Middleweight · Golden Age (1920–1959)
Tony Zale
"Man of Steel"
67
Wins
18
Losses
2
Draws
45
KOs
67%
KO %
- Born
- 1913
- Died
- 1997
- Nationality
- USA
- Career
- 1934–1948
A body-punching steelworker remembered for his savage trilogy with Rocky Graziano.
Titles & Honours
- World Middleweight Champion (1941–1947, 1948)
Career Timeline
1934–1948- Milestone
First recorded professional bout
vs Eddie Allen · W PTS
- Milestone
25th recorded win
vs Henry Schaft · PTS. Newspaper decisions excluded.
- Signature fight
vs Fred Apostoli
W PTS · Civic Auditorium , Seattle, Washington, U.S.. Archive selection: one of the first three wins over distinct fighters profiled here, not an expert-selected signature fight.
- Title history
Title reign begins
World Middleweight Champion (1941–1947, 1948). Year from profile title history; exact title-winning bout not identified.
- Milestone
50th recorded win
vs Billy Pryor · KO. Newspaper decisions excluded.
- Signature fight
vs Rocky Graziano
W KO · Yankee Stadium , New York City, New York, U.S.. Archive selection: one of the first three wins over distinct fighters profiled here, not an expert-selected signature fight.
- Milestone
Latest recorded bout
vs Marcel Cerdan · L RTD. Not necessarily the retirement date.
Derived from the current archive and profile honours. Title-reign years are not exact bout dates; title claims are not independently verified. Signature fights use existing profile selections, or clearly labelled wins over other archived fighters when no selections exist. Year-only dates retain their original precision.
Photo Archive
3 archival photographs under their original licences.
Fight-by-Fight Record
| Date | Result | Opponent | Method | Round | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1934-06-11 | W | Eddie Allen | PTS | 4 | Marigold Gardens Outdoor Arena, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| 1934-06-15 | W | Johnny Simpson | PTS | 4 | Northwest Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| 1934-06-21 | W | Bobby Millsap | KO | 1 | Bacon's Arena, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| 1934-06-25 | W | Johnny Liston | KO | 3 | White City Arena, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| 1934-07-02 | W | Ossie Jefferson | KO | 3 | White City Arena, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| 1934-07-09 | W | Lou Bartell | PTS | 4 | White City Arena, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| 1934-07-16 | W | Einar Hedquist | TKO | 4 | White City Arena, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| 1934-07-30 | W | Bobby Millsap | PTS | 4 | White City Arena, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| 1934-08-07 | W | Bruce Wade | KO | 3 | Peoria, Illinois, U.S. |
| 1934-08-13 | L | Billy Hood | PTS | 6 | White City Arena, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| 1934-08-15 | L | George Black | PTS | 6 | Auditorium, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| 1934-08-27 | W | Wilbur Stokes | PTS | 8 | White City Arena, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| 1934-09-03 | L | Mickey Misko | PTS | 8 | White City Arena, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| 1934-09-17 | W | Mickey Misko | KO | 4 | White City Arena, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| 1934-10-08 | W | Young Jack Blackburn | PTS | 8 | Midway Arena, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| 1934-10-22 | W | Frankie Misko | KO | 6 | Midway Arena, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| 1934-10-29 | W | Jack Schwartz | TKO | 4 | Auditorium, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| 1934-11-05 | W | Jack Charvez | PTS | 8 | Midway Arena, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| 1934-11-26 | L | Kid Leonard | PTS | 10 | Peoria, Illinois, U.S. |
| 1934-12-17 | L | Jack Gibbons | PTS | 10 | Midway Arena, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| 1934-12-28 | L | Joey Bazzone | PTS | 6 | Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| 1935-02-25 | W | Young Jack Blackburn | PTS | 6 | Marigold Gardens, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| 1935-03-11 | W | Max Elling | PTS | 8 | Marigold Gardens, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| 1935-03-27 | L | Roughhouse Glover | TKO | 9 | Music Hall Arena, Cincinnati, U.S. |
| 1935-05-06 | L | Johnny Phagan | KO | 6 | Midway Arena, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| 1935-07-02 | L | Dave Clark | PTS | 5 | Comiskey Park , Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| 1936-04-13 | D | Jack Moran | PTS | 5 | Marigold Gardens, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| 1937-07-26 | W | Elby Johnson | PTS | 4 | Marigold Gardens Outdoor Arena, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| 1937-08-16 | L | Manuel Davila | PTS | 4 | Marigold Gardens Outdoor Arena, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| 1937-09-17 | W | Elby Johnson | TKO | 3 | White City Arena , Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| 1937-10-11 | W | Billy Brown | KO | 1 | Marigold Gardens, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| 1937-10-18 | W | Bobby Gerry | KO | 2 | Marigold Gardens, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| 1937-11-01 | L | Nate Bolden | PTS | 5 | Marigold Gardens, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| 1937-11-10 | W | Leon Jackson | PTS | 6 | Marigold Gardens, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| 1937-11-22 | W | Nate Bolden | PTS | 5 | Marigold Gardens, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| 1938-01-03 | W | Nate Bolden | SD | 8 | Marigold