Stefan Redl vs Tony DeMarco

My Dad, Stefan, fought Tony DeMarco in 2/6/62. He fought him in his hometown of Boston. With the "home field advantage", my Dad felt that short of knocking DeMarco out, he couldn't win this fight. He lost the 10 round fight in a decision. (I'm not sure it was a split decision.)

DeMarco was a top contender and I think he held the world title at one point, but I don't believe Stefan ever fought him for the title.

(I'll have to double check my information with my Mom and Dad...)

Here's the DeMarco fight. There's no sound and is very short, probably a highlight reel. Stefan is in white and DeMarco black. I'm not sure which rounds are highlighted here:

The first spot shows DeMarco besting Redl with some hooks pounding Redl's belly.

Then there's a break showing what looks to be the timer or bell ringer.

The second spot shows Redl besting DeMarco, pushing forward and wrestling in reaching jabs and left hooks. The aggression gets pretty notable, when DeMarco, clutches Redl, and collapses to the canvas, bringing Redl down with him. Redl is up first, followed by a slower and more exhausted DeMarco.

Then there's a break with showing a ringside photographer.

The third spot continues with Redl doing a slightly dirty trick. Note how he holds DeMarco's left glove against his body with his right elbow. I remember my Dad telling me about this trick. Your opponent can't pull his hand free, to protect himself or hit you because his glove is too big. Usually you do this on the opposite side of your body from where the Ref is standing. From the Ref's point of view, your opponent is "holding" you! Immediately after this Redl lunges forward with a left jab and DeMarco finishes up with a barrage of body shots before the Ref breaks them up for the end of the fight.

I think if my Dad had 5 more rounds, he would have knocked out DeMarco.

Stefan Redl vs Don Fullmer

Stefan fought Don Fullmer on 5/11/60 in West Jordan Utah, in Fullmer's family gym. He lost the 10 round fight in a unanimous decision. This was the 2nd in a string of 6 consecutive losses; Carl Hubbard TKO'd Stefan in round 6, Don Fullmer won by unanimous decision, Vince Martinez won by TKO in round 5, Joe Salci won on points, Jorje Jose Fernandez won by unanimous decision, and Curtis Cokes beat Stefan by way of TKO in round 8. The next two fights, (that year!) Stefan won. He beat Julie Jamison on points and KO'd Joe Smyer in round 5.

Don Fullmer was one of three brothers who boxed. Jay Fullmer, the youngest, was a welter weight, whom surprisingly being the same weight class, my Dad never fought. My Dad believed he would have beaten Jay because Jay was lighter than him. Don and Gene were both middle weights and my Dad fought Don. Gene was the most successful of the Fullmers. My Dad tells me Gene bought land in Utah where he built a gym. There were apartments above the gym and a few other buildings around the area. The whole Fullmer family had fights there. I had joked, "Talk about your home advantage" and my Dad answered, "Well Gene beat Robinson there!" Sugar Ray Robinson is regarded by most as the greatest pound for pound fighter ever. My Dad agrees. He met Robinson several times and said of him that he could do anything. He beat every fighter he ever lost to, even beating Gene in a rematch. My Dad said some thought Robinson threw the first match with Gene to make more money in the rematch. My Dad disagrees, having seen that fight, he believed Gene to have genuinely won.

Regarding money, even though my Dad was really a welter weight, he went in the ring with the bigger and heaver Don. As he said many times before, there was more money in the heavier fights. He believed after watching this fight again, that it could have gone either way on the score cards. But since it was Fullmer's home gym, my Dad would have to have knocked out Don to win. In those days to beat a champ or "home advantage" you'd have to earn the win. If the fight were close or a draw, many times they'd give it to the champ or town hero. My Dad seemed to agree with this idea, scoffing at some modern fights.

[For interest, I asked my Dad if he had ever fought Gene, if he'd win. My Dad said no, as Gene, a heavy middle weight, was simply too big! He felt technically he really didn't belong in the ring with Don, but the money was good...]

