Tony Canzoneri
Tony Canzoneri (November 6, 1908 – December 9, 1959) was an American professional boxer. A three-division world champion, he held a total of five world titles. Canzoneri is a member of the exclusive group of boxing world champions who have won titles in three or more divisions.
| Tony Canzoneri | |
|---|---|
![]() Canzoneri in 1929 | |
| Statistics | |
| Weight class | Bantamweight Featherweight Lightweight Light Welterweight |
| Height | 5 ft 4 in (163 cm) |
| Reach | 65 in (165 cm) |
| Born | November 6, 1908 Slidell, Louisiana |
| Died | December 9, 1959 (aged 51) Manhattan, New York |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 175 |
| Wins | 141 |
| Wins by KO | 44 |
| Losses | 24 |
| Draws | 10 |
Early life
When he was a teenager, he and his family moved to Staten Island, New York,[1] where he campaigned most of his career.
Canzoneri fit the mold of the typical American boxer of the era: He could box up to three or four times in one month and up to 24 or 25 times in one year, and he would seldom fight outside New York City, considered to be boxing's mecca at the time. Of his first 38 bouts, only one was fought west of New York City, and was in New Jersey.
Professional career
Two-division world champion
Canzoneri won his first title, the World Featherweight title, with a 15-round decision over Benny Bass on February 10, 1928. He defended the title once and then went up in weight and challenged World Lightweight Champion Sammy Mandell, losing by a decision in ten rounds. In 1930, Mandell was knocked out in the first round by Al Singer and lost his title and Canzoneri, who had already beaten Singer by a ten-round decision before, challenged Singer for the title on November 14, 1930, knocking him out in the first round to become a two division world champion. In defeat, Singer made history by becoming the first man, and only man up until John Mugabi, to both win and lose the title by knockout in the first round.
Three-division world champion
Canzoneri's first defense was a unification of sorts: He faced World Light Welterweight champion Jack Kid Berg, who was putting his title on the line and trying to take Canzoneri's lightweight crown. Canzoneri became a three-division world champion by knocking Berg out in the third round on April 24, 1931.[2] Canzoneri, Barney Ross and Henry Armstrong were the only boxing champions in history allowed to hold two or more world titles simultaneously. (Sugar Ray Leonard became both the vacant World Super Middleweight and the World Light Heavyweight Champion in one night in 1988, but he could keep only one and chose to keep the Super Middleweight title.)
Regaining the light welterweight title
Canzoneri lost his world Light Welterweight Championship to Johnny Jadick and he lost to Jadick again in a rematch. Meanwhile, Canzoneri kept retaining his lightweight belt, defending it against the likes of Billy Petrolle and his brother Frankie Petrolle.
Jadick lost his belt to Battling Shaw and Canzoneri once again challenged for the World Light Welterweight title while keeping his Lightweight title. He beat Shaw by decision and recovered the world Light Welterweight Championship. In his next bout, versus Ross, he lost both belts when Ross beat him by a ten-round decision. There was an immediate rematch and Ross won again, this time by decision in 15.
Regaining the lightweight title
On May 10, 1935, he fought for the world lightweight title against Lou Ambers. Canzoneri won the World Lightweight title by outpointing Ambers over 15 rounds. After successfully defending his Lightweight title once, he lost it again in a rematch with Ambers by a 15-round decision. There was a rubber match between the two and Ambers once again won a decision in 15 rounds.
Later career
Canzoneri went on boxing professionally until 1939, but he never again challenged for a world title. Among other world champions that he beat were Frankie Klick, Baby Arizmendi, Jimmy McLarnin and Kid Chocolate.
Canzoneri had a record of 137 wins, 24 losses, 10 draws and 3 no decisions (Newspaper Decisions: 4-0-0). During his era, many states and countries still had no scoring on boxing fights, so each time a fight would go the scheduled number of rounds without a knockout, no decision would be made as to the winner. Newspapers, however, would fill this gap, giving their own opinion of which boxer had won the fight. He had 44 knockouts, and only one loss by knockout. Canzoneri was managed by Sammy Goldman.
He is a member of the International Boxing Hall Of Fame.
