I was looking for a decent audio book for a recent road trip to a conference and this one on the 1939 fight between Joe Louis and "Two Ton" Tony Galento was perfect - not only was it a good listen but also the perfect length in that I finished it about half an hour before I got home. Here is my review.
Title/Author: “Two Ton: One Night, One Fight – Tony Galento vs. Joe Louis” by Joseph Monniger, narrated by Kiff VandenHeuvel
Rating: 4 of 5 stars (very good)
Review: Boxing is a sport in which an “everyman” type of boxer can go from being unknown to becoming famous because of one match. This is true in both the movies (think “Rocky”) and in real life (Chuck Wepner, whose story was the inspiration for “Rocky”). These examples show that the underdog doesn’t even have to win in order to become a household name. This book by Joseph Monniger and narrated by Kiff VandenHeuvel is about another one of those underdogs, Tony “Two Ton” Galento.
Despite not having the chiseled body or any other typical features of a
fighter, Galento did have a moderately successful career but was on the
downside when he had the chance to face the world heavyweight champion, Joe
Louis. This was in 1939 and the book
does a very good job of describing both the state of the country and the state
of boxing.
The text alternates between the description of the fight and important points in the careers of both Louis and Galento. The narration of VandenHeuvel is very good for the fight action, especially in the moment when Galento became a household name with a knockdown of the champion in the third round. Even though he eventually lost when Louis knocked him out in the next round, Galento was hailed for his accomplishment despite his weaknesses in the sport that allowed Louis to quickly recover.
The format of the book, plus the information was very good, even if at times it felt incomplete and out of place. Nonetheless, this was one of the better books on an individual boxing match in a short but enjoyable listen.
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