RIP Rocky Castellani
Posted: 03 Sep 2008, 15:32
RIP to one of the best middleweights never to win the title.
Castellani died on Sunday, August 31, at the age of 81.
He was a perennial contender in the middleweight division in the late '40s through the '50s. He lost only a few fights during that time, and scored wins over the likes of Joey Giardello (Hall of Famer), Tiger Jones, Tony Janiro, Pierre Langlois, Ernie Durando, Walter Cartier, Gil Turner, Johnny Bratton, Harold Green, and Eugene Hairston, and he also fought to a draw with Hall of Famer Billy Graham. In his only title shot, he lost on points to champion Bobo Olson, but I believe he had Olson on the floor. Perhaps his most famous fight was his fight with Ray Robinson, in which he had Robinson down and very close to being knocked out (in all the fights of seen of Ray, I've never seen him hurt the way he was in this one), but Robinson rallied to pull out a split decision. In Robinson's very next fight, he completely annhilated Bobo Olson in two rounds to regain the middleweight title. Castellani also lost to Gene Fullmer by a close split decision, which was Fullmer's first big win on his way to becoming a champion himself a year or two later. After his disheartening losses to Robinson and Fullmer, Castellani faded from the top and retired a couple of years later.
If Castellani's name sounds familiar for other reasons, it's because you probably saw him quite a bit through the '90s as a boxing judge.
Castellani died on Sunday, August 31, at the age of 81.
He was a perennial contender in the middleweight division in the late '40s through the '50s. He lost only a few fights during that time, and scored wins over the likes of Joey Giardello (Hall of Famer), Tiger Jones, Tony Janiro, Pierre Langlois, Ernie Durando, Walter Cartier, Gil Turner, Johnny Bratton, Harold Green, and Eugene Hairston, and he also fought to a draw with Hall of Famer Billy Graham. In his only title shot, he lost on points to champion Bobo Olson, but I believe he had Olson on the floor. Perhaps his most famous fight was his fight with Ray Robinson, in which he had Robinson down and very close to being knocked out (in all the fights of seen of Ray, I've never seen him hurt the way he was in this one), but Robinson rallied to pull out a split decision. In Robinson's very next fight, he completely annhilated Bobo Olson in two rounds to regain the middleweight title. Castellani also lost to Gene Fullmer by a close split decision, which was Fullmer's first big win on his way to becoming a champion himself a year or two later. After his disheartening losses to Robinson and Fullmer, Castellani faded from the top and retired a couple of years later.
If Castellani's name sounds familiar for other reasons, it's because you probably saw him quite a bit through the '90s as a boxing judge.