Professional boxing record
| 175 fights | 137 wins | 24 losses |
| By knockout | 44 | 1 |
| By decision | 93 | 22 |
| By disqualification | 0 | 1 |
| Draws | 10 | |
| Newspaper decisions/draws | 4 | |
All Newspaper decisions are regarded as “no decision” bouts as they have “resulted in neither boxer winning or losing, and would therefore not count as part of their official fight record."
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 175 | Loss | 137–24–10 | TKO | 3 (10) | Nov 01, 1939 | |||
| 174 | Win | 137–23–10 | PTS | 8 | Sep 19, 1939 | |||
| 173 | Win | 136–23–10 | PTS | 8 | Aug 26, 1939 | |||
| 172 | Win | 135–23–10 | PTS | 8 | Aug 18, 1939 | |||
| 171 | Win | 134–23–10 | PTS | 8 | Aug 03, 1939 | |||
| 170 | Win | 133–23–10 | PTS | 8 | Jul 17, 1939 | |||
| 169 | Win | 132–23–10 | PTS | 8 | Jul 06, 1939 | |||
| 168 | Loss | 131–23–10 | PTS | 10 | Jun 05, 1939 | |||
| 167 | Draw | 131–22–10 | SD | 10 | May 15, 1939 | |||
| 166 | Loss | 131–22–9 | SD | 10 | May 01, 1939 | |||
| 165 | Draw | 131–21–9 | PTS | 10 | Apr 11, 1939 | |||
| 164 | Loss | 131–21–8 | SD | 10 | Mar 28, 1939 | |||
| 163 | Win | 131–20–8 | PTS | 8 | Mar 07, 1939 | |||
| 162 | Win | 130–20–8 | PTS | 10 | Feb 07, 1939 | |||
| 161 | Win | 129–20–8 | TKO | 3 (10) | Jan 31, 1939 | |||
| 160 | Win | 128–20–8 | TKO | 2 (10) | Jan 27, 1939 | |||
| 159 | Win | 127–20–8 | UD | 10 | Jan 19, 1939 | |||
| 158 | Win | 126–20–8 | PTS | 10 | Dec 30, 1938 | |||
| 157 | Win | 125–20–8 | PTS | 8 | Dec 01, 1938 | |||
| 156 | Win | 124–20–8 | MD | 8 | Nov 22, 1938 | |||
| 155 | Win | 124–20–8 | KO | 3 (10) | Nov 01, 1938 | |||
| 154 | Win | 123–20–8 | PTS | 8 | Oct 26, 1938 | |||
| 153 | Loss | 122–20–8 | MD | 10 | Oct 17, 1938 | |||
| 152 | Loss | 122–19–8 | UD | 15 | May 07, 1937 | For NBA and The Ring lightweight titles | ||
| 151 | Win | 121–18–8 | KO | 7 (10) | Apr 24, 1937 | |||
| 150 | Win | 120–18–8 | PTS | 8 | Apr 05, 1937 | |||
| 149 | Win | 119–18–8 | TKO | 7 (10) | Apr 05, 1937 | |||
| 148 | Loss | 118–18–8 | UD | 10 | Oct 05, 1936 | |||
| 147 | Loss | 118–17–8 | UD | 15 | Sep 03, 1936 | Lost NBA and The Ring lightweight titles | ||
| 146 | Win | 118–16–8 | UD | 10 | May 05, 1936 | |||
| 145 | Win | 117–16–8 | PTS | 10 | Apr 09, 1936 | |||
| 144 | Win | 116–16–8 | KO | 2 (8) | Mar 02, 1936 | |||
| 143 | Win | 115–16–8 | KO | 4 (10) | Feb 15, 1936 | |||
| 142 | Win | 114–16–8 | TKO | 3 (10) | Jan 30, 1936 | |||
| 141 | Win | 113–16–8 | TKO | 9 (10) | Jan 22, 1936 | |||
| 140 | Win | 112–16–8 | UD | 15 | Oct 04, 1935 | Retained NBA and The Ring lightweight titles | ||
| 139 | Win | 111–16–8 | UD | 10 | Sep 13, 1935 | |||
