Max Baer -vs- Tony “Two Ton” Galento | All Rounds w/Interview

Max Baer -vs- Tony “Two Ton” Galento

(All Rounds w/post-fight Interview)

Roosevelt Stadium, New Jersey

July 2, 1940

16mm Sound Transfer 

This is an update to a previous post.

The Fight

The Max Baer vs Tony Galento fight film is a classic document of pre-war Sports Americana.  In 1940, Max Baer and Tony Galento, the two most colorful boxers of their day, met for a title elimination showdown in Jersey City.  It was a titanic slugfest.  The fight began even before the opening bell as Galento threatened Baer during the referee’s instructions. The two went right to work in the first round, with Galento on the attack. By round 3 however, Baer was taking control, fighting in flurries, in between clowning and taunting the relentless Galento.  After 7 rounds of bruising action, Galento collapses in his corner and cannot answer the bell for the 8^th.  It was Baer’s last victory.

The Movie

The film is noteworthy for several reasons.  The fight was among the best filmed bouts of the day.  It was also among the first fight films produced as the interstate traffic of boxing films was lifted.  For the first time since 1910, boxing films could be distributed across state lines and shown across the country.  As a result, fight films became feature productions in theatres, rather than simply newsreels.  In the decade prior to the television boom, movie audiences were treated to complete fight pictures only days after the event.

The Film

This footage in this video is taken from three sources and shows all rounds of the fight.  The opening potion is from a VHS copy that suffers from generation loss.  Despite the lack of quality, I thought it was important to show the ring intros and referee’s instructions, as it includes Galento’s trash talk and threat to get “twice as rough” as Baer, as if Tony ever needed an excuse.  The remaining (and superior) source footage begins after the opening bell, and is taken from an extended 16mm print, with Round 3 taken from the Castle Films highlight.  The final minute includes the famous “after-battle” interview with Max Baer, Lou Costello and Joe Louis.

Tony Galento -vs- Lou Nova 9/15/39

Tony “Two-Ton” Galento -vs- Lou Nova

Municipal Stadium, Philadelphia

September 15, 1939

Restored NBC Radio Broadcast

1 Hour 10 Minutes

Two years into Joe Louis reign as heavyweight Champion in 1939, there were a series of title elimination fights among the top contenders including Max Baer, Tony Galento and Lou Nova.  The Baer-Nova and Baer-Galento fights survive on film, but Tony Galento’s upset against Lou Nova has not been shown in public since the 1940s.  Nova was the rising star of the division, and having defeated Baer several months earlier, Nova was expected to beat Galento for a title shot at Louis.

The Fight

Recently described in an excellent article by Clarence George on boxing.com, The Galento-Nova fight quickly became a streetfight, with fouling, wrestling and the two fighters tumbling together to the canvas several times during the fight.  Galento thumbed Nova early in the fight and in addition to suffering an eye cut, Nova never gained the upper hand.  Ring Magazine described the fight as “discraceful”, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t exciting.

The Broadcast

A representative at ESPN told me that a film clip of the fight survives, but the footage remains elusive.   However, several years ago I purchased a number of old radio broadcast tapes, and when I looked through them recently I discovered this recording of the Galento-Nova fight.  The NBC live broadcast is hosted by Bill Stern, and runs over an hour, including prefight ring intros, trash talk during the refs instructions, and the 14 round blow by blow fight call by Ben Taub. An elated Galento and disappointed Nova are briefly interviewed in the postfight.  The controversy over the fight apparently came in the newspaper reports later.  The radio call made by Stern and Taub is exciting to hear, but they raise no questions about the action itself.

The Restoration

The tape cuts in several spots, but no more than a minute appears to be missing.  The broadcast is otherwise complete.  The audio suffered from generation loss, hiss and lack of low end.  I transferred the analog tape to a digital file.  With several editing tools I was able to bring some clarity back to the sound and reduce the noise level.  It was a pleasure bringing this fight brought back to life.

I have added period images and several photos of the fight for the video portion.  Otherwise, grab a beer, turn the lights down and enjoy the fight!

