Buckled and floored, Joe Louis butchers Tony Galento

Tony “Two Ton” Galento was short, fat, and built like a beer truck with stumpy legs.

His tiny, almost bald head sat on his shoulders like a bowling ball with slits for eyes.

In a time when Clark Gable ruled Hollywood, Galento boxed, a relentless, ugly rhino with the grace of a hippo.

Galento, who fought in the heavyweight division, stood five-nine-inches tall. – far less than his opponent’s. He made up for this with relentless aggression and durability – routinely taking three blows to land one. He was also a dirty fighter.

In 1939, heavyweight champion Joe Louis had won three successive fights in less than three minutes. His biggest was a rematch against the only man to defeat him, former champion Max Schmeling, the year before.

Schmeling had shocked the boxing world by knocking out the invincible Brown Bomber in 12 rounds at Yankee Stadium in 1936. Schmeling had exploited a flaw he spotted and landed over 70 right hands. The last one did the trick.

Louis had to wait two years for the rematch. He rebuilt his career by scoring 10 knockouts in 11 victories. Finally, on June 22, 1938, Louis met Schmeling back at Yankee Stadium in New York. Louis looked down as the referee read the instructions.

He moved back to his corner and gazed at Schmeling, like an assassin eying his prey. There would be no more waiting for Louis. His nemesis was 15 feet in front of him.

The fight was no contest.

Louis was hyper sharp, while Schmeling looked dull in comparison. Louis jabbed and fired short hooks until backing Schmeling into the ropes and letting a combination of punches go. Schmeling let go with his damning right, but Louis was ready and backed away. Louis worked on the inside. Seconds later, an enormous right to the chin turned Schmeling’s legs to jello. Louis clobbered his foe with hooks until the referee intervened. A dynamite right hand knocked Schmeling tumbling. The former champion got up quickly, but was soon down again. Louis ripped hooks to the head, the final one, another right that collapsed Schmeling.

The destruction had taken two minutes and four seconds.

Louis also knocked out his next two opponents in the opening heat. One was against light heavyweight champion John Henry Lewis.

Tony Galento was next on his parade. The bar owner from Orange, New Jersey, made great copy.

Loser of 23 fights, the portly contender (he weighed 233 pounds) was on something of a roll. Galento had won ten successive fights, all by knockout.

His left hook packed power.

Galento was hardly scared of Louis. He claimed (with a straight face) to have never heard of the champion.

He then added, “I’ll moida da bum!”

Galento kept talking in the days leading up to the fight. His insults got personal and annoyed the usually unflappable Louis.

Joe Louis “The Brown Bomber” vs Tony “Two Ton” Galento – 1939 Colorization

“Tony berated me something terrible before the fight, said Louis. “He got to me, and I hated him for it. I never hated anybody before. I decided to punish him before I knocked him out.”

Louis used his jab in the early seconds of round one. He looked to be in control until Galento leapt in with his left hook.  The blow landed flush on the chin, buckling Louis and sending him to the ropes.

Galento, an 8-1 underdog, moved in for the kill, but Louis fought him off. Galento lunged in with his left hook, but Louis was beginning to time him. He countered with his own left and worked the body.

Louis began to punish Galento in round two. His jab knocked the contender back a step. His combinations were starting to land. Galento took the shots but was bleeding from his mouth. He kept throwing his hook, but the quicker Louis was now finding his chin regularly. A deadly right and a dynamite left knocked Galento on his butt. He quickly got up, and Louis began to pummel him.

In round three, Galento, his eyes swollen, cracked Louis with another left. Louis went down, jumping up immediately as if embarrassed. Both fighters fired until the round ended. Galento watched Louis walk to his corner. Louis circled to his right in round four. Galento had to lunge in to hit Louis, who made him pay.

Louis clipped Galento with two huge right hands. Galento hung in the air before falling into the referee and ropes. His dazed expression explained everything.

The fight was over. Galento staggered back to his dressing room with his head held high.

Louis would speak later of Galento’s punching power.

Months before, he had predicted he’d halt Galento in four heats.