| 138 | Win | 110–16–8 | PTS | 10 | Aug 19, 1935 | |||
| 137 | Win | 109–16–8 | PTS | 10 | Jul 25, 1935 | |||
| 136 | Win | 108–16–8 | SD | 12 | Jun 10, 1935 | |||
| 135 | Win | 107–16–8 | UD | 15 | May 10, 1935 | Won vacant NBA and The Ring lightweight titles | ||
| 134 | Win | 106–16–8 | TKO | 7 (10) | May 25, 1935 | |||
| 133 | Win | 105–16–8 | UD | 10 | Mar 15, 1935 | |||
| 132 | Loss | 104–16–8 | PTS | 10 | Feb 26, 1935 | |||
| 131 | Win | 104–15–8 | UD | 10 | Jan 31, 1935 | |||
| 130 | Win | 103–15–8 | PTS | 10 | Jan 21, 1935 | |||
| 129 | Win | 102–15–8 | KO | 2 (10) | Jan 07, 1935 | |||
| 128 | Win | 101–15–8 | PTS | 10 | Sep 26, 1934 | |||
| 127 | Loss | 100–15–8 | PTS | 10 | Aug 29, 1934 | |||
| 126 | Win | 100–14–8 | TKO | 9 (10) | Jun 28, 1934 | |||
| 125 | Win | 99–14–8 | PTS | 10 | Mar 13, 1934 | |||
| 124 | Win | 98–14–8 | PTS | 12 | Mar 01, 1934 | |||
| 123 | Win | 97–14–8 | MD | 12 | Feb 02, 1934 | |||
| 122 | Win | 96–14–8 | UD | 10 | Dec 15, 1933 | |||
| 121 | Win | 95–14–8 | KO | 5 (10) | Dec 04, 1933 | |||
| 120 | Win | 94–14–8 | KO | 2 (10) | Nov 24, 1933 | |||
| 119 | Win | 93–14–8 | UD | 10 | Oct 28, 1933 | |||
| 118 | Loss | 92–14–8 | SD | 15 | Sep 12, 1933 | For NBA and The Ring lightweight titles For world light welterweight title | ||
| 117 | Loss | 92–13–8 | MD | 10 | Jun 23, 1933 | Lost NBA and The Ring lightweight titles Lost world light welterweight title | ||
| 116 | Win | 92–12–8 | UD | 10 | May 21, 1933 | Won world light welterweight title | ||
| 115 | Loss | 91–12–8 | PTS | 10 | Apr 20, 1933 | |||
| 114 | Win | 91–11–8 | PTS | 10 | Feb 23, 1933 | |||
| 113 | Win | 90–11–8 | KO | 1 (10) | Feb 03, 1933 | |||
| 112 | Win | 89–11–8 | UD | 15 | Nov 04, 1932 | Retained NBA and The Ring lightweight titles | ||
| 111 | Win | 88–11–8 | KO | 3 (10) | Oct 12, 1932 | |||
| 110 | Win | 87–11–8 | TKO | 3 (10) | Sep 29, 1932 | |||
| 109 | Loss | 86–11–8 | SD | 10 | Jul 18, 1932 | For NBA light welterweight title | ||
| 108 | Win | 86–10–8 | SD | 10 | Jun 16, 1932 | |||
| 107 | Win | 85–10–8 | PTS | 5 (10) | May 23, 1932 | |||
| 106 | Win | 84–10–8 | UD | 10 | Apr 04, 1932 | |||
| 105 | Win | 83–10–8 | UD | 10 | Feb 15, 1932 | |||
| 104 | Loss | 82–10–8 | UD | 10 | Jan 18, 1932 | Lost NBA light welterweight title | ||
| 103 | Win | 82–9–8 | SD | 15 | Nov 20, 1931 | Retained NBA and The Ring lightweight titles | ||
| 102 | Win | 81–9–8 | UD | 10 | Oct 29, 1931 | Retained NBA and The Ring light welterweight title | ||
| 101 | Win | 80–9–8 | UD | 15 | Sep 10, 1931 | Retained NBA and The Ring lightweight titles; Retained NBA and The Ring light welterweight title | ||
