Rocky Graziano

Not to be confused with Rocky Marciano.

Rocky Graziano

Statistics
Real name	Thomas Rocco Barbella
Nickname(s)	The Rock / Rocky / Rocky Bob / Thomas Rocky Graziano / Roco / Painter Rock
Rated at	Welterweight Middleweight
Height	5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Reach	68 ¹⁄₂ in (174 cm)
Nationality	American
Born	(1919-01-01)January 1, 1919 Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Died	May 22, 1990(1990-05-22) (aged 71) New York City, New York, U.S.
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Wins	67
Wins by KO	52
Losses	10
Draws	6
No contests	0

Thomas Rocco Barbella (January 1, 1919^[1] – May 22, 1990), better known as Rocky Graziano, was an American professional boxer who held the World Middleweight title.^[2] Graziano is considered one of the greatest knockout artists in boxing history, often displaying the capacity to take his opponent out with a single punch. He was ranked 23rd on The Ring magazine list of the greatest punchers of all time. Graziano fought many of the best middleweights of the era including Sugar Ray Robinson. His turbulent and violent life story was the basis of the 1956 Oscar-winning drama film, Somebody Up There Likes Me, based on his 1955 autobiography of the same title.

Early life

Rocky Graziano was the son of Ida Scinto and Nicola Barbella. Barbella, nicknamed "Fighting Nick Bob", was a boxer with a brief fighting record. Born in Brooklyn, Graziano later moved to an Italian enclave centered on East 10th Street, between First Avenue and Avenue A in Manhattan's East Village. Graziano grew up as a street fighter and learned to look after himself before he could read or write. He spent years in reform school, jail, and Catholic protectories.^[3] His father, who got occasional work as a longshoreman, kept boxing gloves around the house and encouraged Graziano and his brothers to fight one another. When Graziano was as young as three years of age, his father would make him and his brother Joe (three years Rocky's senior) fight almost every night in boxing gloves. At age 18 he won the Metropolitan A.A.U. welterweight championship. Despite the fame and money that professional fighting seemed to offer, he didn't want to become a serious prize fighter. He didn't like the discipline of training any more than he liked the discipline of school or the Army.^[4]

Amateur career

Graziano heard from a couple of his friends about a tournament going on with a gold medal for the winner. Rocky entered under the name of Joe Giuliani. Trainer Tobias (Toby) Zaccaria, Kings county Brooklyn NY, He fought four matches and ended up winning the New York Metropolitan Amateur Athletic Union Boxing competition (1939). He sold the gold medal for $15 and decided that boxing was a good way to make cash.^[5]

A couple of weeks into amateur fighting, he was picked up for stealing from a school. He went to Coxsackie Correctional Facility, where he spent three weeks, with boyhood friend Jake LaMotta, and then he went on to the New York City Reformatory where he spent five months. After Rocky got out of the Reformatory, he headed back to the gym to make money, where he met Eddie Cocco, who started his professional career. He entered the ring under the name Robert Barber. A couple of weeks later Rocky was charged with a probation violation and sent back to reform school, where he was charged with starting a minor riot and sent to Rikers Island.

When he got out of jail he enlisted in the military but went AWOL after punching a captain. He escaped from Fort Dix in New Jersey and started his real boxing career under the name of "Rocky Graziano". He won his first couple of bouts. After gaining popularity under the name of Graziano, he was found by the military. After Graziano's fourth bout, he was called into manager's office to speak with a couple of military personnel. Expecting to be prosecuted and sent back to the military or jail, Graziano fled. He returned to the military a week later. He turned himself in, but he was pardoned and given the opportunity to fight under the army's aegis.^[5]

Professional career

As he grew older, Rocky was scouted and seeing no other way to raise his standard of living, he signed a few boxing contracts, but the rigors of training disgusted him. He and his early managers went their separate ways. He wound up with Irving Cohen, who had the sense to give him a long leash. Cohen changed Rocky's name from Barbella to Graziano (his grandfather's surname) and lined up a fight. Refusing to train much, Graziano nevertheless showed his killer instinct and won by a knockout. Other fights were lined up with Cohen trying, in his subtle way, to overmatch Rocky, get him defeated, and thereby show Rocky the value of getting into condition. He even demanded a match against Sugar Ray Robinson.^[6]

In March 1945, at Madison Square Garden, Graziano scored a major upset over Billy Arnold, whose style was similar to that of Sugar Ray Robinson; he was a slick boxer with lightning-fast combinations and a knockout punch. The Ring Magazine and various newspapers across the United States touted Arnold as the next Joe Louis or Sugar Ray Robinson. Arnold was a heavy favorite to defeat Graziano, and then to go on to fight for the world title, but Graziano absorbed a beating in the early going, before going on to batter and knock out Arnold in the third round of the scheduled eight-round bout.^[7] Following his defeat to Graziano, Billy Arnold was never the same.

