Al Certo?

[mickey malone]

Listed as a Suit Maker and Boxing Trainer

I remember him as the guy yelling, 'You C*cksucker' to Andrew Golota as he force fed him his gumshield, when the big Pole quit vs Tyson..

Certo is noted as having trained, Buddy McGirt, Mustafa Hamsho, and the Viruet brothers, Edwin & Adolpho..

I believe he may have also been connected elsewhere?
Is he still alive?

Such a funny guy!

[joseph5620]

Listed as a Suit Maker and Boxing Trainer

I remember him as the guy yelling, 'You C*cksucker' to Andrew Golota as he force fed him his gumshield, when the big Pole quit vs Tyson..

Certo is noted as having trained, Buddy McGirt, Mustafa Hamsho, and the Viruet brothers, Edwin & Adolpho..

I believe he may have also been connected elsewhere?
Is he still alive?

Such a funny guy!

He was very funny. I will never forget how he tried to shove the mouthpiece in Andrew Golota's mouth when Golota was quitting in the tyson fight.

Also, his rant in Buddy McGirt's corner during the Pernell Whitaker rematch was very funny.

[hhascup]

I know Al Certo very well and he is still a live and doing well!

[Anthony342]

So is Al still training boxers? The things I remember about him is a quote he gave during a Marciano bio saying Rocky was a great fighter, very tough, never gave up something like that and when he was yelling at Golota saying stuff like "you're letting down your fans, get back in there, you c#$@sucker, ya f&*k ya!" love him, he rules. I remember on Legendary Nights for Bowe/Golota him saying he was trying to shove Golota's mouthpiece back in against Tyson and saying "I shoulda shoved it up his ass" haha.

[Ray Corso]

Al was an od school trainer when old school was still new school!!!

I know he wanted to kill Golata for punking out on him, without "pride" your doomed once you step up in competition. Al did a geat job with the Viruet bros too and they were very popular fighters at that time!
I met Al at the same time I met Al Shevlan sp) and Eddie Aliano (cutman/cornerman) when espn started their boxing tv shows in Jersey!
All of those men were helpfull boxing people and had no ego's interupting their agenda's! Certo, Aliano, Shevlan, Benton etc all the east coast trainers had the best gym work back then and plenty of shows to develop young fighers!
To me the 50' and 60's and the first part of the 70's were excellant era's for boxing! Ray.


Certo had a great clothing shop and quality tailors too!

[hhascup]

Al was an od school trainer when old school was still new school!!!

I know he wanted to kill Golata for punking out on him, without "pride" your doomed once you step up in competition. Al did a geat job with the Viruet bros too and they were very popular fighters at that time!
I met Al at the same time I met Al Shevlan sp) and Eddie Aliano (cutman/cornerman) when espn started their boxing tv shows in Jersey!
All of those men were helpfull boxing people and had no ego's interupting their agenda's! Certo, Aliano, Shevlan, Benton etc all the east coast trainers had the best gym work back then and plenty of shows to develop young fighers!
To me the 50' and 60's and the first part of the 70's were excellant era's for boxing! Ray.


Certo had a great clothing shop and quality tailors too!

He worked the corner of a Club fighter by the name of David Roman Curiel (contenders Freddie Curiel's brother) in PA last year and I was the Ring Announcer. I was in my car just waiting to go in when he was walking past with some other boxing people and he spotted me, and we talked for a while. He told me that he moved back from PA to Secaucus, N.J. and that is where he had his tailor shop. When he got into the ring I introduced him to the crowd.

[mickey malone]

Thank you gentlemen, especially Henry & Ray..
Had a feeling you guys might know a bit about this character.

The Golota scenario had me in stitches..

[ShoulderRoll]

Who did Al learn to be a trainer from? Was he a former boxer?

[mickey malone]

Who did Al learn to be a trainer from? Was he a former boxer?