This fight was a Friday night TV fight. It was filmed on 8mm, which is why there is no sound and the editing seems a little choppy, but it's a good fight! Watch for my Dad's best punch combination: A left jab to the belly, lunging in far and low, then a left hook to the head. Whenever my Dad showed me a punch, that was the one. He'd squat low, bending at the knees, then spring up like a frog putting his arm, shoulder, back, legs, virtually his whole body behind the punch!

Redl vs Fullmer:

Stefan Redl vs Eddie Jordan

My Dad, Stefan fought Eddie Jordan in 3/6/1959 in NYC to a Draw. This was a video Eddie's family gave to my Dad after he ran into him at a boxing convention. Thanks to Mr. Jordan, we now have a great copy of this fight.

(Actually we have 2 copies! This one has the commercials in it and the original announcers. Another copy I have has the commercials edited out and another announcer describing EVERY single swing and punch. I remember my Grandfather, my Mom's Dad, saying how he liked the old commentators as they let you watch the fight and not babble on and on. But in this second copy, the commentator's seem to be broadcasting for radio as it's not stories, theories or opinions they're talking about, but an endless, breathless barrage of descriptions to what your watching. I decided to post this copy, without that commentary and with the commercials of the 50's. Being a cartoonist I was almost as excited to see the old animation as my Dad's fight! So for selfish reasons here is the commercial-riddled Redl vs Jordan fight.)

Of this fight, my Dad said that he thinks he should have won, having "made the fight", by chasing Jordan. (Bear in mind this is a disagreement on styles of fighting. Many would argue Marvelous Marvin Hagler is more exciting to watch than Sugar Ray Leonard because he's the aggressor, constantly pushing the fight. Others would say the flash and dancing of Leonard is more exciting. When there's a close fight with one fighter moving forward and the other moving backward, opinions like this play very much into how the judges score the fight. See what you think...)

Redl vs Jordan:



When my Dad gets a chance, I'll have him review this fight and I'll post his remarks!

Special thanks to Mr. Jordan and the Jordan family! Part of the purpose of this blog is to connect with fighters my Dad fought who might have a copy of a fight or two!

Stefan's Bio by Dan Cuoco

My Dad Stefan frequently visits Syracuse NY for some "boxing dinners". Basically a boxing convention, where fighters get together to talk about past fights and perhaps fans can get autographs. Stefan ran into Dan Cuoco, who interviewed him and wrote the following story. I was hoping to link to the story, but I couldn't find it. Luckily, my Mom still had a hard copy, which she and my Dad fact checked their approval.

I'll try to get more personal accounts to elaborate on what Mr. Cuoco wrote in the future. But one my Dad told me, that I'll never forget has nothing to do with boxing. It relates to Mr. Cuoco's second paragraph where my Dad and family were deported from Hungry to Germany via box car at the end of WWII.

My Dad Stefan had a stray dog as a pet whom he named "Jelly" in Hungarian. (Forgive my phonic spelling, but it sounds like "Lake-whar".) My Grandmother told him that they couldn't take the dog for lack of room and food and that the dog had to be left behind, hoping perhaps someone else could take care of him. Stefan cried that he'd share his food with the dog, only to hear there may not be enough food even for them during the journey. As the train left, Stefan could see his dog through the wood slots of the box car running after the train, trying to keep up. After a while the dog finally faded back into the distance until he was never seen again.



A Look Back at the Career of Stefan Redl
By Dan Cuoco

Stefan Redl was born in Heregsalva, Hungary on March 5, 1933. Stefan was the only boy in a family of three. His father Frank and mother Katherine were of German descent. His father served in the Hungarian Army during World War II and in 1942 was reported missing in action. The Redl’s never gave up hope that Frank would return when the war was over. Sadly, Stefan’s father never did return from the war.

Shortly after the end of the war, the Hungarian Communist Party started deporting all citizens of German heritage. In early 1946, 12-year-old Stefan, his mother and two sisters, Katherine and Elizabeth, were deported to Germany. They traveled by boxcar and slept on beds of straw. His mother was told to bring enough food for her family to last for ten days. Consequently, she was forced to make up an assortment of food products consisting of breads and other basic staples that were nutritious and would not spoil before the journey ended. They settled in Heidenheim, near Stuttgart, Germany where his mother had relatives.