He is most famous for his three title bouts with Tony Zale, all for the middleweight title. 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. The referee almost stopped the second fight in the third round because of a severe cut over Graziano's left eye, which would have awarded the victory to Zale, but Graziano's cutman, Morris ("Whitey") Bimstein, was able to stop the bleeding to let the fight continue. Graziano was battered around the ring, suffered a closed eye and appeared ready to lose by a knockout, then rallied and knocked Zale out in the sixth round, becoming world middleweight champion.^[5] 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. His last attempt at the middleweight title came in April 1952, when Sugar Ray Robinson knocked him out in three rounds. He retired after losing his very next fight, a 10-round decision to Chuck Davey.^[5]

Career trouble

In 1946, Graziano was suspended by the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) for failure to report a bribe attempt. In 1948, Abe Green, then-National Boxing Association's President, announced that they were indefinitely suspending Graziano in all parts of the world under NBA supervision, following similar action by the California State Athletic Commission. This was due to Graziano's "running out" on a scheduled December 1 bout with Fred Apostoli. The suspension covered all of the American States, Great Britain, the European Boxing Federation, Cuba, Mexico, and Canada. Boxing promoter Ralph Tribuani got Graziano a license to box in Delaware, which led to the reinstatement of Graziano by both the NBA and NYSAC and Rocky's return to prosperity.

Post-boxing career

After his retirement from boxing, he co-hosted a short-lived series, The Henny and Rocky Show with famous comedian Henny Youngman. He was a semi-regular on The Martha Raye Show, as Raye's boyfriend.^[8] He appeared as a regular on the United Artists TV series Miami Undercover for its entire run, and appeared in several series and shows, including The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom, Car 54, Where Are You?, and Naked City. He portrayed Packy, an ex-boxer, in the 1967 film Tony Rome.

In the 1960s, Graziano opened a pizza restaurant, Rocky Graziano's Pizza Ring, on Second Avenue in Kips Bay, Manhattan, creating a modest franchise for the restaurant in the New York City area. He became the celebrity spokesman for Lee Myles Transmissions in the New York City area, appearing on dozens of television commercials from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s.

Personal life

Graziano married Norma Unger, of German-Jewish descent, on August 10, 1943. They remained together until his death from cardiopulmonary failure on May 22, 1990 in New York City at age 71. The couple had two children. Graziano's funeral Mass was held at St. Patrick's Cathedral.^[9]

Accolades

Graziano is a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
Graziano was named to Ring Magazine's 100 Greatest Punchers of all time.
In 2007, Graziano was inducted into the Nassau County Sports Hall of Fame.

