crown while keeping his Lightweight belt. He beat Shaw by decision and recovered the world Jr. Welterweight championship. In his next bout, versus Ross, he lost both belts, when Ross beat him by a ten round decision. There was an immediate rematch, and Ross won again, this time by decision in 15.
Canzoneri kept fighting and winning, and on May 10, 1935, he found himself in a ring for a world title again, this time against Lou Ambers
Lou Ambers
Luigi Giuseppe d'Ambrosio , aka Lou Ambers, was a lightweight boxer who fought from 1932 to 1941.Managed by Al Weill and trained by Charley Goldman, the "Herkimer Hurricane", as he was known, began his career losing only once in more than three years when he faced future hall of fame lightweight...
, who had earned the world Lightweight title that once had belonged to Canzoneri. Canzoneri once again won the world's Lightweight title by outpointing Ambers over 15 rounds. After successfully defending his Lightweight belt once, he lost it again, in a rematch with Ambers, by a decision in 15. There was a rubber match between the two, and Ambers once again won a decision in 15 rounds.
Canzoneri went on boxing professionally until 1939, but he never again challenged for a world title. Among other world champions that he beat were Frankie Klick, Baby Arizmendi
Baby Arizmendi
Alberto "Baby" Arizmendi was a professional boxer and featherweight world title holder. He also competed in the bantamweight and welterweight divisions. Arizmendi is famous for being the youngest boxer to turn pro...
, Jimmy McLarnin
Jimmy McLarnin
James McLarnin, known as Jimmy McLarnin , was an Irish Canadian professional boxer who became two-time welterweight world champion and an International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee.-Background:McLarnin was born in Hillsborough, County Down, Ireland, into a large Methodist family who emigrated...
and Kid Chocolate
Kid Chocolate
For the boxer of the same nickname see Peter Quillin.Eligio Sardiñas Montalvo , better known as Kid Chocolate, was a Cuban boxer who enjoyed wild success both in the boxing ring and in society life during a span of the 1930s.-Biography:Eligio Montaldo, also nicknamed The Cuban Bon Bon, learned how...
.
Canzoneri had a record of 141 wins, 24 losses, 10 draws and 3 no decisions (during his era, many states and countries still had no scoring on boxing fights, so each time a fight would go the scheduled distance in any of those areas where scoring was still not being held, the fight would be declared a no-decision). He had 44 knockouts. Tony was managed by Sammy Goldman.
He is a member of the International Boxing Hall Of Fame
International Boxing Hall of Fame
The modern International Boxing Hall of Fame is located in Canastota, New York, United States, within driving distance from the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown and the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta...
.