Max Baer | Rare Training Footage 1934

Max Baer | Rare Training Footage

King Levinsky Exhibition prefight 1934

16mm Sound Transfer

The New Champion

Max Baer was one of the most colorful and exciting of the heavyweight Champions.  The fact that he did not hold the title very long, and lost it out of recklessness to Jim Braddock in 1935 did not darken his legacy as a boxer and personality.  Much has been written about Baer’s lack of training, particularly after he lost the title, but I question this notion.  It’s certainly true that Baer was a gifted athlete, and his discipline only went so far, but for Max boxing was a means to an end.  A fighter with no training discipline would not have won the fights he did again fellow contenders like Tommy Farr, Tony Galento, Pat Comisky, Ben Foord and others until he retired in 1941.

Max Baer & Tony Galento Prefight Newsreel 1940

Max Baer & Tony Galento Prefight Newsreel 1940

“The Tender Hearted Tiger” (Excerpt)

Documentary 1964

The Film

The 1964 documentary “The Tender Hearted Tiger” profiled the life of Heavyweight Champion 1934-35 Max Baer.  Fight footage, still photographs and interviews with family and friends are shown.  This excerpt of the film is a rare prefight promotional newsreel of Max Baer trash talking with Tony Galento before their fight in 1940.

Max Baer -vs- Tony “Two Ton” Galento 1940

Castle Films, Fight Thrills II, 16mm Sound

The Fight
The Max Baer vs Tony Galento fight is a classic document of pre-war Americana. In 1940, Max Baer and Tony Galento, the two most colorful boxers of their day, met for a title elimination showdown in Jersey City. It was a titanic slugfest. The fight began even before the opening bell as Galento threatened Baer during the referee’s instructions. The two went right to work in the first round, with Galento on the attack. By round 5, Baer is in full showbiz mode - fighting in flurries, while clowning and then trash talking Galento. After 7 rounds of bruising action, Baer is victorious when Galento cannot answer the bell for round 8. This was Max Baer's last victory.

The Movie
The film is noteworthy for several reasons. The fight was among the best filmed fights of the day. It was also among the first fight films produced as the interstate traffic of boxing films was lifted. For the first time since 1910, boxing films could be distributed across state lines and shown across the country. As a result, fight films became feature film productions, rather than simply newsreels.

The Video
This highlight of the Baer-Galento fight is taken from the Castle Films Fight Thrills series, and is a very clean 16mm print.

Primo Carnera vs Ernie Schaaf 1932

(1.) Official Films, circa 1940, 16mm silent 100’
(2.) Speed and Picture Restoration

The Fight
On February 10, 1933 at Madison Square Garden in New York, heavyweight boxer Ernie Schaaf fought 13 competitive rounds with contender Primo Carnera. Suddenly, after taking a straight left to the forehead, Schaaf collapsed and never recovered. He died two days later. It’s believed that Schaaf was critically ill when he entered the ring that night. He had been knocked out by Max Baer the year before in a savage fight, and appeared never to recover.

The tragedy played out before the cameras. Schaaf was knocked down by Primo in the 13th round. You can practically see the light going out of Schaaf’s eyes as he sinks to the canvas. Schaaf’s manager, Jack Sharkey (Then reigning heavyweight champion) drags Schaaf back to his corner. Unable to regain consciousness, Schaaf is carried like a fallen solder from the ring. Later the following year, Jack Sharkey went on to fight Carnera in a title match. Sharkey was knocked out in six rounds in what was suspected as a fake, and Carnera became champion. Many believe that Carnera’s mob connections pressured or paid Sharkey to thrown the fight. Sharkey had previously defeated Carnera in 1931.

The Movie
The fight was filmed, but the cameras ran at silent speed (16fps) to conserve film stock. This was common with most fight films made during the Depression and War years. As a result, when projected a standard speed, the action appears so fast it’s hard to view the action in detail. Carnera was a genuine athlete and very agile for a man of his size, which he used to great advantage over his smaller opponents. It’s also clear in the early rounds what a skilled fighter Schaaf was. He had great moves and despite his frustration getting on the inside with Carnera, he tagged Primo with counterpunches and overhands.

The Video
I own three 16mm film versions of this fight – Monarchs of The Ring, Official Film short, and an Extended Edition showing most of the fight with narration. This is the complete Official Films Short subject version. The print was in great condition, with no splices and the sharpest picture I’ve seen. The contrast is high, but there’s still plenty of detail. There are no major scratches and once cleaned, the film transferred with no trouble. In this clip, I’ve adjusted the film speed to show the fight at original time.