Professional boxing record

67 Wins (52 knockouts), 10 Losses (3 knockouts), 6 draws^[10]
Res.	Record	Opponent	Type	Round Time	Date	Location	Notes
Loss	67–10–6	Chuck Davey	UD	10	1952–09–17	Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois
Loss	67–9–6	Sugar Ray Robinson	KO	3 (15) 1:53	1952–04–16	Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois	For World Middleweight title.
Win	67–8–6	Roy Wouters	TKO	1 (10) 2:45	1952–03–27	Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Win	66–8–6	Eddie O'Neill	TKO	4 (10) 2:21	1952–02–18	Jefferson County Armory, Louisville, Kentucky
Win	65–8–6	Tony Janiro	TKO	10 2:45	1951–09–19	Olympia Stadium, Detroit, Michigan
Win	64–8–6	Chuck Hunter	DQ	2 (10)	1951–08–06	Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, Missouri
Win	63–8–6	Cecil Hudson	TKO	3 (10)	1951–07–10	Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, Missouri
Win	62–8–6	Freddie Lott	KO	5 (10) 2:17	1951–06–18	Baltimore Coliseum, Baltimore, Maryland
Win	61–8–6	Johnny Greco	KO	3 (10) 1:56	1951–05–21	Montreal Forum, Montreal, Quebec
Win	60–8–6	Reuben Jones	KO	3 (10) 1:18	1951–03–19	Miami Stadium, Miami, Florida
Win	59–8–6	Honeychile Johnson	KO	4 (10) 0:48	1950–11–27	Philadelphia Convention Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Win	58–8–6	Tony Janiro	UD	10	1950–10–27	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Win	57–8–6	Pete Mead	KO	3 (10) 2:25	1950–10–16	Milwaukee Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Win	56–8–6	Gene Burton	KO	7 (10) 2:10	1950–10–04	Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois
Win	55–8–6	Henry Brimm	KO	4 (10) 2:14	1950–05–16	Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, Buffalo, New York
Win	54–8–6	Vinnie Cidone	TKO	3 (10)	1950–05–09	Milwaukee Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Win	53–8–6	Danny Williams	KO	3 (10) 1:03	1950–04–24	New Haven Arena, New Haven, Connecticut
Draw	52–8–6	Tony Janiro	SD	10	1950–03–31	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Win	52–8–5	Joe Curcio	KO	1 (10) 2:21	1950–03–06	Miami Stadium, Miami, Florida
Win	51–8–5	Sonny Horne	MD	10	1949–12–06	Cleveland Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
Win	50–8–5	Charley Fusari	TKO	10	1949–09–14	Polo Grounds, New York City, New York
Win	49–8–5	Joe Agosta	KO	2 (10) 2:19	1949–07–18	Century Stadium, West Springfield, Massachusetts
Win	48–8–5	Bobby Claus	KO	2 (10) 0:46	1949–06–21	Wilmington Park, Wilmington, Delaware
Loss	47–8–5	Tony Zale	KO	3 (15)	1948–06–10	Ruppert Stadium, Newark, New Jersey	Lost World Middleweight title
Win	47–7–5	Sonny Horne	UD	10	1948–04–05	Uline Arena, Washington, D.C.
Win	46–7–5	Tony Zale	TKO	6 (15)	1947–07–16	Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois	Won World Middleweight title The Ring Fight of the Year
Win	45–7–5	Jerry Fiorello	TKO	5 (10)	1947–06–16	Swayne Field, Toledo, Ohio
Win	44–7–5	Eddie Finazzo	TKO	1 (10)	1947–06–10 2:14	Fairgrounds Arena, Memphis, Tennessee
Loss	43–7–5	Tony Zale	KO	6 (15)	1946–09–27	Yankee Stadium, New York City, New York	For World Middleweight titles The Ring Fight of the Year
Win	43–6–5	Marty Servo	TKO	2 (10) 1:52	1946–03–29	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Win	42–6–5	Sonny Horne	UD	10	1946–01–18	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Win	41–6–5	Harold Green	KO	3 (10) 1:49	1945–09–28	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Win	40–6–5	Freddie Cochrane	KO	10 2:37	1945–08–24	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Win	39–6–5	Freddie Cochrane	KO	10 0:16	1945–06–29	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York	The Ring Fight of the Year
Win	38–6–5	Al Davis	TKO	4 (10)	1945–05–25	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Win	37–6–5	Solomon Stewart	TKO	4 (10)	1945–04–17	Uline Arena, Washington, D.C.
Win	36–6–5	Billy Arnold	TKO	3 (8)	1945–03–09	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Loss	35–6–5	Harold Green	MD	10	1944–12–22	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Loss	35–5–5	Harold Green	UD	10	1944–11–03	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Win	35–4–5	Bernie Miller	TKO	2 (8) 0:44	1944–10–24	Broadway Arena, Brooklyn, New York
Draw	34–4–5	Danny Kapilow	PTS	10	1944–10–06	St. Nicholas Arena, New York City, New York
Draw	34–4–4	Frankie Terry	PTS	8	1944–09–15	St. Nicholas Arena, New York City, New York
Win	34–4–3	Jerry Fiorello	SD	8	1944–08–14	Queensboro Arena, Queens, New York
Win	33–4–3	Tony Reno	PTS	8	1944–07–21	Fort Hamilton Arena, Brooklyn, New York
Win	32–4–3	Frankie Terry	TKO	6 (8) 2:47	1944–06–27	Dexter Park Arena, Queens, New York
Win	31–4–3	Larney Moore	KO	2 (8)	1944–06–07	MacArthur Stadium, Brooklyn, New York
Win	30–4–3	Tommy Mollis	TKO	7 (10)	1944–05–29	Griffith Stadium, Washington, D.C.
Win	29–4–3	Freddie Graham	KO	3 (8)	1944–05–09	Turner's Arena, Washington, D.C.
Win	28–4–3	Bobby Brown	KO	5 (10)	1944–04–10	Turner's Arena, Washington, D.C.
Win	27–4–3	Ray Rovelli	PTS	8	1944–03–14	Broadway Arena, Brooklyn, New York
Win	26–4–3	Harold Gary	PTS	6	1944–03–08	Scott Hall, Elizabeth, New Jersey
Win	25–4–3	Leon Anthony	KO	1 (8) 1:20	1944–03–04	Ridgewood Grove, Brooklyn, New York
Win	24–4–3	Nick Calder	KO	4 (8)	1944–02–24	Masonic Hall, Highland Park, New Jersey
Loss	23–4–3	Steve Riggio	PTS	6	1944–02–09	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Win	23–3–3	Phil Enzenga	TKO	5 (8)	1944–01–18	Westchester County Center, White Plains, New York
Win	22–3–3	Jerry Pittro	TKO	1 (6) 2:31	1944–01–07	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Win	21–3–3	Harold Gary	PTS	8	1944–01–04	Grotto Auditorium, Jersey City, New Jersey
Win	20–3–3	Milo Theodorescu	TKO	1 (8) 2:52	1943–12–27	Laurel Garden, Newark, New Jersey
Win	19–3–3	Freddie Graham	PTS	6	1943–12–06	St. Nicholas Arena, New York City, New York
Win	18–3–3	Freddie Graham	PTS	8	1943–11–30	Paterson, New Jersey
Loss	17–3–3	Steve Riggio	PTS	6	1943–11–12	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Draw	17–2–3	Charley McPherson	PTS	6	1943–10–27	Scott Hall, Elizabeth, New Jersey
Win	17–2–2	Jimmy Williams	TKO	2 (6)	1943–10–13	Scott Hall, Elizabeth, New Jersey
Win	16–2–2	Freddie Graham	KO	1 (8) 1:02	1943–10–05	Broadway Arena, Brooklyn, New York
Win	15–2–2	George Wilson	PTS	8	1943–09–21	Broadway Arena, Brooklyn, New York
Loss	14–2–2	Joe Agosta	PTS	6	1943–09–10	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Win	14–1–2	Tony Grey	PTS	6	1943–08–24	Queensboro Arena, Queens, New York
Win	13–1–2	Ted Apostoli	PTS	4	1943–08–20	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Win	12–1–2	Charley McPherson	PTS	6	1943–08–12	Fort Hamilton Arena, Brooklyn, New York
Win	11–1–2	Randy Drew	KO	1 (6) 2:16	1943–07–27	Queensboro Arena, Queens, New York
Win	10–1–2	George Stevens	KO	1 (6)	1943–07–22	Fort Hamilton Arena, Brooklyn, New York
Win	9–1–2	Johnny Atteley	TKO	2 (6)	1943–07–08	Fort Hamilton Arena, Brooklyn, New York
Win	8–1–2	Frankie Falco	KO	5 (6) 1:37	1943–06–24	Fort Hamilton Arena, Brooklyn, New York
Win	7–1–2	Joe Curcio	TKO	4 (6) 0:39	1943–06–16	Twin City Bowl, Elizabeth, New Jersey
Win	6–1–2	Gilberto Vasquez	KO	1 (6) 1:45	1943–06–11	Fort Hamilton Arena, Brooklyn, New York
Draw	5–1–2	Lou Miller	PTS	6	1942–05–25	St. Nicholas Arena, New York City, New York
Win	5–1–1	Godfrey Howell	KO	4	1942–05–12	Broadway Arena, Brooklyn, New York
Win	4–1–1	Eddie Lee	KO	4	1942–05–04	St. Nicholas Arena, New York City, New York
Loss	3–1–1	Charles Ferguson	PTS	6	1942–04–28	Broadway Arena, Brooklyn, New York
Draw	3–0–1	Godfrey Howell	PTS	4	1942–04–20	St. Nicholas Arena, New York City, New York
Win	3–0	Kenny Blackmar	KO	1 (4)	1942–04–14	Broadway Arena, Brooklyn, New York
Win	2–0	Mike Mastandrea	KO	3 (4)	1942–04–06	St. Nicholas Arena, New York City, New York
Win	1–0	Curtis Hightower	TKO	2 (4)	1942–03–31	Broadway Arena, Brooklyn, New York

