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Great story. As much boxing as I've read I've never heard it before.
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ACTUALL....
The account of this story I heard for many years was that Dempsey with one right hand took Galento out cold. Lou Stillman to his last day said it was the hardest single blow he ever saw.Comment
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Gruff, strict and taciturn, the legendary and brilliant Lou Stillman ran his famous New York boxing gym with a rod of iron. Like Ray Arcel, Lou could be shy and guarded in giving his opinion of different fighters. One has to remember that such special men – along with the likes of Angelo Dundee, Manny Steward, Buddy McGirt and Teddy Atlas today – are constantly quizzed on which fighter they think was the best. They are so wary of getting into endless arguments on the subject. Many fans don’t react kindly when a trainer’s verdict doesn’t happen to dovetail with their own.
Stillman saw thousands of fighters over a great span of years: champions, contenders, preliminary boys, ordinary men just working out. But one day Stillman saw one thing he never forgot. It was the angry punch with which the retired Dempsey knocked out Tony Galento in a sparring session. The sight and sound of that mighty blow being driven home was hard for even Stillman to believe. Right to the end, Lou maintained that it was the hardest shot he had ever seen and that Dempsey was the greatest heavyweight.
Ray Arcel was also a witness to the chilling incident and recalled that the punch nearly decapitated Galento.Comment
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The story about the Dempsey-Galento sparring session back in 1934 has been told over and over again. And each time it of course gets a little better, until we now have adoring Dempsey fans believing, that after Galento talked s*** to him, the old champ climbed through the ropes and flattened Tony with one mighty blow!
As always, with these old stories, we need to take stuff like this with a pinch of salt.
Contemporary reports have no account of Galento being floored, let alone knocked out... but simply describe how Dempsey tried to show his protege how it should be done.
The Evening Independent - 2 Aug 1934:
https://news.google.co.uk/newspapers...+galento&hl=en
San Jose News - 31 Jul 1934:
https://news.google.co.uk/newspapers...+galento&hl=enLast edited by Bundana; 10-07-2018, 10:43 PM.Comment
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