Primo Karnera Boxer Date of Birth: 26.10.1906 Country: Italy

Content:

1. Biography of Primo Carnera
2. The Beginning of His Boxing Career
3. Becoming a Champion
4. The Battle Against Sharkey
5. The Fight Against Paolino
6. The Battle Against Max Baer
7. Carnera's Comeback
8. Becoming the Champion of the World
9. The Fight Against Max Baer
10. The Fight Against James Braddock
11. The Legendary Match
12. James Braddock's Triumph
13. James Braddock's Journey

Biography of Primo Carnera

Primo Carnera, an Italian professional boxer, was born in 1906 in the village of Sequals, located an hour's leisurely walk from Venice. He came from a poor family, and his parents were irritated by the enormous size of their teenage son, which caused problems with his nutrition, footwear, and clothing. One day, they kicked him out of the house, and Primo set off to earn a living in France, where he took on the heaviest and dirtiest jobs until he had the opportunity to become a wrestler in a traveling circus. He was presented to the public as a kind of huge and ruthless monster, known as "Giovanni the Bogeyman," a role that matched Carnera's appearance. In his prime, Carnera stood at 6 feet 10 inches tall and weighed 262 pounds. There had never been a champion boxer with such dimensions. However, the Italian giant was not a villain by nature, but rather docile and somewhat naive.

The Beginning of His Boxing Career

At one performance, Carnera caught the attention of professional boxer Paul Junviev, who introduced the taciturn giant to Leon Sue, an energetic and successful manager. Sue was initially hesitant to make Carnera a boxer, despite his enormous size and strength. The physiologists Sue consulted identified abnormalities typical of gigantism in Carnera's physique, such as a delicate skeleton, venous nodes on his legs, slow reflexes, and an unreliable heart. Additionally, at the age of 20, Carnera had no boxing skills, which would later affect his career.

Becoming a Champion

However, Sue took the risk. As a businessman, he could easily imagine the impact Carnera's appearance would have on the public in the boxing ring, and he was right. Carnera always piqued unhealthy interest with his fierce looks and rough grabs, skills that boxing directors taught him. The mafia also became interested in Carnera, as he became a cash cow for them. Rumor had it that even Al Capone had some dealings with his fellow countryman. They cleared the way for him by selecting opponents who were not from the strongest ranks. It is known that during a fight with Ace Clark, someone approached the ring and, opening his jacket, revealed a Colt to Clark, after which he quickly and wisely fell to the ground.

The Battle Against Sharkey

Not all of Carnera's fights were staged, as that was simply impossible, and his main title fight against world champion Sharkey was clean and without suspicion. They had fought in New York a year earlier, with Sharkey weighing 202 pounds and the Italian colossus weighing 262 pounds. It seemed that Carnera would crush his opponent. Indeed, in the first three rounds, Carnera decisively won. But then Sharkey closed the distance and knocked Carnera down with a powerful left punch to the jaw in the fifth round. This blow took its toll, and the American skillfully and ruthlessly destroyed his opponent. Carnera's credit was that he managed to stay on his feet until the last round. This relatively easy victory played a cruel joke on Sharkey, as he did not fear Carnera before the second match. And he was mistaken. The world champion did not train very hard, forgetting that at his age (Sharkey was already over 30), maintaining fitness required great effort. Meanwhile, the 27-year-old Carnera was preparing seriously for the title match with the champion. In addition to rigorous training, he followed the advice of the remarkable specialist Dr. Bruehl, who prescribed him special tablets and a specific diet to strengthen his delicate skeleton. The results were promising, and from then on, even the most ferocious blows no longer broke his ribs and jaw, which were vulnerable points for the Italian.

The Fight Against Paolino

Carnera's physique became more harmonious, powerful, and muscular, as can be seen in photographs. His deltoids, abdominal muscles, and triceps were particularly well-defined. He even developed a waist, and his colossal shoulder width was always impressive. But most importantly, Primo Carnera became much more agile, whereas before, he resembled a clumsy draft horse. In this match against Sharkey, Carnera was transformed. However, the public responded more than coolly to their fight. Everyone understood that neither the champion nor the challenger would ever become great fighters. Moreover, everyone was convinced that Sharkey (derived from "shark") would easily and quickly devour the Italian upstart. But one tragic event suddenly sparked interest in the match. Shortly before the main battle, Primo faced Ernie Schaaf, who had previously been brutally knocked out by the lively jester Max Baer. Despite Schaaf's health condition, he stepped into the ring. However, Carnera killed Schaaf in the ring, and rumors spread that the "monster from Italy" was capable of tearing apart even Sharkey.

