Tony Canzoneri

Tony Canzoneri was an American professional boxer who fought in the welterweight division. He had fought a total of a hundred and seventy five (175) boxing matches, one hundred forty-one (141) of which were victories that included forty-four (44) knockout wins.

Born November 6, 1908 in Louisiana, Canzoneri belonged to the elite group of boxers who have fought and won in three or more divisions. Canzoneri and his family eventually moved to New York City, which turned out to be the best decision the family has ever made, considering that it is the city where Canzoneri fought most of his boxing bouts.

A sporadic fighter, Canzoneri was perfect for the contact sport in the 1920s, as it was an era of fierce boxing wherein the strongest fighters would agree to fight as much as four (4) times a month, most prizefighters in fact, often reached a maximum of twenty-five (25) fights a year, a frequency that would be deemed career suicide today for any boxer.

Canzoneri earned his first title on February 10, 1928, when he successfully claimed the World Featherweight championship in a bout against Benny Bass. From his first victory, there was no stopping this Louisiana native, as he then moved up one weight division further by challenging Sammy Mandell, the World Lightweght champion; although Canzoneri emerged defeated by a decision in ten rounds, his relentless pursuit of the title lead him to a fight with Al Singer, who had previously won the title from Mandell earlier that year, in 1930. Canzoneri had already fought Singer, and saw the easy opportunity to beat Singer and finally claim the title. True enough, Canzoneri knocked Singer out in the first round. Then the Welterweight title was up for grabs in 1931, when World Welterweight champion Jack Kid Berg challenged Canzoneri, aiming to steal the latter’s World Lightweight title away. To Berg’s dismay, Canzoneri emerged the victor in their 1931 match, walking away with three division championships.

Truly a man who deserved such due recognition for an amazing feat in boxing, he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall Of Fame in 1990.