Stefan‘s introduction to Heidenheim started off rocky because he and his family were not welcome with open arms by the German populace even though they were of German ancestry and spoke German fluently. Some of the local neighborhood kids started to pick fights with him because they considered him an outsider, which reflected their parent’s beliefs. Stefan held his ground and gave as good as he got. One of the youngsters was an aspiring amateur boxer and quickly took a liking to the plucky newcomer. He encouraged Stefan to join his gym and give amateur boxing a try. Stefan was immediately hooked. Besides boxing, Stefan also excelled in soccer and track.

By the time Stefan finished high school he was on his way of becoming one of Germany’s top amateur fighters. In 1950 he became the Junior Featherweight Champion of Germany. In 1952 he was defeated on a split decision in the finals of the Olympic Trials. He competed all over Europe compiling an excellent record of 138-3. He also held the Junior Welterweight title for three years, during 1952, 1953 and 1954. In 1953 he fought for the European Junior Welterweight title in Warsaw, Poland, but lost a decision to the same fighter who defeated him in the Olympic trials in 1952.

Outside of boxing, Stefan learned to be a tool and die maker. Although he was making a good living as a tool-and-die maker he didn’t feel fulfilled. So when he received an invitation from his uncle to visit the United States he jumped at the chance. Stefan said: “I wasn’t planning to stay, only to visit.” He arrived in the United States on February 14, 1956. His aunt and uncle lived in Passaic, NJ. Stefan immediately fell in love with Passaic. Stefan said: “As soon as I saw the trains in the middle of the town it made me feel at home, because this is the way it is in many German and Hungarian towns.”

Stefan had learned to speak some English from U.S. troops stationed in Stuttgart, so he had no qualms about sightseeing on his own. One day, while he was sightseeing in Paterson, NJ, he decided to find a local gym to work out. He asked a local policeman for directions to the closest gym and was directed to the Garden Gym run by Carl Duva. All he planned to do was work out. Carl Duva saw how well he was hitting the speed bag and heavy bag and came over and asked him if he had ever done any boxing. Stefan told him that he was an amateur boxer in Germany and just came in to work out. Carl convinced Stefan to spar with one of the pros working out at the gym and was so impressed with how good he looked, he convinced him to give professional boxing a try.

Under Carl Duva’s guidance, Stefan turned pro on April 20, 1956 in Patterson, NJ with a first round knockout over Wilmer Bonney. As Stefan began building his record to an impressive 11-0-0 (9) he also started the process to become an American citizen and joined the New Jersey National Guard. At Ft. Dix, Stefan took classes in English where he learned how to read and write in English.

Just ten months into his pro career, Stefan made both his main event debut and his national television debut at St. Nicholas Arena against former lightweight champion Paddy DeMarco. Although he was nervous, Stefan pounded out a convincing unanimous decision in a rough, savage bout. DeMarco tried to bull Stefan with a two-handed attack to the body. Stefan countered Paddy’s attack with a body attack of his own and eventually took the play away from DeMarco with long right hands to the head.

Stefan ran off three more wins (2 by KO) before going on active duty at Ft. Dix, NJ for four months. He returned to inactive duty and resumed his boxing career with a fourth round knockout over Willie Moore before suffering his first defeat by split decision to Gale Kerwin. The decision was not well received by the Madison Square Garden crowd of 3,000. Stefan forced the action all the way and most observers had him winning six rounds. A disputed knockdown in the sixth swayed two officials in Kerwin’s favor.

In his next fight, Stefan won the New Jersey State welterweight title with a twelve round unanimous decision over Johnny DiGilio. A month later he oupointed Charlie Cummings in New York. Shortly after the Cummings fight, Stefan traveled to Germany to visit his family. While there he fought German veteran Gerd Muller at Killesberg Stadium in Stuttgart. Before more than 3,000 fans Stefan dropped Muller in the second round, survived a knockdown in the sixth round (the only round he lost) and a cut eye to pound his way to a lop-sided victory.

