Max Baer vs Tony Galento - Rounds 3-5-8

"The Battle of the Bums" between Max Baer and Tony Galento occurred on July 2, 1940 at Roosevelt Stadium in New Jersey.

The events leading up to the bout are as follows:

In July of 1939, "Two Ton" Tony Galento made a surprise showing in his bout with Joe Louis at Yankee Stadium. Galento, who fought from a very low crouch managed to feint his way into a position that allowed him to launch left hooks and right crosses at Louis.

Word from Louis' training camp prior to the bout was that his trainers were "trying to change his style to meet Galento's barroom tactics" which was deemed a mistake.

Louis was staggered in round one and Galento was dropped in the 2nd round (for the first time in his career). Louis was knocked down in the 3rd round, but in the 4th round managed to club Tony "to a bloody pulp, his face so badly mangled that 23 stitches were required to sew it together again, his body beaten to helpless submission, his brain fogged and his legs paralyzed."

When Louis declared he needed a rest from defending his title, the heavyweight deck of cards was again shuffled to produce match ups that would entice the public's attendance.

Galento met with Lou Nova on September 15, 1939 in "one of the most disgraceful fights staged since the days of the barroom brawls." Perhaps because of Tony's questionable tactics in winning the bout, it was decided he needed one more tune-up fight before again being afforded a rematch with Joe Louis. Galento agreed to a match with Max Baer.

The two vocal foes gleefully hurled insults at each other through the press for weeks prior to the bout. On July 2nd, 1940, at Roosevelt Stadium in New Jersey, they touched gloves in what came to be called "The Battle of the Bums".

The press was not enthused, and reported that "two tired, fat old fighting men slugged each other into a state of utter exhaustion out on the Jersey marshes last night, and finally one of them, Tony Galento, was unable to go on any longer."

The two fighters and the referee apparently tossed out the Marquis of Queensbury rules altogether. Backhanding, elbows, thumbs and head butts were common.

Ray Arcel, ringman for Max Baer, said that while Max was a good-natured clown who never disliked anyone, "he hated Galento with a vengeance. He really wanted to kill him. In the ring, the two of them were cursing so much, people in the cheap seats could hear the most vile obscenities."

Max later said "I'm sorry they stopped the fight. Every time I hit him and the blood squooshed out it was music to my ears. That's one guy I hate and I'd like to have flattened him."

by Catherine Johnson
http://www.youtube.com/user/MaxiesGal
http://www.maxbaer.org