| 100 | Win | 79–9–8 | PTS | 10 | Jul 13, 1931 | Retained NBA and The Ring light welterweight titles | ||
| 99 | Win | 78–9–8 | PTS | 10 | Jun 25, 1931 | |||
| 98 | Win | 77–9–8 | KO | 3 (10) | Apr 24, 1931 | Retained NBA and The Ring lightweight titles Won NBA and The Ring light welterweight titles | ||
| 97 | Win | 76–9–8 | PTS | 10 | Mar 23, 1931 | |||
| 96 | Loss | 75–9–8 | UD | 10 | Mar 06, 1931 | |||
| 95 | Win | 75–8–8 | TKO | 1 (10) | Feb 25, 1931 | |||
| 94 | Win | N/A | NWS | 10 | Jan 26, 1931 | |||
| 93 | Win | 74–8–8 | KO | 1 (15) | Nov 14, 1930 | Won NBA and The Ring lightweight titles | ||
| 92 | Loss | 73–8–8 | PTS | 10 | Sep 11, 1930 | |||
| 91 | Win | 73–7–8 | PTS | 10 | Aug 28, 1930 | |||
| 90 | Win | 72–7–8 | UD | 10 | Jul 21, 1930 | |||
| 89 | Win | 71–7–8 | PTS | 10 | Jun 24, 1930 | |||
| 88 | Win | 70–7–8 | PTS | 10 | Jun 04, 1930 | |||
| 87 | Win | 69–7–8 | PTS | 10 | May 14, 1930 | |||
| 86 | Win | 68–7–8 | UD | 10 | May 05, 1930 | |||
| 85 | Win | 67–7–8 | TKO | 1 (10) | Apr 08, 1930 | |||
| 84 | Win | 66–7–8 | TKO | 7 (10) | Apr 01, 1930 | |||
| 83 | Win | 65–7–8 | UD | 10 | Mar 14, 1930 | |||
| 82 | Win | 64–7–8 | TKO | 1 (10) | Mar 04, 1930 | |||
| 81 | Loss | 63–7–8 | SD | 10 | Jan 17, 1930 | |||
| 80 | Win | 63–6–8 | UD | 10 | Oct 30, 1929 | |||
| 79 | Win | 62–6–8 | PTS | 10 | Oct 18, 1929 | |||
| 78 | Win | 61–6–8 | TKO | 8 (10) | Sep 27, 1929 | |||
| 77 | Win | 60–6–8 | PTS | 10 | Sep 20, 1929 | |||
| 76 | Loss | 59–6–8 | SD | 10 | Aug 02, 1929 | For NBA and The Ring lightweight titles | ||
| 75 | Win | 59–5–8 | PTS | 10 | Jul 09, 1929 | |||
| 74 | Win | 58–5–8 | PTS | 10 | Jun 04, 1929 | |||
| 73 | Win | 57–5–8 | UD | 10 | May 10, 1929 | |||
| 72 | Win | 56–5–8 | PTS | 10 | Apr 26, 1929 | |||
| 71 | Win | N/A | NWS | 10 | Apr 09, 1929 | |||
| 70 | Win | 55–5–8 | PTS | 10 | Mar 08, 1929 | |||
| 69 | Win | 54–5–8 | UD | 10 | Feb 26, 1929 | |||
| 68 | Win | 53–5–8 | TKO | 7 (10) | Feb 06, 1929 | |||
| 67 | Win | 52–5–8 | KO | 5 (10) | Jan 18, 1929 | |||
| 66 | Draw | 51–5–8 | MD | 10 | Dec 14, 1929 | |||
| 65 | Win | 51–5–7 | KO | 6 (10) | Dec 08, 1928 | |||
| 64 | Win | 50–5–7 | PTS | 10 | Oct 29, 1928 | |||
| 63 | Loss | 49–5–7 | SD | 15 | Sep 28, 1928 | Lost NBA, NYSAC and The Ring featherweight titles | ||
| 62 | Win | 49–4–7 | KO | 1 (10) | Aug 28, 1928 | |||
| 61 | Loss | 48–4–7 | PTS | 10 | Jun 27, 1928 | |||
| 60 | Win | 48–3–7 | PTS | 10 | Jun 13, 1928 | |||
| 59 | Win | 47–3–7 | TKO | 1 (10) | May 28, 1928 | |||
| 58 | Win | 46–3–7 | PTS | 4 | Feb 23, 1928 | |||
| 57 | Win | 45–3–7 | SD | 15 | Feb 10, 1928 | Retained NYSAC featherweight title; Won NBA and The Ring featherweight titles | ||
