Attilio N. "Rocky" Castellani (May 26, 1926 – August 31, 2008) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
boxerBoxing is a combat sport where two participants, generally of similar weight, fight each other with their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee and is typically engaged in during a series of one to three-minute intervals called rounds. There are three ways to win...
. He was born in
Luzerne County, PennsylvaniaLuzerne County is the most populated county in northeastern Pennsylvania, with a total population of 319,250 . It is located in the northern Anthracite area called "The Coal Region". Its county seat is Wilkes-Barre.- History :...
, to Attilio Castellani (1889-1974) and Rose Isopi Castellani (1896-1938), who later moved to
Margate CityMargate City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey. As of the United States 2000 Census, the city population was 8,193.Margate City was originally incorporated as the borough of South Atlantic City by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on September 7, 1885, from portions of Egg Harbor...
, formerly South Atlantic City, in
Atlantic CountyAtlantic County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2000 Census, the population is 252,552. Its county seat is Mays Landing....
in eastern
New JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered on the north by New York, and to the east by the Hudson River, Upper New York Bay, the Kill Van Kull, Newark Bay, the Arthur Kill, Raritan Bay, Sandy Hook Bay, Westchester County, New York City, Long Island, and...
. He fought in the battle of
Iwo JimaIwo Jima, officially , is an island of the Japanese Volcano Islands chain, which makes up the southern end of the Ogasawara Islands. The island is located 1,200 kilometers south of mainland Tokyo and administered as part of Ogasawara, one of eight villages of Tokyo...
during
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
as a Marine.
The highlight of Castellani's career was probably his 1955 bout with
Hall of FamerThe modern International Boxing Hall of Fame is located in Canastota, New York, United States, within driving distance from the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown and the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta...
Sugar Ray Robinson'Sugar Ray Robinson was a professional boxer. Frequently cited as the greatest boxer of all time, Robinson's performances at the welterweight and middleweight divisions prompted sportswriters to create "pound for pound" rankings, where they compared fighters regardless of weight...
.
Attilio N. "Rocky" Castellani (May 26, 1926 – August 31, 2008) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
boxerBoxing is a combat sport where two participants, generally of similar weight, fight each other with their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee and is typically engaged in during a series of one to three-minute intervals called rounds. There are three ways to win...
. He was born in
Luzerne County, PennsylvaniaLuzerne County is the most populated county in northeastern Pennsylvania, with a total population of 319,250 . It is located in the northern Anthracite area called "The Coal Region". Its county seat is Wilkes-Barre.- History :...
, to Attilio Castellani (1889-1974) and Rose Isopi Castellani (1896-1938), who later moved to
Margate CityMargate City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey. As of the United States 2000 Census, the city population was 8,193.Margate City was originally incorporated as the borough of South Atlantic City by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on September 7, 1885, from portions of Egg Harbor...
, formerly South Atlantic City, in
Atlantic CountyAtlantic County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2000 Census, the population is 252,552. Its county seat is Mays Landing....
in eastern
New JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered on the north by New York, and to the east by the Hudson River, Upper New York Bay, the Kill Van Kull, Newark Bay, the Arthur Kill, Raritan Bay, Sandy Hook Bay, Westchester County, New York City, Long Island, and...
. He fought in the battle of
Iwo JimaIwo Jima, officially , is an island of the Japanese Volcano Islands chain, which makes up the southern end of the Ogasawara Islands. The island is located 1,200 kilometers south of mainland Tokyo and administered as part of Ogasawara, one of eight villages of Tokyo...
during
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
as a Marine.
The highlight of Castellani's career was probably his 1955 bout with
Hall of FamerThe modern International Boxing Hall of Fame is located in Canastota, New York, United States, within driving distance from the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown and the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta...
Sugar Ray Robinson'Sugar Ray Robinson was a professional boxer. Frequently cited as the greatest boxer of all time, Robinson's performances at the welterweight and middleweight divisions prompted sportswriters to create "pound for pound" rankings, where they compared fighters regardless of weight...
. Castellani lost a close
split decisionA Split Decision is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and others sports involving striking in which two of the three judges score for the same fighter as the winner, while the third judge scores for the other...
and knocked Robinson down in the sixth round. A year earlier, he had lost a fight to
Carl "Bobo" OlsonCarl Olson was an American boxer. He was the world middleweight champion between October 1953 and December 1955, the longest reign of any champion in that division during the 1950s, although he is probably best remembered for his three knockout losses against Sugar Ray Robinson.His nickname, Bobo,...
for the middleweight title. He also lost to
Gene FullmerGene Fullmer is a former American middleweight boxer.Fullmer was born in West Jordan, Utah and raised as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...
,
Kid GavilanGerardo González , better known in the boxing world as Kid Gavilan, was a former gardener and world welterweight champion from Cuba...
, and
Joey GiambraJoey Giambra , was a former middleweight boxer who faced and defeated most of the top contenders of his era. Giambra also defeated future middleweight champion, Joey Giardello, in two out of three matches....
, but defeated
Tony DeMarcoTony DeMarco is a boxer and world welterweight champion. He was born in Boston and grew up in that city's North End community. Tony DeMarco's actual birth name is Leonardo Liotta. Tony’s father Vincent and mother Giacomina came from Sicily.To box in the league, the minimum age was 18...
,
Joey GiardelloCarmine Orlando Tilelli was an American boxer who was the middleweight champion of the world from 1963 to 1965, and was better known by his professional pseudonym of Joey Giardello.-Early life:...
,
Johnny BrattonJohnny Bratton, also known as Honey Boy Bratton, , was a professional boxer in the welterweight division...
, and
Ralph 'Tiger' JonesRalph "Tiger" Jones was a boxer during the 1950s. Trained by Gil Clancy, Jones was a fixture of televised boxing in the 1950s, known for an aggressive style that pleased fans. His overall record was 52 victories, 32 losses and five draws.He became a professional boxer in 1950. In 1955 he scored an...
He finished his career with a 65–14–4 record. After he retired, Castellani operated "Rocky's," a bar in
Atlantic CityAtlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. Famous for its boardwalk, casino gambling, sandy beaches, shopping centers, view of the Atlantic Ocean, and as the inspiration for the board game Monopoly, Atlantic City is a resort community located on Absecon Island on the...
.
A biography of Castellani is entitled
Young Rocky: A True Story of Attilio "Rocky" Castellani by Joe Kinney.