CARNERA, PRIMO & BENNY LEONARD WIRE PHOTO (1934-AS CARNERA TRAINS TO BAER)

On June 14, 1934 at the Madison Square Garden Bowl in Long Island City, New York heavyweight champion Primo Carnera defended his title against hard punching challenger Max Baer. Baer exposed Carnera, knocking him down 12 times and stopping him in the 11th round to win the title. Carnera was a slight favorite on the afternoon of the fight. By the time the boxers entered the ring, Baer was slightly favored. The gross gate was $428,392.80, and the net was $361,357.29. The paid attendance was 52,268. Carnera's purse was $122,057.08, and Baer's was $65,044.31. The Associated Press reported: "Eleven times in eleven rounds, the massive Italian, biggest man ever to hold the title, crashed to the floor from Baer's blows, twice in the last round, before Referee Arthur Donovan stepped in and stopped the fight after two minutes, 16 seconds of the 11th. . . . A twelfth time the giant slid to the floor full-length from lost balance in a wild lunge at his foe." There has been a long debate about exactly how many knockdowns Carnera suffered in this bout. Some say as few as seven, others say 10 and still others claim there were 12. Nat Fleischer, who was ringside for the fight, stated in the August 1934 issue of The Ring Magazine, of which he was the founder and editor, that Carnera was down 12 times and slipped once. He gave Baer three knockdowns in the first round, three in the second, one in the third, three in the 10th and two in the 11th. He said Carnera slipped in the eighth after missing a punch.Offered here is an original wire photo which depicts former world lightweight champion Benny Leonard visiting Primo Carnera's training camp on June 5, 1934 as Carnera prepared for Baer.
This is an original United Press wire photo with their stamp and caption on back. Bold, clear image. Clean front and back. Tiny corner creases at top corners. No tears. 7" x 9."