“MELTED CHOCOLATE” and “THE SAVE”
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823. TONY CANZONERI VS KID CHOCOLATE
LIGHTWEIGHT/JR. WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP FIGHT
NOVEMBER 20, 1931
MADISON SQUARE GARDEN
QUALITY OF PLAY—8.22
DRAMA—7.96
STAR POWER—6.44
CONTEMPORARY IMPORT—7.45
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE—6.33
LOCAL IMPACT—7.14
TOTAL: 43.54
“MELTED CHOCOLATE”
Of all the tremendous prizefighters who have graced the NYC rings, few fought as well and none as often as “Little” Tony Canzoneri, a tough, all-action Italian brawler who was one of the most popular boxers in City history—and is almost completely forgotten today.
Born in the fighting city of Slidell, Louisiana, Tony moved to Brooklyn at age 18, residing in Bed-Stuy, where he became a regular on the mid-week fighting circuit, wearing out the ring apron at the Broadway Arena in Bushwick and the Bronx Coliseum on 177th Street. Winning fights with relentless punching, Tony worked up to the rarefied air of the title fights, enabling a move to Madison Square Garden. The 135-pounder was enormously popular, and never seemed to say no to a fight. Take his blistering 1926 schedule, for example, when he fought 24 times! The pace exhausted Canzoneri so much he only fought 20 times in 1927. By the end of his career no boxer would ply his trade in NYC rings as often as Little Tony.
Tony was a good-looking devil, with a open moon face that resembled a shrunken Babe Ruth and a flat-nosed amiability that was similar to another Italian lightweight to come, Ray “Boom-Boom” Mancini. One sportswriter called him “Beau Brummel” in honor of his dapper wardrobe.
After winning and then losing the featherweight title, Tony moved up in weight and blasted Al Singer out of the Garden ring in the first round to capture the lightweight belt in 1930; he added the welterweight title shortly thereafter, becoming one of only a handful of boxers to hold championships in three different weight classes. He had several defenses before agreeing to his toughest task to date—stepping into the squared circle with the Black Pearl of the Antilles, Kid Chocolate.
Born Eligio Sardinas Montalvo in Havana in 1910, Chocolate was one of the main forerunners to the great generations of Cuban fighters who would emerge from the island nation. He learned to fight by watching films of old masters, and then by sparring with the likes of Jack Johnson and Benny Leonard. He was given his lasting nickname after sportswriters got a glimmer at his obsidian skin and his youth—the Kid was just 18 when he turned pro.
El Chocolate came to America to fight on numerous occasions without ever actually moving to the States, during a bygone and dearly missed time when travel between the USA and Cuba was simple and legal. He took the junior lightweight title in July, 1931, after just two years and change as a professional. The better money was in the “clean” classes, with no junior attached, so he went after the lightweight title by challenging Canzoneri for a bout that took place at the old Garden on fight night, Friday, November 20, 1931. Unusually, Little Tony agreed to put his 140-lb Jr. Welterweight belt on the line as well, although little attention was paid to the ‘juniors’ in those days, as noted.
Tony C. was always up for a brawl, and he came out slinging, mostly using his “deadly left.” “With the first punch he mussed up the Kid’s carefully greased hair,” noted the Daily News.
Chocolate mastered a stratagem famously employed by Sugar Ray Leonard in his showdown with Marvin Hagler—closing with a rush. The last thirty seconds of each round invariably saw the Kid roar in with blazing combinations. Canzoneri was a superb defensive fighter and the blows did little damage, but they were impressive, and gave many in the crowd a false sense that Chocolate was dominating the action.
But in point of fact, Canzoneri got the better of the exchanges. He “never stopped tearing in on the attack,” thought the Times. “He was like a bulldog in ferocity and determination, piling into Chocolate for most of the fifteen rounds.” The “cagy, springy little Cuban” was tricky to hit consistently, but a “severe body-drubbing” from Canzo’s fists piled up the points and kept the Kid’s dancing to a minimum.
