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The legendary Joe Louis was one of the greatest fighters who ever lived. He defended his heavyweight championship 25 times from 1937-1949, and won 66 of 69 fights with 52 knockouts.<\/p>\n
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A little-known fact is that Louis fought three heavyweight contenders who, after their careers had ended, co-starred in the 1953 classic film, \u201cOn the Waterfront.”<\/p>\n
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Spotted backing up waterfront crime boss Johnny Friendly (played by Lee J. Cobb) are former heavyweight contenders, \u201cTwo Ton\u201d Tony Galento, Abe Simon,\u00a0and Tami Maureillo.<\/p>\n
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Directed by Elia Kazan and starring Marlon Brando, the film is one of the greatest Hollywood films ever produced. Ex-boxer Terry Malloy (Brando) is an average Joe who works the New Jersey docks for corrupt crime boss Friendly. Friendly bullies Terry, insulting his intelligence and humiliating him in front of his cronies.<\/p>\n
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Terry takes the abuse until he unknowingly helps set up a fellow dockworker\u2019s death and\u00a0suffers from guilt and resentment. Terry finds solace and love with Edie (Eva Marie Saint) and his conscience from Father Barry (Karl Malden). He eventually discovers the moral courage to face Friendly and his goons,\u00a0and the consequences that follow.<\/p>\n
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Brando, who won the 1954 Academy Award for Best Actor, delivers a riveting performance. He\u2019s a man torn by feelings of survival, loyalty to his brother, and what\u2019s right and wrong.<\/p>\n
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Messrs. Galento, Simon, and Maureillo have quite a bit of screen time. Chomping down on a cigar, Galento glares and grunts throughout the film. The six-foot-four-inch Simon, with a face only a mother could love, uses his bulk to intimidate.<\/p>\n
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Maureillo, as Tillio, bullies and laughs at the misfortune of others. It\u2019s quite enjoyable when Terry, repulsed by the corruption surrounding him, sends the mouthy Tillio flying with a crisp combination.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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The three former fighters acquit themselves well in the film. It doesn\u2019t feel like much of a leap to think that during a break in filming, they might have discussed facing Louis in the ring.<\/p>\n
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Galento fought Louis in 1939 and almost pulled off the biggest upset in boxing history. Louis had just turned 25 and was in the prime of his career. He had won the heavyweight championship two years before by knocking out \u201cThe Cinderella Man,\u201d James J. Braddock. Louis was coming off two first-round knockouts over light heavyweight champion John Henry Lewis (a close friend) and Jack Roper.<\/p>\n
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Many expected Galento to go the same route.<\/p>\n
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The portly Galento, who owned a tavern in Jersey, stood 5\u20198\u201d and weighed 233 pounds. Galento had engaged in over 100 fights, winning 76 of them, with 54 knockouts. \u201cTwo Ton\u201d could crack. His left was powerful. His mouth was colorful. Galento called every boxer he ever fought a bum.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Even Louis.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI\u2019ll moider da bum,\u201d he told the press days before the fight.<\/p>\n
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Galento badgered Louis with nightly phone calls.<\/p>\n
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Louis didn\u2019t like it. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\u201cHe had been so bad in calling me all kinds of names and things,\u201d said Louis years later on the television program,\u00a0The Way It Was. \u201cHe called me everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Louis wanted to punish the mouthy Galento, but a minute into the fight, he was the one staggered by a leaping left hook (Galento called the blow his “beer punch”). Louis recovered and by the end of the round, was tattooing Galento\u2019s noggin with sharp combinations. Louis spent most of the next stanza butchering Galento\u2019s face with various hooks.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Galento continued to throw his left hook, but was paying a bloody price.<\/p>\n
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Near the end of round two, Louis drew more blood with jabs, then stepped back and let fly with a right from hell. The blow connected perfectly, knocking the sense out of Galento. A follow-up left hook floored Galento for the first time in his career. He got up quickly, his mouth agape, beckoning Louis.<\/p>\n
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Round three was more of the same. Galento\u2019s face was a mess, but still he found the strength to clobber Louis with an inside hook that toppled the champion. Louis was up before the count of one, his face impassive. He went back to pounding Galento from pillar to post. Galento was no more than a punching bag, but he made it through the round.<\/p>\n
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Though he still wanted to carry Galento, to make him pay for all the insults he had endured, Louis decided enough was enough.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIf I hadn\u2019t gotten knocked down in the third round,\u201d Louis said.\u00a0\u201cthe\u00a0fight would have gone\u00a0ten\u00a0rounds.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Louis wasted no time strafing Galento\u2019s face with punches. His bleeding pulp of an opponent was being held up by courage alone. Louis showed no mercy. His jab was his range\u00a0finder. A vicious right staggered Galento\u2014causing him to\u00a0sag. Louis\u00a0stepped\u00a0in and unleashed a barrage of punches,\u00a013 in total, until Galento fell\u00a0into the ropes. The referee threw his arms around Galento, like a mother would a child,\u00a0stopping the fight.\u00a0Louis calmly walked back to his corner.<\/p>\n
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Two years later, Louis, fighting in his hometown of Detroit, MI, met the hulking Abe Simon, who had knocked out future heavyweight champion Jersey Joe Walcott in 1940.<\/p>\n
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On fight night, heavy underdog Simon (34-7, 23 KOs) outweighed Louis by over 50 pounds. Despite being knocked down four times, Simon, showing great courage, lasted till round 13. His valor earned him a rematch with Louis a year later.<\/p>\n
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Louis made quicker work of Simon in fight number two.\u00a0\u00a0Simon was floored and saved by the bell in rounds two and five. Louis knocked him\u00a0out in the next stanza. After the fight, Simon retired, while Louis joined the\u00a0U.S.Army.<\/p>\n
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After his\u00a0service\u00a0stint, Louis returned to the ring wars in 1946. He knocked out Billy Conn in a disappointing rematch of their sensational 1941 battle. Louis might have slowed down, but he could still punch.<\/p>\n
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A few months after the Conn affair, Louis met top 10 contender and Frank Sinatra\u2019s favorite, Tami Maurierllo, who entered Yankee Stadium with a record of 69 wins and seven losses, with 51 knockouts. Mauriello had swapped hands with fellow contenders Jimmy Bivins, Lou Nova, and Steve Belloise, and lost in a bid to win the light heavyweight title when he was 17.<\/p>\n
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He wasn\u2019t scared of Louis-as he proved in the opening seconds of the fight. Mauriello let fly with his money punch, his right, which clipped Louis\u2014sending the champion reeling to the ropes. Louis, more surprised than hurt, gathered himself and tore into Mauriello.<\/p>\n
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A flurry of combinations deposited Mauriello on the canvas. He got up at nine, gazed at Louis, and fought his heart out, trading shots until a vicious Louis left hook sent him down permanently.<\/p>\n
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“I thought I had him,” Mauriello lamented in an AP article written by Gayle Talbot a day after the fight. \u201cI thought I had him, and I grew careless.”<\/p>\n
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Mauriello, a tavern owner like Galento, fought three more years. Louis retired in 1948, returned, and finally said goodbye after being knocked senseless by the younger future-champion, Rocky Marciano.<\/p>\n
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It\u2019s fun to watch Galento, Simon, and Mauriello sharing the screen with such acting legends as Brando and Steiger. I would bet they enjoyed\u00a0the\u00a0experience\u00a0more than the pain Louis inflicted on them in the ring.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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