Three months later Stefan was back in the United States and in the ring against Philadelphia buzz-saw Gil Turner. Turner outlasted Stefan in a grueling ten rounder at Madison Square Garden. Stefan had the better of the early rounds, but couldn’t maintain the rugged pace set by Turner and faded in the closing rounds.

On December 6, 1958, Stefan closed out the year dropping a heart breaking close ten round decision to Vince Martinez in Newark, NJ. Vince had to call on all his skill to beat Stefan by the closest of margins. Referee Paul Cavalier, the sole arbiter scored the fight 5-4-1 for Martinez. Boxing writer Deane McGowan covering the fight for the New York Times scored the fight even.

In January 1959 Stefan regained his winning ways with an easy ten round decision over rugged Danny Russo at St. Nicholas Arena. Stefan was just too strong and aggressive for his Brooklyn rival. He then defeated Ernie Williams at St. Nicholas Arena, fought a draw with then unbeaten Eddie Jordan at Madison Square Garden and beat Roger Harvey in Boston.

Stefan was flying high and his popularity and aggressive style made him a natural opponent for the United States debut of Cuba’s murderous punching Florentino Fernandez. Fernandez was unbeaten, 21-0-0 (18), and was riding a 15 fight consecutive knockout string. Stefan entered the bout with a record of 23-3-1 (13).


Fernandez, with a height and reach advantage that gave him an edge right from the opening bell, started the seventh round with a left hook flush to the chin that buckled Stefan’s knees. He wobbled half way across the ring before he could get control of his legs. Fernandez quickly caught his distressed opponent with another solid left hook to the chin. Stefan collapsed, landing flat on his back in his own corner. At the count of 4, Stefan rolled over, got one knee under him, and then the other. Holding to the ring ropes, he tried desperately to clear his head by rolling it around on his shoulders. At 8, he was on his feet; at 9, referee Harry Ebbetts waved Fernandez back to action. But Stefan was badly hurt and was standing there by his own corner, his hands hanging straight down by his sides. He was in no shape to defend himself as Fernandez rushed towards him and landed one more punch before referee Ebbetts realizing Stefan was defenseless rushed in and stopped the fight.

Stefan returned to action four months later winning on points over Eddie Lynch in New York and closed out 1959 knocking out Jesse Watson in Trenton, NJ.

1960 proved to be a difficult year for Stefan. He started the year off by losing six consecutive contests before finishing the year with two consecutive victories. Four of his six losses were to Don Fullmer, Vince Martinez, Jorge Fernandez and Curtis Cokes.

In 1961 Stefan returned to Germany, winning three fights in Berlin, Dortmund and Munich. He came back to the United States in June and won two more fights before ending the year with a ten round draw against former welterweight champion Virgil Akins.

Stefan, with an eight fight unbeaten streak, traveled to Boston on February 6, 1962 to take on former welterweight champion Tony DeMarco. The 30-year-old DeMarco, was on the comeback trail and was coming off a second round knockout win over another former welterweight champion Don Jordan. DeMarco won a close hard fought 10 round decision over Stefan in what turned out to be Tony’s last professional fight. In a highly entertaining fight, both fighters exchanged savage punches throughout and it was amazing that neither hit the canvas, although DeMarco was rocked badly in the final round. After dominating most of the first seven rounds DeMarco started to slow down from Stefan’s consistent bodywork. Midway through the final round, Stefan rocked DeMarco with a hard right hand to the head and dominated the round by pinning Demarco on the ropes and scoring with a series of uppercuts and left hooks. DeMarco was on rubbery legs when the final bell rang. I always believed that Stefan’s final round blitz of DeMarco convinced Tony to call it a career, because shortly after the fight Tony announced his retirement.

A month later Stefan won an easy decision over veteran Johnny Torres in New Jersey before returning back to Boston where he dropped a decision to unbeaten Bob Fosmire.

On May 28, 1962, Stefan lost a questionable decision to Tony Fortunato in the final show at the legendary St Nicholas Arena located at West 66th street. Shortly after the last fight card it was demolished and replaced by a modern 40-storied office and studio building housing the American Broadcasting Company. Aside from Madison Square Garden, St. Nick’s was the last of the old established fight arenas in New York City. The non-TV show attracted 1,177 fans and gross receipts of $2,391.03.