In the fourth Chocolate went down “to his fingertips” while off-balance, courtesy a Canzo right. The ninth saw an intense series of exchanges, and the thirteenth a furious Kid rally that nearly took down Canzoneri. Both were tired by the final round, but shrugged off the wear and went at it ferociously for the last three minutes. As the Times noted, “Chocolate, in the heat of a furious slugging bee which closed the battle and found Canzoneri backed to the ropes, did not hear the final bell, and landed two rights to the champion’s jaw before they were pried apart."
Perhaps the judges didn’t like that final bit of late assault, for they may have been the difference in Canzoneri’s narrow victory. The two men at ringside adjudged the fight differently, with each winning on a card, while referee Willie Lewis called it for Canzo, giving him the split decision, allowing Little Tony to keep his belt.
As the decision was announced, the crowd reacted with either pronounced fury or a lengthy tribute to the two battlers, depending on which witness you asked. Pat Robinson in the Daily News thought the throng “stood and cheered impartially for both warriors for fully five minutes.” But in the Times, James P. Dawson reported on an “ear-splitting outburst of dissent.”
“Catcalls came from all parts of the building. Excited fans tossed papers and hats high in the air, some of the fans tossing cigarettes and cigar stubs into the ring. One heaved an apple into the ring.”
AFTERMATH:
Canzoneri and the Kid tangled again almost exactly two years later, back in the MSG ring, albeit this time with no title at stake. In a spectacle that was somewhat similar to the Hagler-Hearns brawl a half-century later, the two fighters put on an all-out display of action for nearly two full rounds, with Canzoneri knocking Chocolate out late in the second round. Thus KC’s incredible, Hall of Fame career, which ended with a 136-10-6 record, saw a pair of losses to Canzoneri. The “Cuban Bon Bon” returned to Cuba and lived a quiet life after his boxing career finally ended.
Canzoneri also fought endlessly and against anyone and everyone, amassing a 141-24-10 record over an astounding 175-fight career. He fought famous battles with Barney Ross, who took his lightweight title in 1933, and former sparring partner Lou Ambers, the “Herkimer Hurricane.” Tony reclaimed and reforfeited his title belt against Ambers in those fights. When he gassed out late in their 1936 fight, Ambers chided his idol. “Tony, I told you to cut out those cigars.” Canzoneri wasn’t knocked out until late in his career, by Al “Bummy” Davis in 1939. Upon witnessing the shocking loss of the popular Tony C., the 12,000 fans at the Garden filed out in stunned silence rather than cheer the victor.
Like so many NYC fighters, Tony opened a popular restaurant, Tony Canzoneri’s Paddock Bar and Grill, at 1634 Broadway between 50th and 51st (now home to the Winter Garden Theater). Alas, Canzoneri died of a heart attack far too soon, while crossing a Manhattan street in 1959, aged 51.
WHAT THEY SAID:
“Tony Canzoneri is still king of the lightweights. The little Italian with the swarthy skin, the corrugated brow, and the gleaming eyes, retained his title in the Garden last night, but Kid Chocolate, the Black Pearl of the Antilles, carried him through fifteen of the fiercest rounds ever fought in the big arena. There were times during the viciously fought battle when the king’s crown tottered on his corrugated dome but there is little doubt that he was entitled to the verdict.”
—Pat Robinson, New York Daily News
FURTHER READING:
Tony Canzoneri: The Boxing Life of a Five-Time World Champion by Mark Allen Baker
VIDEO:
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2305524699680202
822. NEW JERSEY DEVILS VS PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS
GAME THREE
MAY 18, 2000
CONTINENTAL AIRLINES ARENA
QUALITY OF PLAY—7.09
DRAMA—6.53
STAR POWER—6.48
CONTEMPORARY IMPORT—8.65
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE—7.69
LOCAL IMPACT—7.11
TOTAL: 43.55
“THE SAVE”
The 2000 Philadelphia Flyers assumed veteran goalie (and ex-Rangers great) John Vanbiesbrouck would be their main netminder. But it soon became apparent that their 23-year old rookie out of Woonsocket, Rhode Island, Brian Boucher, was the better choice. “Boosh” moved into the regular role early in the season, and went on to lead the NHL in goals against average.
