A LOOK back AT EVENTS THAT HAPPENED ON this date
Tony Musto gives spirited effort against the great Joe Louis
Tony Musto was not in Joe Louis’s class but one thing about his performance in their fight on this date in 1941 was surprising: his durability. The Chicago product was small – 5-foot-7½, 199½ pounds for the Louis fight – but as tough as they come. Louis, making the 16th defense of his heavyweight title during his “Bum of the Month” run, was expected to take out the challenger within a few rounds. And it seemed as if he might when he scored a third-round knockdown. However, Musto got up at the count of one and never saw the canvas again even though he fell far behind on the cards. The squat underdog didn’t survive the full 15 rounds but only because of a bad cut above his right eye that forced referee Arthur Donovan to stop the fight, which took place in St. Louis. Louis would go on to make 10 more successful defenses, sealing his reputation as an all-time great. Musto would finish his career in 1946 with a record of 37-30-3 (13 KOs), underscoring his mediocrity. At the same time, he could always say that took everything one of the hardest punchers ever threw at him without being counted out.
Also on this date: Oliver McCall made the only successful defense of his WBC heavyweight title against 45-year-old Larry Holmes in 1995. McCall won a close, but unanimous decision. And Bruce Seldon stopped Tony Tucker to win the vacant WBA heavyweight title in seven rounds in 1996. Seldon would lose his belt to Mike Tyson two fights later.