After the Fortunato fight, Stefan stepped away from boxing for awhile to concentrate on his full-time job as a foreman in carpentry and construction. Stefan knew that his boxing career was starting to wind down and he was already planning his future after boxing. His goal was to start his own carpentry and construction business.

In March 1963, Stefan took his wife Laura and one year old son, Frank to Europe for a seven month vacation. During this time he fought his last five fights, two of which he promoted himself. His last professional fight took place on October 4, 1963 against Chris Christensen in Copenhagen, Denmark. Stefan had Christensen in trouble during the ninth, but Christensen walked away with a narrow decision.

In 1964 Stefan started his own carpentry and construction business, which he later expanded into building custom homes. He also started investing in real estate in Vermont and Pennsylvania.

Now retired, Stefan and his wife Laura live in Wayne, New Jersey in a custom home he built himself. Stefan has three children, Frank, Linda and David and several grandchildren.

Stefan was inducted into The New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame in 1989.

Stefan regularly attends the annual International Boxing Hall of Fame induction weekend held in Canastota, NY. Accompanying him each year is his good friend and former boxer Bert DeWitt, a friendship which was forged 50 years before in heated sparring sessions in New Jersey boxing gyms.

During the past five years I have had the personal pleasure of getting to know Stefan and found him to be one of the most accessible and humble ex-fighters I have ever met. It's great to see someone like Stefan finish on his feet a winner in
life, as well as in the ring.


References

Redl, S. 2007. Private Conversations, Canastota, NY, June 2007, and Wayne, NJ
September 2007

Redl vs Fernandez

When your Dad was a prize fighter, the question you'll always ask him, no matter how many times he told you is "Who was the toughest guy you fought?" Without hesitation, every time, my Dad answered, "Florentino Fernandez".

Stefan fought him in NYC 6/19/59 and lost by way of TKO in round 7. Of Fernandez my Dad said he could hit so hard, when he hit you in the stomach, Florentino picked you up a few inches off the canvas.

In the late 50's 3 Cuban boxers came to America. One was Florentino. No one saw them fight before, but Stefan's manager Carl Duva set the fight. Florentino out weighed my Dad by a few pounds, being closer to a middle weight than a welterweight, but the money was there and being fearless, my Dad took the fight.

Stefan held his own for a while slugging it out with Fernandez up until round 7. My Dad has been knocked down before, usually in the early rounds since he was a slow starter. Also because his style of boxing caused him to slip frequently. Whether you opponent knocked you there or not, sometimes a slip can count. But this TKO was for real.

My Dad told me he was hit, then heard the ref say, "FOUR" and he thought, "What the hell happened to 1,2 and 3?" He took a knee to catch his breath and got up at the count of 8. But, still groggy, he didn't get his guard up until Fernandez was on top of him again. Seeing this, the ref stopped the fight, calling a TKO.

Even though he lost, my Dad is proud of the fact that he slugged it out with a much larger, almost mystery fighter. After seeing the fight, so am I. My Dad remains to be the toughest guy I've ever known.

Redl vs Fernandez:

Redl vs Milone

I thought I'd start this blog off with an exciting fight my Dad, Stefan Redl had against Al "Rocky" Milone in 1957. Aside from the fierce brawl, which was common for fights in the 50's, it's also fun to go around saying, "Hey, my Dad fought 'Rocky' and won... TWICE!"

Their first battle was in 3/18/57 at the St. Nicholas Arena in NYC. This was an arena my Dad broke a record in for the biggest gate for a boxing match. (He drew all the Germans and Hungarians from President St. in Passaic. Bus loads of people from the local saloon and some of which my Dad's barber brought in!) Chris Shankle the commentator, sort of a pre-Howard Cosell who commented on fights back then, said this fight drew the biggest crowd in St. Nicks ever. I don't know if my Dad broke it again later.