Notes

↑ Alternative birth dates have been cited; however his gravestone states January 1, 1919 and his widow confirmed that this as the correct date
↑ "The Lineal Middleweight Champions". The Cyber Boxing Zone Encyclopedia.
↑ Graziano, Rocky; Barber, Rowland (1955). Somebody Up There Likes Me. New York: Simon And Schuster.
↑ Lardner, Rex. "The Improbable Graziano". Sport Magazine Article. SPORT. Retrieved December 5, 2011.
1 2 3 4 Berger, Phil (May 23, 1990). "Rocky Graziano, Ex-Ring Champion, Dead at 71". New York Times.
↑ Lardner, Rex. "The Improbable Graziano". SPORT Magazine Article. SPORT. Archived from the original on May 29, 2012. Retrieved December 5, 2011.
↑ Google info re Graziano
↑ Adams, Val (November 29, 1953). "Rocky Graziano: TV Actor and Ex-Fighter". The New York Times. p. X11. Retrieved February 8, 2011.
↑ SPORTS OF THE TIMES; Leave Your Worry on The Doorstep, New York Times, May 26, 1990.
↑ "Rocky Graziano Professional boxing record". BoxRec.com.

Achievements
Preceded by Tony Zale	World Middleweight Champion July 16, 1947– June 10, 1948	Succeeded by Tony Zale

Italian American Sports Hall of Fame

Authority control	WorldCat Identities VIAF: 2462540 LCCN: n81082864 ISNI: 0000 0000 2208 4648 BNF: cb110108806 (data)

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