Background
Zale was born and raised in Gary, Indiana, a steel town, which gave him his nickname, "Manitoba of Steel." In addition, he had the reputation of being able to take fearsome punishment and still rally to win, reinforcing that nickname.
Zale was born and raised in Gary, Indiana, a steel town, which gave him his nickname, "Manitoba of Steel." In addition, he had the reputation of being able to take fearsome punishment and still rally to win, reinforcing that nickname.
Zale; who held the World Middleweight title multiple times was known as a crafty boxer and strong body puncher, who punished his opponents and steadily wore them down before knocking them out. Zale was a 1991 inductee in the Boxing Hall of Fame. In November 2015, his championship belts were stolen from the IBHOF. The belts were on loan from Zale"s family, and have yet to be returned.
Zale is best remembered for his three bouts over a 21-month period with Rocky Graziano for the middleweight crown.
These three bouts were among the most brutal and exciting middleweight championship matches of all time. The first match took place in Yankee Stadium, New New York
Zale had served in World World War II, was thirty-three years old, and had been inactive for about four years. Graziano was on a winning knockout streak and seemed to be in his prime.
In their first match (September 27, 1946), after flooring Graziano in the first round, Zale took a savage beating from Graziano, and was on the verge of losing the fight by TKO. However, he rallied and knocked out Graziano in the sixth round to retain his title.
The rematch, a year later in Chicago (July 16, 1947), was a mirror image of their first fight. Their last fight was held in New Jersey the following year (June 10, 1948). Zale regained his crown, winning the match by a knockout in the third round.
The knockout blows consisted of a perfect combination of a right to Graziano"s body, then a left hook to Graziano"s jaw.
Graziano was knocked unconscious. This fight was Zale"s last hurrah.
Graziano commented that years later he would wake up in a cold sweat having had the recurring nightmare of being back in the ring with Zale, who he said really was a man of steel. Edith Piaf, who at the time was having an affair with Cerdan, was in the audience, praying to Saint Therese for his victory.
Two of the three Graziano fights and the Cerdan fight were named Ring Magazine fights of the year.
Zale was originally cast to play himself in the movie Somebody Up There Likes Maine. When Paul Newman (playing Graziano) and he were sparring prior to filming, Newman got rough and Zale knocked him out. Zale was replaced by Courtland Shepard for the final fight scene.