The Battle Against Max Baer

But luckily, nothing terrible happened. Initially, Sharkey had an obvious advantage, and here is how the "New York Herald" reporter described this part of the fight: "For five rounds and most of the sixth, Sharkey fought extremely hotly. Moreover, at the end of the fifth round, Carnera, weakened by quick, short blows to the body, was forced to lean on Sharkey to avoid falling." All 30,000 spectators, yawning, waited for the inevitable end of the Italian. But just in those moments, Carnera began to slowly regain his strength and push the champion back. A little while later, Sharkey, calmly smiling, went straight to the advancing challenger, missed with a sweeping swing, and slightly hit below the belt with his left hand, something he should not have done.

Carnera's Comeback

Carnera was hurt by this blow, and he became enraged. It is well-known that there is nothing more dangerous than an infuriated giant. Carnera rushed at Sharkey and began to pummel him with both hands. At one point, the world champion, in complete confusion, stopped in the middle of the ring, and a powerful punch to the jaw knocked him to the ground.

Becoming the Champion of the World

It was all over. The silent and bewildered crowd left the arena. The 13th world champion once again turned out not to be their fellow countryman. This defeat marked the end of Sharkey's boxing career, while Carnera tasted the full glory of victory in his homeland. Benito Mussolini, who hosted and praised the fresh champion in his residence, signaled this. Boxing experts and the press claimed that the Italians had encountered a natural phenomenon in Carnera, affirming seriously that his Herculean physical attributes perfectly matched his technical mastery. It was also suggested that the appearance of such a phenomenon was only possible in a country with a fascist regime, and thus, Carnera became a kind of trump card in high political games following Schmeling.

The Fight Against Max Baer

Soon, Il Duce and his accomplices thought it would be worthwhile to showcase the hero in action. Fearing scandal if Carnera lost, they selected a familiar opponent for him—Paolino, who had not shown any remarkable qualities in the ring. Furthermore, Paolino was eight years older than Primo and 57 kg lighter. Nevertheless, this event was declared a match for the title of the strongest heavyweight boxer in the world, although the outcome of the fight was obvious even to the most oblivious.

The Fight Against James Braddock

Another dangerous opponent loomed over Carnera—Max Baer, who fought with a six-pointed star on his trunks, symbolizing his Jewish heritage. Baer was a strange character, and the famous American writer Norman Mailer, who was keenly interested in boxing, once called Baer an "unresolved clown." When he entered the ring, he usually did a somersault. He could chat in his own way with someone from the audience during the break, asking, for example, about their mother's health or the harvest on their farm. He gave the most extravagant interviews, and reporters flocked to his press conferences. In the spring of 1933, he told them that he set a goal in his life to deal with the "two Nazis," namely Schmeling and Carnera.

The Legendary Match

On June 8, 1933, in New York, which had already become a permanent arena for heavyweight boxing matches, Schmeling and Baer stepped into the ring. For Baer, victory in this match opened the doors to a title match with world champion Carnera. But Schmeling was confident in his abilities and believed that the referees unjustly took away his victory over Sharkey, along with the first heavyweight title in the world. Alas, he was mistaken about his chances: under the cries of the spectators, "Beat the Nazi!" Baer immediately attacked Schmeling and chased him around the ring for all ten rounds. In the end, the referee stopped the fight, raised Baer's hand, and declared him the official contender for the championship title.

James Braddock's Triumph

Shortly before this fight, Baer and Carnera appeared in a film together, with Baer playing the role of a lively, cheerful boxer and Primo, of course, playing the role of the dark villain of the ring. When filming was completed, Baer, with his dancing gait, approached the champion and publicly said that the director did not allow him to send Carnera to the afterlife, but now he should hurry to find a place in the cemetery.

