Graziano, Rocky
[Thomas Rocco Barbella]
Boxing
b. Jan. 1, 1922, New York, NY
d. May 22, 1990
A product of New York City's tough Lower East Side, Graziano was continually in trouble during his teen-age years. Drafted into the Army early in 1942, he soon went absent without leave and took the ring name of a friend, Tommy Rocky Graziano, to become a professional fighter.
He had eight fights in less than three months before the Army caught him. He was given a dishonorable discharge and sentenced to a year in military prison, where he joined the boxing team. Released in June of 1943, he again became a professional boxer, still using his ring name.
A non-stop street fighter, Graziano had three historic bouts with Tony Zale. In the first, a middleweight championship fight on September 27, 1946, Zale seemed on the verge of collapse under Graziano's pounding, but he suddenly scored a 6th-round knockout to hold onto the title.
Though he was popular with fight fans because of his style, Graziano was not so popular with boxing officials. The New York State Athletic Commission suspended his license in 1947 for allegedly failing to report a bribe attempt, so a rematch with Zale was moved to Chicago Stadium. The $422,918 gate was a record for an indoor fight.
Despite intense heat, neither fighter ever backed down. Graziano's right eye was almost closed and he had a bad cut next to his left eye when he knocked Zale out in the 6th round. He later wrote of the fight, "This was no boxing match. It was a war, and if there wasn't a referee, one of the two of us would have ended up dead."
Illinois then passed a law barring anyone with a dishonorable discharge from boxing. The third Graziano-Zale fight was held in Newark on June 10, 1948, and Zale regained the title with a 3rd-round knockout.
Graziano won 20 of his next 21 fights, but he was knocked out in the 3rd round by Sugar Ray Robinson in a middleweight championship fight on April 16, 1952. After losing a decision in his next bout, he retired.
He didn't leave the public eye, though. He appeared in television shows and movies, exhibited his paintings in galleries, and published a popular autobiography, Somebody Up There Likes Me, which was adapted into a successful movie starring Paul Newman.
In 83 professional fights, Graziano had 67 victories, 52 by knockout. He lost 10, 3 by knockout, and fought 6 draws.