The Atlantic Division went down to the wire, with Philly edging out the Devils for the title by two points, a tiny difference that gave the Flyers the top seed in the East while the Satans tumbled to fourth. But there was no surprise when the two teams reached the conference final to tangle with each other—they were generally considered the two best teams east of the mighty Mississip’, thanks in no small part to their goalies—Boucher for Philly, and the legendary Martin Brodeur for Jerz.
The teams split the first two games at First Union Center in Philly, bringing them north to Jersey for Game Three, held on an overcast Thursday night at Continental Airlines Arena at Exit 19, May 18, 2000. John Wick wasn’t usually in residence at this version of the Continental, but on this night, Flyers goalie Brian Boucher was a reasonable facsimile, assassinating New Jersey’s hopes for a home win.
The key moment came early in the second period. Philly led, 2-1, goals by Mark Recchi and Keith Jones sandwiching a tally by NJ’s Claude Lemieux. But the NHL’s premier instigator evened his personal balance sheet Just seconds into the second stanza. Lemieux was sent to the sin bin for thrusting his stick high into Recchi’s face, giving the Flyers a man-advantage. But the Devils shorthanded unit was terrific in 2000, keyed by two-way center Patrick Elias. They had killed 26 consecutive power plays at the moment, and now Elias raced on to a loose puck and came in alone on a breakaway.
Elias made a sharp move to his forehand, getting Boucher down to the ice, and shot into the yawning net. But Boucher, seemingly aided by wire technology, somehow stretched all the way across the gaping chasm—backwards. Perhaps it was the only way he could make it happen, or perhaps he just wanted to up the degree of difficulty. Regardless, Boucher sprawled out and in a backhand fashion stopped the puck from crossing the line, even as his mask went flying off, allowing the crowd to see his stunned expression as he kept the Flyers in front.
It was the sort of save Brodeur might make (on a great day). The fact the Devils had been foiled by the opposing goaltender making an all-time stop was difficult to comprehend.
“That was a big, big save,” admitted Devils defenseman Ken Daneyko. “The kid came up big at a time when a score could have changed the whole complexion of the game.” As Mark J Czerwinski wrote in the Bergen Record, “It was a Domink Hasek-like save, the kind that pumps a team full of life. Ot takes the heart of the opposition.”
It did both. The Flyers scored a third goal shortly thereafter, and late in the game, the score remained 3-1 as Boucher continued to turn away the Devils. Fans made for the parking lots, but did a U-turn when Scott Niedermayer slipped one through a crowd and past Boucher to make it 3-2. But the brief hope of a comeback was extinguished when Simon Gagne broke in on Brodeur, and using a similar move to Elias, beat Brodeur easily to ice the game.
Philly won 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in the series. And Boucher was poised to become the new kid on the block. Could he possibly eclipse the great Brodeur?
AFTERMATH:
Philly won the next Game on Jersey ice as well, giving the Flyers a commanding 3-1 lead in the series. But the Devils won three in a row to stun Philly and advance to the Cup Finals, aided by a concussion Eric Lindros suffered in Game Seven thanks to an infamous check by Scott Stevens, forcing the Flyers star to leave what would turn out to be his final game in Philly. The Devils then won a thrilling series over Dallas to win their second Stanley Cup.
Boucher had an excellent career, though he didn’t eclipse Brodeur. In 2003-04 he set the modern shutout streak while with Phoenix, at 332 minutes and one singular second. “Boosh” played for 13 seasons, then went into the broadcast booth for the Flyers and nationally on TNT. His save against Elias lost a bit of luster when the Flyers blew the 3-1 lead, but it is still talked about with awe in certain goaltender circles and at Pat’s Cheesesteaks (but not Geno’s).
WHAT THEY SAID:
“It was a huge play by a courageous young man.”
—Flyers coach Craig Ramsey, on Boucher’s save
FURTHER READING:
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly by Adam Kimelman
VIDEO: