Tony Canzoneri vs. Kid Chocolate I: INCREDIBLE SLUGFEST

I had big expectations for this fight. I'd seen both fighters a couple of times. They were not only paper greats, but they were confirmed film greats in my view. They were both great boxers. I was aware that this was ranked among boxrec's top 100 title fights. My hopes were high.

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1. Round one was an incredible slugfest. One of the best first rounds I've ever seen. Canzoneri seemed the slightly stronger of the two in the many huge exchanges between the two. Even.
2. The furious slugfest continued. Even.
3. Chocolate came out this round the aggressor. He got Canzoneri on the ropes a few times and pounded away at his body. Chocolate.
4. By round 4, the fighting had slowed some, understandably, but the match was still tremendously exciting at that. Nearing the end of the 4th, the Kid may have gone down. Canzoneri hit him with 3 good punches, and Chocolate was about to bob and weave, so he got into a crouch, but then collapsed. I slowed it down to .25, which I would highly suggest you all do. As I said, he was hit with 3 good punches from Canzoneri, but I don't know if he just fell, or if it should have been counted as a knockdown or not. I want to know what you guys thought of that. Canzoneri.
5. Chocolate, if not floored at the end of the 4th, had still been hurt, and he made a change and boxed defensively now. It was the slowest round yet. However, Chocolate threw more. Chocolate.
6. Both boxed cautiously. Even.
7. I found this to be one of Chocolate's best rounds. It was still a close round no doubt about that, but Chocolate was striking with a more lethal jab than he did in previous arounds, keeping Canzoneri back more. Chocolate was also able to make Canzoneri miss more, and smother his attacks better with clinches. Chocolate.
8. Close. Canzoneri.
9. Neither man can gain an edge in this round, which was fought primarily at long range. Even.
10. Canzoneri and Chocolate traded tons of huge shots. Canzoneri's power was the deciding factor in another close round. Canzoneri.
11. This time it's Chocolate outslugging Tony Canzoneri. Chocolate.
12. Toughie. Canzoneri.
13. Canzoneri boxed more in this round than he had in all of the match. Chocolate focused on denfensive manuevers designed to make Canzoneri miss: bobbing, weaving, slipping, rolling, and ducking. Canzoneri.
14. This was one of the most exiting rounds of the entire fight. It had the longest exchange of the fight, both letting their hands fly as the ebb and flow was taken all over the ring. Chocolate looked like he may have been a little hurt at the end of the exchange. But maybe he was just off balance. Canzoneri.
15. Chocolate was clearly a bit tired. At first his feet were somewhat uncoordinated, his punches were more wild, and he mauled more in the clinches, in a useless kind of way. Still, they brought out their final reserves about halfway through the round for one more ecstatic round. They battled toe-to-toe for about another minute-and-a-half. It was an unbelievable brawl. Canzoneri.

The final score was: 7 for Canzoneri, 4 for Chocolate, and 4 even.

As I had already thought, both fighters had excellent boxing ability, and that was part of what made it such an unforgettable affair. As I watched, I noted that both men were actually quite close in every area. Both have great defense, good jabs, good footwork, handspeed, and their power was close as well, although I give Canzoneri that edge.
Actually, Canzoneri surprised me in the match. While I had already labeled both as boxers, the match reminded me more of the classic boxer vs. pressure fighter matches like Ali-Frazier and Robinson-Basilio, with Canzoneri playing the part of the pressure fighter. Chocolate delivered exactly as I expected with great boxing finesse, although I thought he was a pretty wild at times. One of my favorite things about Chocolate was that he fights out of a crouch, but not a constant one. It's just a position he reverts back to on a regular basis.

Verdict: EVERY boxing fan should see this fight! It is one of the damn best fights I've seen in who knows how long. It's now one of my favorite fights. It probably is rightfully ranked among the 100 greatest title fights of all time. Watch this EPIC slugfest.

I read about their second fight. Chocolate was KO'd in the second round, but it was described as one of the most exciting five-and-a-half minutes in recent boxing history. I wish it would have been filmed. I would've loved to see that one.

@Saintpat, have you seen this one? I think it probably had a few candidates for your best rounds series. Btw, you think you'll ever redo those at some point?
@George Crowcroft, have you seen this one also?

 

Definitely. I was glad to see it least one full-length fight of Chocolate, especially with pretty good film quality. I'm also glad that it was such a long fight that was also a great fight. Makes me wish more of Chocolate's big matches were filmed. Probably one of the best fights of the 30s.

 

Unfortunately, no. I do not have it. Wish I did.

 

I didn't realize there's a pretty long color version of that one. Will give it a try.

 

Np, although I did not upload it.

Enjoy!

 

Oh ,and hey, when you do watch it lemme know. It be cool if you posted on it as well.

 

I think I'm in a new category that says the peak of boxing is the 30s through 90s.