He didn't kill Carnera, but he pounded the Italian mercilessly throughout all 11 rounds. The champion looked doomed from the beginning, and it seemed that Baer's self-assuredness, the sarcastic articles in the newspapers, and the open dislike of the public, who knew something about his hollow victories, weighed heavily on Carnera's simple soul. He endured 11 rounds in the ring, once again at Madison Square Garden in New York, and in each one, the giant fell to the ground. Eleven knockdowns in one fight! No one could recall such a thing. Three times Carnera approached the referee, staggering, and begged him to stop the fight, but the referee, sensing the crowd's desire to savor the suffering of the despised champion, threatened the Italian with a lifetime disqualification and pushed him towards his tormentor.

Only in the 11th round did the referee stop the fight, realizing that Baer was about to actually kill his helpless opponent. Everyone was convinced that the new champion—a feisty, agile, young fighter—would be able to hold onto his title for a long time. But it turned out differently. Baer spent only a year on the throne before losing the match to his first challenger: James Braddock, a descendant of Irish immigrants.

James Braddock's Journey

Having won the ultimate title, Max Baer changed his lifestyle. He admitted to journalists that he never loved fighting, but he enjoyed a carefree social life. Sports reporters were desperate because they couldn't capture Max in the gym, wearing boxing gloves. Instead, their colleagues from other publications constantly published photos of the champion lounging on the beach, posing in Hollywood, and flirting with beauty pageant winners... That's why this incredibly talented boxer never became great, losing ignominiously to ordinary Braddock.

As for Braddock, the fight against Baer was a matter of life or death for him. Becoming a boxer, he earned the nickname "Cinderella," and for good reason. Born in the slums of New York, young James could never remember a time when he had his fill of food. He later became a stevedore, but just during those years, the Great Depression hit the United States, and this young, strong man wandered the streets of New York as an unemployed person, barely making ends meet with occasional odd jobs.

James Braddock received only a few pennies by participating in third-rate boxing matches. But he had certain boxing abilities, a strong character, and gradually began to stand out from the crowd of heavy drinkers and unskilled fighters.

Like Charles Perrault's Cinderella, he was incredibly lucky. Before the match with Baer, he had only fought three battles against relatively strong boxers: Carny Griffin, John Henry Lewis, and Art Lasky. Winning those fights, he surprisingly became the candidate selected by the Boxing Commission to participate in the title match against Baer. The bosses of professional boxing understood perfectly well that the world champion would not withstand a fight with a skilled boxer, but they needed Baer as a "king," as he was popular with the public, especially the Jewish part of the country. That's when the former stevedore's candidacy emerged.

In essence, Braddock had only one significant fight. He had only one known opponent—none other than Max Baer. And the victory over him introduced the dockworker into the gallery of "immortals," as life sometimes goes. But credit must be given to James Braddock: he, already 30 years old and lacking high skills, fought against Baer desperately because he understood that fate had given him one and only one chance to escape poverty, and he used this chance.

His opponent entered the ring in the most carefree state. Having played the fool until the decisive command of the referee, he immediately attacked James, a lighthearted, cocky Max, not realizing that the challenger would put up resistance.

Yes, no matter how well-trained Baer was, he still surpassed Braddock in terms of potential and class. But it is worth quoting a well-known expression: "A hungry boxer is a dangerous boxer." The champion did not stop clowning around and playing tricks in the ring, not realizing that an angry and determined opponent stood before him.

The first rounds were fairly evenly matched, but the challenger still had some advantage. Covered in sweat, he accumulated winning points, which did not bother Baer at all. In the sixth round, he finally broke through James' defense, and the challenger began to experience a nosebleed... In the eighth round, the champion cornered his opponent, and his accurate, sharp blows, it seemed, should have finished Braddock off, but he only grimaced and was far from collapsing.

But all of this was just episodes. Braddock let the blows pass and then sent no less powerful ones back, much to Baer's surprise. The challenger evaded Baer's attacks, responding with his own quick punches. The champion, known for his resilience, found himself in an unfamiliar situation and seemed to be losing control.

In the end, Braddock won by unanimous decision, and the crowd erupted in jubilation. Max Baer, who had been so confident, lost his title and his crown in one fell swoop.

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