| 56 | Draw | 44–3–7 | SD | 10 | Jan 30, 1928 | |||
| 55 | Win | 44–3–6 | UD | 10 | Dec 30, 1927 | |||
| 54 | Win | 43–3–6 | UD | 10 | Dec 01, 1927 | |||
| 53 | Win | 42–3–6 | TKO | 1 (4) | Nov 22, 1927 | |||
| 52 | Win | 41–3–6 | KO | 2 (10) | Nov 07, 1927 | |||
| 51 | Win | 40–3–6 | UD | 15 | Oct 24, 1927 | Won vacant NYSAC featherweight title | ||
| 50 | Win | 39–3–6 | PTS | 10 | Oct 03, 1927 | |||
| 49 | Loss | 38–3–6 | DQ | 3 (10) | Sep 02, 1927 | |||
| 48 | Win | N/A | NWS | 10 | Aug 25, 1927 | |||
| 47 | Win | 38–2–6 | KO | 1 (10) | Aug 17, 1927 | |||
| 46 | Win | 37–2–6 | PTS | 10 | Aug 09, 1927 | |||
| 45 | Win | 36–2–6 | PTS | 10 | Jul 27, 1927 | |||
| 44 | Loss | 35–2–6 | UD | 10 | Jun 24, 1927 | For NBA bantamweight title | ||
| 43 | Win | 35–1–6 | TKO | 7 (10) | May 03, 1927 | |||
| 42 | Win | 34–1–6 | TKO | 3 (10) | Apr 24, 1927 | |||
| 41 | Draw | 33–1–6 | PTS | 10 | Apr 18, 1927 | |||
| 40 | Draw | 33–1–5 | PTS | 10 | Mar 26, 1927 | For vacant NBA bantamweight title | ||
| 39 | Win | 33–1–4 | PTS | 10 | Mar 07, 1927 | |||
| 38 | Win | 32–1–4 | PTS | 8 | Feb 04, 1927 | |||
| 37 | Win | 31–1–4 | PTS | 10 | Jan 22, 1927 | |||
| 36 | Draw | 30–1–4 | PTS | 10 | Jan 12, 1927 | |||
| 35 | Win | 30–1–3 | PTS | 10 | Dec 17, 1926 | |||
| 34 | Win | 29–1–3 | PTS | 12 | Nov 22, 1926 | |||
| 33 | Win | 28–1–3 | TKO | 5 (10) | Nov 13, 1926 | |||
| 32 | Loss | 27–1–3 | PTS | 10 | Nov 06, 1926 | |||
| 31 | Win | 27–0–3 | PTS | 6 | Oct 05, 1926 | |||
| 30 | Win | 26–0–3 | PTS | 6 | Sep 20, 1926 | |||
| 29 | Draw | 25–0–3 | PTS | 6 | Aug 28, 1926 | |||
| 28 | Win | 25–0–2 | PTS | 6 | Aug 14, 1926 | |||
| 27 | Win | 24–0–2 | PTS | 6 | Aug 09, 1926 | |||
| 26 | Win | 23–0–2 | KO | 5 (6) | Jul 26, 1926 | |||
| 25 | Win | 22–0–2 | TKO | 5 (6) | Jun 25, 1926 | |||
| 24 | Win | 21–0–2 | PTS | 6 | Jun 21, 1926 | |||
| 23 | Win | 20–0–2 | PTS | 6 | Jun 16, 1926 | |||
| 22 | Win | 19–0–2 | TKO | 5 (6) | May 28, 1926 | |||
| 21 | Draw | 18–0–2 | PTS | 6 | May 08, 1926 | |||
| 20 | Draw | 18–0–1 | PTS | 4 | Mar 25, 1926 | |||
| 19 | Win | 18–0 | PTS | 6 | Mar 20, 1926 | |||
| 18 | Win | 17–0 | PTS | 4 | Mar 11, 1926 | |||
| 17 | Win | 16–0 | PTS | 6 | Mar 06, 1926 | |||
| 16 | Win | 15–0 | PTS | 4 | Feb 18, 1926 | |||
| 15 | Win | 14–0 | PTS | 6 | Feb 13, 1926 | |||
| 14 | Win | 13–0 | PTS | 4 | Jan 26, 1926 | |||
| 13 | Win | 12–0 | PTS | 4 | Jan 21, 1926 | |||
| 12 | Win | 11–0 | TKO | 4 (6) | Jan 13, 1926 | |||
| 11 | Win | 10–0 | KO | 4 (4) | Dec 23, 1925 | |||
| 10 | Win | 9–0 | PTS | 6 | Dec 07, 1925 | |||
| 9 | Win | 8–0 | PTS | 4 | Nov 26, 1925 | |||