Milone knocked my Dad down twice in the second round. First he slipped, which often happened to him, but since his glove touched the canvas, it counted as a knockdown. The second knockdown was for real! But Stefan made up for it by TKO in round 8!

A couple of months later, they met again in 5/4/57 in the Paterson Armory in NJ. [Check out that fight promotional poster! $5 for a seat!] Milone promised after their first encounter that the next time he knocked Stefan down, he'd keep him there! So recollects my Dad as well as indicated on the poster itself under Milone's name. But Stefan won that fight also, this time by KO in round 6.

An interesting side note is that before the fight they introduce Johnny DiGilio, who my Dad fought in 3/29/58 in Paterson NJ. He won that fight and became NJ Welterweight Champ. It's the biggest trophy on his mantle. (I use to compare my Han Solo action figure to the bronze boxing figures on it.)

Below is a broadcast of the first REDL vs MILONE fight! [Due to file sizes, I broke the fight up into two parts. Here's part one of a 38 min. video! It takes a while for the fight to start, but I didn't want to edit anything out. Interesting to see how things were done back in those days.]:

Stefan was cut in the first round, which also often happened to my Dad and you'll see his corner tend to his wound. One story he told me was that sometimes they'd keep half-dollar coins on ice and use that as a cold compress for swollen eyes and cheeks. Another more grisly story my Mom mentioned was during the 2nd Vince Martinez fight, my Dad had a plastic like film called "New Skin" applied to one of his cuts that was suppose to stop the bleeding. The blood needed somewhere to go, so part of his face and head swelled. Duva never used it again. My Dad told my Mom's Dad to take my Mom home. Since in those days men were only allowed in the dressing rooms, my Mom didn't see Stefan for a week or so until the swelling stopped. Even then, his features still seemed swollen.

At about 10:50 of the first video you'll see Al Milone hit my Dad behind the ears. This is called "Rabbit Punches". I first heard the term from a Bugs Bunny cartoon. It can't knock a guy out, but could distract him with pain. You'll see old fighters and wrestlers especially with lumpy ears called cauliflower ears from abuse like that. When I drew Popeye's Brutus, he always had a cauliflower ear. (Can you tell I'm a cartoonist yet?) Those type of punches are illegal, but back then usually the ref looked the other way or simply told the other fighter to watch out.

My Dad told me once punches like this was the difference between "boxing" and "fighting". He had over 150 amateur fights in Germany where he was called "a boxer". Being a boxer, you try to tag your opponent with punches in specific areas of the head and body using specific areas of your glove. If you cut a guy, you tried to avoid the cut and still win. If you could do that, then you are really a champ. When he came to America in 1956 and turned pro, he was called "a fighter". As such, when you cut a guy, you rub your head against it in a clinch, poke the thumb of the glove in it, rub your forearms and elbows against it when the ref wasn't looking and generally hit nothing but that cut to bust it wide open and at least get the ring doctor to stop the fight. Almost a different sport!

One specific story my Dad told me was one of his first professional fights was with a guy shorter than him. My Dad thought going in that he'd beat this guy easy, "He's even shorter than me!" Well in round 1, this little guy pushed my Dad, then punched him when he was off balance. This little guy is getting the better of him! At the end of the round, Carl Duva, my Dad's trainer yelled at him and threatened to walk away from the fight. "If he pushes you, you push him back!" he yelled. Scolded and a little embarrassed, in the next round my Dad gave him a shove, then threw a left hook and down he went! It was a clear illustration of the difference between "boxing" and "fighting".

Of this fight, my Dad said Al Milone could really slug and was one tough guy. You can see Milone swinging bombs left and right! But he mentions that he won the fight because he fought smarter. My Dad was a better boxer and was in better shape with better stamina. That's what won the fight. But you have to hand it to Milone... in the end he wanted more!

My Mom mentioned that she never saw this fight, but saw the re-match (of the poster above). She knew my Dad as a boxer, but wasn't even dating him at that time. She remembers seeing through a window at the Paterson Armory my Dad's Army friends, whom he served with at Ft. Dix, carrying him on their shoulders upon his victory. My Mom was often dragged to fights by our Aunt Minnie!