Al Hostak vs Tony Zale II

Tony Zale won the National Boxing Association’s middleweight championship from Al Hostak at the Civic Stadium in Seattle on July 19, 1940, when the contest was stopped after 1 minute 20 seconds of the thirteenth round. Referee Benny Leonard called a halt as Hostak’s manager, Eddie Marino, entered the ring to signal surrender. Hostak had been knocked down in both the twelfth and thirteenth rounds, his eyes were badly swollen, and his resistance had been steadily reduced by Zale’s persistent attack to the body. The challenger weighed 158 pounds, and Hostak weighed 159 pounds. Approximately 8,500 spectators attended, a disappointing gathering for a championship contest involving a fighter who had recently been one of Seattle’s leading sporting attractions.

The meeting was their second within six months. Hostak had entered the first contest, at Chicago Stadium on January 29, as an NBA champion, although his title was not at stake. He floored Zale in the opening round and shook him again during the early stages, but injured his hands and lost a unanimous ten-round decision after Zale swept the closing rounds. That result established the Gary, Indiana, fighter as the principal challenger. Hostak had previously gained the championship by knocking out Freddie Steele in the first round at the same Seattle stadium in 1938, lost it to Solly Krieger after damaging both hands, and regained it from Krieger by a fourth-round stoppage before 23,000 spectators in June 1939. By comparison, the smaller attendance for the Zale defence reflected reduced public confidence following Hostak’s defeat in Chicago.

Hostak appeared subdued from the opening bell. Ordinarily, a dangerous puncher who preferred to set his feet and strike with short, powerful blows, he advanced without his usual purpose and permitted Zale to establish the pace. Zale crouched forward, worked his way inside and concentrated upon the champion’s body. His method was not complicated. He shortened the distance, drove hooks beneath Hostak’s elbows and used the jab to disturb the taller man’s balance and vision. Hostak occasionally tried to hold him off with his left hand, but he was slow to follow up with his right, frequently allowing Zale to complete an attack without an effective answer.

The first four rounds followed much the same course. Zale was the busier man and made the contest at close quarters, while Hostak fought in brief and uncertain passages. There was considerable holding, pushing, and head-turning as the two men came together. Leonard allowed much of the rough work to continue. The crowd at first appeared to expect Hostak to produce one of the sudden attacks for which he had been known, but its patience diminished as he surrendered ground and threw too few punches. Zale did not dominate every exchange, but he was consistently first to the body and remained close enough to prevent the champion from obtaining the distance required for his heavier blows.

Hostak showed his best form in the fifth round. For a time, he recovered the force and timing that had carried him to the championship, catching Zale with hard punches and leaving the challenger shaken. It was the one sustained period in which Zale appeared in danger of losing command. Hostak, however, could not maintain the effort. Zale resumed his advance in the sixth and again made the champion work at a pace that did not suit him. He continued punching beneath the ribs and around the elbows, accepting Hostak’s occasional counters in order to remain within striking distance. The punishment was cumulative rather than sudden. Hostak’s movements became heavier, his punches less frequent and his attempts to tie Zale up more obvious.

By the eighth round, Zale’s jab had opened a cut over Hostak’s left eye. Swelling developed around both eyes as the fight continued, leaving the champion increasingly unable to see the punches approaching him. Zale mixed jabs to the face with hooks and straight blows to the body, forcing Hostak to protect two damaged areas at once. Hostak still possessed enough strength to wrestle with the challenger at close quarters, and both men used their heads during the clinches, but he was no longer controlling any substantial portion of the action. Zale’s pressure was steady, and the challenger appeared physically stronger as the rounds passed.

The eleventh was marred by a low blow from Zale. The punch visibly hurt Hostak, and the local press criticised Leonard for failing to take stronger action. Hostak also indicated that one of his hands was injured, although a ringside examination after the contest reportedly found no evident fracture. Whatever the precise condition of the hand, his ability to defend himself had deteriorated. With his face swollen and his body weakened, he could neither keep Zale outside nor discourage him with counters. Zale continued to bore forward, giving Hostak little opportunity to rest and striking whenever the champion attempted to straighten himself.

In the twelfth, a right to the ribs sent Hostak down for a count of nine. He rose in poor condition, his eyes nearly closed and his legs unsteady, but he survived the remainder of the round. Zale went directly after him in the thirteenth. Hostak was knocked down again and, after regaining his feet, remained under attack. Marino climbed through the ropes to end the punishment, and Leonard stopped the contest at 1:20. The decision made Zale the NBA middleweight champion and gave him his second successive victory over Hostak. There were no scorecards because the scheduled 15-round bout did not reach the distance.

The reception was hostile. Alex Shults of The Seattle Daily Times described the contest as a sham and wrote that Hostak had performed as though he were fighting in his sleep. The crowd booed the champion’s inactivity and continued to express its dissatisfaction when the surrender was announced. Leonard was also criticised for permitting holding, butting and low punching without adequate intervention. Hostak said in his dressing room that he would never fight again, but the remark was made in the immediate disappointment of defeat rather than as a settled retirement. He returned to competition in February 1941 and met Zale for a third time that May, when he knocked the champion down in the first round before being stopped in the second. Hostak continued fighting intermittently until 1949.

For Zale, the victory was the first major championship success of a career that would later be defined by his contests with Rocky Graziano. His performance in Seattle already showed the qualities for which he became noted: patience under fire, strength at close range and a damaging concentration upon the body. Hostak’s poor showing caused suspicion and severe criticism at the time, but his previous and subsequent hand troubles provide a less sensational explanation than the suggestion that he deliberately surrendered his title. Zale had beaten him once after surviving an early assault, and in the return, he deprived him of room, damaged his body and closed his eyes until further resistance was no longer practical. The result was decisive, even though the contest itself failed to provide the competitive struggle the Seattle public had expected.