One more round…

"Two Ton" Tony Galento....born in Orange, NJ
Tony was guest of honor at my first and third bouts in Newark, NJ! What a character he was. He came into my dressing room smoking a cigar that was being held in the corner of his mouth and using a cane for support while walking. Subsequently, he came and sat next to me as I was having my hands taped. I was so honored because here was a boxing legend who not only fought Joe Louis but was also in the movies...in particular "On The Waterfront" with Marlon Brando!
He then said, "Hey, yur dat Itralian kid I hurd about!
Listen to me, I'm gonna tell ya how to fight dis guy...furst, you godda get dis guy on da ropes...den, wit yer head, ya do dis..."
Tony then demonstrated how to correctly execute a head butt. Now, if that wasn't enough, Tony then said, "Ya godda tum (thumb) his eye, like dis..." He went on to demonstrate on me how to execute this feat!
Obviously, I didn't heed this advice. Yet, ironically, these exact actions were executed on me by my opponent in one of my biggest fights!
"Two Ton" knew all the tricks!

Yesteryear...

He was from around where im from. They named a street after him.

What does that story have to do with organized crime?

Even though he was a hot mess and very rough around the edges, Galento was a pretty good fighter in his day. He fought some significant names in boxing.

After his ring career, he did a bit of acting as well. His most memorable performance for me was as one of Johnny Friendly's dock thugs in the gangster movie, "On the Waterfront."

Here's a bit more "mob trivia" for those of you interested in that sort of thing.

Besides Tony Galento, another well-known boxer of the day who also had an acting role in "On the Waterfront" was prizefighter Tami Mauriello. His real name was Stephen Mauriello, but in the ring he adopted the moniker, "Tami" Mauriello.

Both Mauriello and Galento were very friendly with "all the boys." In fact, Mauriello, of the Bronx, had a brother named Al Mauriello who was a "knockaround guy" himself. I believe he hung around with members of the Gambino Family's Bronx faction like "Tony the Geep" Sedotto and his brother Mike, etc.

I forgot to mention that Mauriello also played a waterfront thug. He had the perfect mug for it too. Smashed boxer's nose, gruff and guttural raspy voice, fire-plug hulking frame, etc. The whole nine years. Lol

LOL. Classic! That was great DiL. Thanks for posting that up for us.

To Jace's point: Was Two Ton actually Mobbed up? Frankie Carbo owned NYC boxing in the Forties and Fifties, and he had Boxing Commissioner Jim Norris in his pocket.

If I remember correctly, according to Valachi's book Dominic "The Gap" Petrilli was shot to death in Al Mauriello's bar.

I was saying that the story had no mob mention, only a person letting everyone know he was a boxer.

But, your comment stimulated me to ask if Galento did have actual Mob connectionsn at a time when boxing was Mob-dominated.

I believe that the majority of high-profile top boxers, at all weight classes, probably capitulated to the mob's wishes back in that era, in one form or another. Those that didn't usually found themselves on the short of the stick; without bouts, opponents not getting lined up to fight them, etc.

Rocky Graziano, in his autobiography, "Somebody Up There Likes Me," said he was approached by a mobster (probably Carbo) to throw a fight, but didn't--and lived to tell about it. Jake LaMotta admitted to throwing a fight for the Mob. I read somewhere that Ezzard Charles, considered one of the best heavyweights of his era, totally belonged to Carbo, who allegedly paid him as little as $150 for a championship fight. Sonny Liston allegedly belonged to the Mob.

Yep, and many many others. In NY, in the old neighborhoods, so many guys who later became up-n-coming prizefighters, were close friends with the guys they grew up with (some of whom later became wiseguys). It stands to reason that most of those fellas later got pushed by "influential" streets guys (their buddies), who, I don't say abused them, but nonetheless worked hand-n-glove to further their careers for an envelope.

Some made to The Garden, some ended up as champions. Others just remained popular club fighters. But many fellas who later gained a foothold in the fight game were backed to a greater, or lesser, degree by so-called mob guys.

The same type of mentality and things took place in other cities and states too, NJ, PA, etc. Frank (Blinky) Palermo, Paul (Frankie) Carbo, Ettore (Little Eddie) Coco, etc., etc. These were the big racketeer names in the fight game. But there were many other wiseguys who also benefitted, they're just not publcially connected to the rackets.

Thats just the way it was back then.

To name just a few of the prizefighters who were either owned outright or controlled by the mob, included, Billy (Blackjack) Fox, Coley Wallace, Johnny Saxton, World Champs Virgil Akins and Clarence Henry and Ike Williams (all of whom were owned by Blinky Palermo); heavyweight champ Primo Carnera (owned by Owney Madden); Kid Gavilan, Tony DeMarco, Sonny Liston (all owned by Palermo and Carbo);

I'm not sure about Ezzard (The Cincinnati Cobra) Charles, but I do seem to remember that he also controlled by them.

But these are just a few of the hundreds, probably thousands, of boxers who fell under their control over the years. As you known, Carbo and Palermo were especially notorious in this regard.

I love Two Ton Tony. He was one of those physical specimens that defied logic. He ate like a pig, drank incessantly, barely trained and got in there with the best of them and gave em hell. Really a special breed he was, he even had the great Joe Louis in trouble.

Thats him! Lol. You nailed it.