Gardens, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| 1938-01-24 | W | Henry Schaft | PTS | 8 | Marigold Gardens, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| 1938-02-21 | L | Jimmy Clark | KO | 1 | Marigold Gardens, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| 1938-03-28 | W | King Wyatt | PTS | 8 | Marigold Gardens, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| 1938-05-16 | W | Bobby LaMonte | TKO | 5 | Marigold Gardens, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| 1938-06-13 | W | Jimmy Clark | TKO | 8 | Marigold Gardens Outdoor Arena, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| 1938-07-18 | D | Billy Celebron | PTS | 10 | Marigold Gardens Outdoor Arena, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| 1938-08-22 | L | Billy Celebron | PTS | 10 | Marigold Gardens Outdoor Arena, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| 1938-10-10 | W | Tony Cisco | UD | 10 | Marigold Gardens, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| 1938-10-31 | W | Jimmy Clark | KO | 2 | Marigold Gardens, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| 1938-11-18 | W | Enzo Innazzi | PTS | 6 | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S. |
| 1939-01-02 | L | Nate Bolden | PTS | 10 | Marigold Gardens, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| 1939-05-01 | W | Johnny Shaw | KO | 5 | Marigold Gardens, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| 1939-05-23 | W | Babe Orgovan | PTS | 6 | Madison Square Garden, New York, U.S. |
| 1939-08-14 | W | Milton Shivers | KO | 3 | Marigold Gardens Outdoor Arena, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| 1939-10-06 | W | Sherman Edwards | TKO | 3 | Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| 1939-10-31 | W | Al Wardlow | KO | 3 | Rayen-Wood Auditorium, Youngstown, Ohio, U.S. |
| 1939-11-13 | W | Eddie Meleski | TKO | 1 | Marigold Gardens , Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| 1939-12-08 | W | Babe Orgovan | KO | 3 | Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| 1940-01-29 | W | Al Hostak | UD | 10 | Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| 1940-02-29 | W | Enzo Iannozzi | KO | 4 | Rayen-Wood Auditorium, Youngstown, Ohio, U.S. |
| 1940-03-29 | W | Ben Brown | KO | 3 | Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| 1940-06-12 | W | Baby Kid Chocolate | KO | 4 | Idora Park , Youngstown, Ohio, U.S. |
| 1940-07-19 | W | Al Hostak | TKO | 13 | Civic Stadium, Seattle, Washington, U.S. |
| 1940-08-21 | L | Billy Soose | UD | 10 | Civic Stadium, Seattle, Washington, U.S. |
| 1940-11-19 | W | Fred Apostoli | PTS | 10 | Civic Auditorium , Seattle, Washington, U.S. |
| 1941-01-01 | W | Tony Martin | TKO | 7 | Auditorium, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| 1941-01-10 | W | Steve Mamakos | PTS | 10 | Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| 1941-02-21 | W | Steve Mamakos | KO | 14 | Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| 1941-05-28 | W | Al Hostak | KO | 2 | Chicago Stadium Outdoor Arena, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| 1941-07-23 | W | Ossie Harris | KO | 1 | Chicago Stadium Outdoor Arena, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| 1941-08-16 | W | Billy Pryor | KO | 9 | Juneau Park , Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| 1941-11-28 | W | Georgie Abrams | UD | 15 | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S. |
| 1942-02-13 | L | Billy Conn | UD | 12 | Madison Square Garden , New York City, New York, U.S. |
| 1946-01-07 | W | Bobby Giles | KO | 4 | Municipal Auditorium , Kansas City, U.S. |
| 1946-01-17 | W | Tony Gillo | KO | 5 | Municipal Auditorium, Norfolk, New Jersey, U.S. |
| 1946-02-07 | W | Oscar Boyd | KO | 3 | Coliseum , Des Moines, Iowa, U.S. |
| 1946-02-26 | W | Bobby Claus | KO | 4 | Houston, Texas, U.S. |
| 1946-04-12 | W | Ira Hughes | KO | 2 | City Auditorium, Omaha, Nebraska, U.S. |
| 1946-05-02 | W | Eddie Rossi | KO | 4 | Auditorium, Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. |
| 1946-09-27 | W | Rocky Graziano | KO | 6 | Yankee Stadium , New York City, New York, U.S. |
| 1947-02-03 | W | Deacon Logan | TKO | 6 | Auditorium, Omaha, Nebraska, U.S. |
| 1947-02-12 | W | Len Wadsworth | KO | 3 | Forum, Wichita, Kansas, U.S. |
| 1947-03-20 | W | Tommy Charles | KO | 4 | Ellis Auditorium , Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. |
| 1947-04-01 | W | Al Timmons | TKO | 5 | Memorial Hall , Kansas City, Kansas, U.S. |
| 1947-05-08 | W | Cliff Beckett | TKO | 6 | Arena, Youngstown, Ohio, U.S. |
| 1947-07-16 | L | Rocky Graziano | TKO | 6 | Chicago Stadium , Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| 1948-01-23 | W | Al Turner | KO | 5 | Armory, Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S. |
| 1948-03-08 | W | Bobby Claus | TKO | 4 | Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S. |
| 1948-03-19 | W | Lou Woods | KO | 3 | Arena , Toledo, Ohio, U.S. |
| 1948-06-10 | W | Rocky Graziano | KO | 3 | Ruppert Stadium , Newark, New Jersey, U.S. |
| 1948-09-21 | L | Marcel Cerdan | RTD | 11 | Roosevelt Stadium , Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S. |
Showing 87 of 87 recorded fights · last updated 2026-10-11. Imported record tables are not independently verified and may be incomplete. Early-era logs include newspaper decisions (NWS), which are not counted in the official totals above.
Record notes
Fight record last retrieved: 2026-10-11. Title histories remain subject to archival review.
Historical-era totals differ between record-keeping conventions (newspaper decisions, exhibitions).
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