| 8 | Win | 7–0 | PTS | 4 | Nov 12, 1925 | |||
| 7 | Win | 6–0 | KO | 1 (6) | Nov 07, 1925 | |||
| 6 | Win | 5–0 | PTS | 6 | Oct 10, 1925 | |||
| 5 | Win | 4–0 | KO | 5 (6) | Sep 12, 1925 | |||
| 4 | Win | 3–0 | PTS | 6 | Aug 22, 1925 | |||
| 3 | Win | 2–0 | PTS | 6 | Aug 08, 1925 | |||
| 2 | Win | N/A | NWS | 4 | Aug 05, 1925 | |||
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | KO | 1 (4) | Jul 24, 1925 | |||
See also
- Lineal championship
- List of lightweight boxing champions
- List of The Ring world champions
- List of boxing triple champions
References
- http://www.nypl.org/branch/staten/index2.cfm?Trg=1&d1=1391 Staten Island on the Web: Famous Staten Islanders
- "Tony Canzoneri - Lineal Junior Welterweight Champion". The Cyber Boxing Zone Encyclopedia.
External links
- Boxing record for Tony Canzoneri from BoxRec
- https://boxrec.com/media/index.php/National_Boxing_Association%27s_Quarterly_Ratings:_1929
- https://boxrec.com/media/index.php/National_Boxing_Association%27s_Quarterly_Ratings:_1930
- https://boxrec.com/media/index.php/National_Boxing_Association%27s_Quarterly_Ratings:_1931
- https://boxrec.com/media/index.php/National_Boxing_Association%27s_Quarterly_Ratings:_1932
- https://boxrec.com/media/index.php/National_Boxing_Association%27s_Quarterly_Ratings:_1935
- https://boxrec.com/media/index.php/National_Boxing_Association%27s_Quarterly_Ratings:_1936
- https://boxrec.com/media/index.php/The_Ring_Magazine%27s_Annual_Ratings:_Featherweight--1920s
- https://boxrec.com/media/index.php/The_Ring_Magazine%27s_Annual_Ratings:_Lightweight--1920s
- https://boxrec.com/media/index.php/The_Ring_Magazine%27s_Annual_Ratings:_Lightweight--1930s
- https://boxrec.com/media/index.php/NBA_World_Light_Welterweight_Title_Fights
- Tony Canzoneri at Find a Grave
- Biography at boxingbiographies.co.uk
- Tony Canzoneri - CBZ profile
| Achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Louis (Kid) Kaplan Vacated |
World Featherweight Champion February 10, 1928 – September 28, 1928 |
Succeeded by Andre Routis |
| Preceded by Al Singer |
World Lightweight Champion November 14, 1930 – June 23, 1933 |
Succeeded by Barney Ross |
| Preceded by Jackie (Kid) Berg |
World Light Welterweight Champion April 24, 1931 – January 18, 1932 |
Succeeded by Johnny Jadick |
| Preceded by Battling Shaw |
World Light Welterweight Champion May 21, 1933 – June 23, 1933 |
Succeeded by Barney Ross |
| Preceded by Barney Ross Vacated |
The Ring Lightweight Champion May 10, 1935 – September 3, 1936 |
Succeeded by Lou Ambers |
| World Lightweight Champion May 10, 1935 – September 3, 1936 | ||