Good question, Taylor/Boxing Trainer, leaves a lot to the imagination and I'd like to know too..
I've Googled him under Alfred Felix Certissimo (his real name) and found an article from a paper calling itself, The Riverview Observer (will copy & paste) reporting he won Golden Gloves in 1953 and turned pro in 1956..
There's some more stuff about him being brought into the world by Molly Sinatra, the mother of Frank, who was a neighbour and midwife at the time.. Speaking of which, there's some other stuff, about him being involved with the mob... Boxing Trainer/Suit Maker...... Never!!

[mickey malone]

Good question, Taylor/Boxing Trainer, leaves a lot to the imagination and I'd like to know too..
I've Googled him under Alfred Felix Certissimo (his real name) and found an article from a paper calling itself, The Riverview Observer (will copy & paste) reporting he won Golden Gloves in 1953 and turned pro in 1956..
There's some more stuff about him being brought into the world by Molly Sinatra, the mother of Frank, who was a neighbour and midwife at the time.. Speaking of which, there's some other stuff, about him being involved with the mob... Boxing Trainer/Suit Maker...... Never!!

“I got to be very close to Ali,” Certo says. “He came walking in; I got all the pictures of the fighters on the wall and he says, ‘where’s all the black fighters?’ We hit it off good. Ali had a 34 waist and a chest like, I would say 50-52.”

Back in the day, Certo built a good reputation as a boxer, won the Golden Gloves in 1953 and turned pro in ’56. He owned a gym on Washington Street in Hoboken during those years, too, but there came a time when Certo had to flip a coin and make a career-decision.

“What do I do, let this thing go and devote full time to the boxing? “ Certo says, describing how he chose tailoring over boxing. Pointing to the 8 x 10 framed photographs that line the top edge of the walls, he says: “There’s a billion dollars-worth of talent on that wall.”

He’s right. Black and white photos of the biggest legends in the boxing world like Ali, Joe Louis, Jake LaMotta, Jack Dempsey, Chuck Wepner, Jersey Joe Wolcott and Rocky Graziano are hung next to superstars like a young Frank Sinatra, who Certo dressed in his custom-made suits. Sinatra had a 29-inch waist at the time, Certo says. There’s also a picture of Martin Scorcese, Joe Pesche, Ray Liotta and Rober DeNiro who visited Al while filming “Goodfellas”.

“DeNiro was doing research on his role as Jake LaMotta in ‘Raging Bull’ and he knew I was a fighter and fight promoter and wanted to ask me questions,” Certo says.

Certo is featured in several books including a popular new release “The Boss Always Sits in the Back” by Jon D’Amore who is a former Secaucus resident now residing in Hollywood. Friends since the 1980s, whenever D’Amore comes to the area for book signings, he hooks up with Certo.

“Since back in the late 1970s when I was 14 years old I’ve credited Al Certo with being one of the people responsible for my successful career as a musician that lasted until I retired from it in 1985,” D’Amore says. “He booked my first group, The Mixed Expressions, made up of 6 high school teens from Secaucus and Weehawken, for our very first paying job at The Plaza Arena. Al and I have stayed friends ever since and it’s been an honor to know him. Even now that I live in Hollywood, whenever I come back to New Jersey or New York City I always make it a point to stop by Al’s shop and have a cup of coffee.”

Although he built his custom-tailoring business in Secaucus, Certo’s a Hoboken guy who remembers “when rents were $5 or $6 a month”. He grew up on Monroe Street a block from the Sinatra family and it was Sinatra’s mother Dolly who supplemented her income as a midwife and brought Certo into the world. His father, Al, a trombone player and mother Nettie raised 12 kids – Certo was a middle-child — and when Certo was big enough, he worked as a shoeshine boy near the Hoboken docks that lined the Hudson. In his early 20s, he married Lee Bernacci; they are together 64 years.

“I never wanted to be a fighter. I wanted to be a dancer,” Certo says. “I was a good dancer with my sister Joanne. Once, we were at a dance in Hoboken and the whole dance floor got off and watched us dance. We were great.”

Dreams of dancing like his idols Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire are now stored away along with memories of his days as a pro boxer, Light on his feet and in good shape, Certo looks like he still could wow ‘em on the dance floor – an observation that he brushes away like a puff of lint on a lightweight wool.

Still can't find his record (resume) ??????