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Primo Carnera (October 26, 1906 - June 29, 1967)
was an Italy|Italian Boxing|boxer who became the
List of Heavyweight Champions|World Heavyweight
champion.


Born in Sequals, near Udine, Carnera was a
remarkable individual: at six feet, seven inches
(2.01 m) tall and 270 pounds (122 kg) of weight,
he was the biggest of all Heavyweight champions in
boxing history. He enjoyed a sizeable reach
advantage over most rivals and, when seen on fight
footage, he seems like a towering giant compared
to many Heavyweights of his era, who were usually
at least 60 pounds (27 kg) lighter and 7 inches
(18 cm) smaller than he. One publicity release
about him read in part: For breakfast, Primo has a
quart of orange juice, two quarts of milk,
nineteen pieces of toast, fourteen eggs, a loaf of
bread and half a pound of Virginia ham. Because of
his size, he earned the nickname The Ambling Alp.

September 12 of 1928 was the date of Carnera's
first professional fight, against Leon Sebilo, in
Paris, France|Paris. Carnera won by
Knockout|knockout in round two. He won his first
six bouts, then lost to Franz Diener by
disqualification in round one at Leipzig. Then, he
won seven more bouts in a row before meeting Young
Stribling. He and Stribling exchanged
disqualification wins, Carnera winning the first
in four rounds, and Stribling winning the rematch
in round seven. In Carnera's next bout he avenged
his defeat to Diener with a knockout in round six.

In 1930, he moved to the United States, where he
toured extensively, winning his first seventeen
bouts there by knockout. One of the boxers he beat
during that streak was Jack McAuliffe. The one
rival who broke the streak was George Godfrey,
beaten by disqualification in five in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Philadelphia. Carnera
lost a decision to Jim Maloney in Boston to finish
1930.

In 1931, he went 7-1. He beat Maloney and King
Levinsky, but his sole loss that year was to
future world Heavyweight champion Jack Sharkey.

In 1932, he went 23-2, with 17 knockouts, but
mostly against obscure opposition. Neither of his
two losses were by knockout. The first to Larry
Gains in London England was decided by unanimous
decision. The second to Stanley Poreda,  a
controversial match held in Newark, NJ, was
decided by points.

1933 was one of the most important years in
Carnera's life: On February 10, he knocked out
Ernie Schaaf in thirteen rounds in New York City,
New York|New York. Schaaf passed away two days
later and Carnera had to go through what most
boxers wish they did not have to: the death of an
opponent. For his next fight, Carnera faced the by
then world Heavyweight champion Sharkey, with the
crown on the line. The championship date was June
29, at the Madison Square Garden's bowl at Long
Island, New York|Long Island. Carnera became world
champion by knocking out Sharkey in round six. 

He retained the title against Paulino Uzcudun (who
was attempting to become the first Hispanic world
Heavyweight champion) and Tommy Loughran, both by
decision in 15 rounds, but in his next fight,
against Max Baer, he was
dropped 12 times en route to an 11 round knockout
defeat.

After that, he won his next four fights, three of
them as part of a South America|South American
tour that took him to Brazil, Argentina and
Uruguay, as well as boxing two exhibitions in the
southern American continent. But then, in his next
fight of importance, on June 25, 1935, he was
knocked out in six rounds by a future world
Heavyweight champion named Joe Louis.

For the next three years, he had a rather ordinary
record, winning four bouts and losing four. But in
1938, Carnera, a Diabetes|diabetic, had to have a
Kidney|kidney removed, for which he had forced
retirement until 1944. 

Carnera's manager, a Mafia|gangster named Owney
Madden, stole much of Carnera's money and left him
almost broke. Because of Madden's connection to
the underworld, it has always been speculated
across the boxing world that most of Carnera's
fights were fixed. The book East Side, West Side:
Tales of New York Sporting Life 1910-1960 took the
rumors a step further, stating that Most of the
Italian giant's opponents were pushovers, paid to
take a dive or too frightened to stand up for
three minutes in a row. Jack Sharkey himself had
to deny rumors about him taking a dive in his
world championship fight with Carnera, swearing
that he didn't. 

Carnera in his time off boxing went to Hollywood
and tried his fortune there, and he did well in
the city of the stars, participating in a number
of movies, his starring job in A Kid For Two
Farthings being critically acclaimed. In 1945, he
attempted a comeback to boxing, and he won two
fights in a row. But after losing to Luigi Mussina
three times in a row, he quit boxing for good. 

In 1946, he became a professional professional
wrestling|wrestler and was immediately a huge
success at the box office. For a few years he was
one of the top draws in wrestling, even though he
never held a major title. Carnera continued to be
an attraction into the 1960s. Supposedly, he and
Baer engaged in a wrestling match, no evidence of
that happening was actually ever found. 

In 1953, Carnera married Giuseppina Kovacic, and
they immediately became American citizens. They
settled in Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles,
where Carnera opened a restaurant and a liquor
store. They had two kids, of which one became a
medical doctor.

In 1954, Federico Fellini's La Strada, featuring
Anthony Quinn as a boxer, was released. Many fans
thought the movie's story had some resemblance to
Carnera's life. But in 1947 Budd Schulberg wrote
his novel, The Harder They Fall, a story about a
boxer whose fights are fixed, and when in 1956 a
movie with the same name and based on the novel
was released by Columbia Pictures, Carnera sued
the movie company, but he lost. 

Carnera died in 1967, of a combination of diabetes
complications and liver disease.

Even after his death, rumors that put the results
of his bouts in doubt kept roaming around the
boxing world. The legitimacy of Carnera's fight's
results might be one of boxing's greatest
incognitos ever. Well into the 2000s, this is a
subject many critics, historians, analysts and
fans as well talk about. It shall be said,
however, that Carnera himself apparently did not
know of the supposed fixings.

Carnera's record was of 87 wins, 14 losses and 1
no-decision, his 69 wins by knockout making him a
member of the exclusive club of boxers that won 50
or more bouts by knockout.
==Pro Wrestling Championships==
*1-Time NWA San Francisco Tag Team
Championship|NWA World Tag Team Champion (San
Francisco version) (with Sandor Szabo)
*1-Time Los Angeles International Television Tag
Team Champion (with Houston Harris|Bobo Brazil)



start box
succession box |
  before= Jack Sharkey |
  title= List of heavyweight boxing
champions|Heavyweight boxing champion |
  years= 1933–1934 |
  after= Max Baer

end box