The Neutral Corner

Szuzina, left, and Miceli at a Ring 8 function

First it was Franz Szuzina and now Joe Miceli. They were a pair of contenders who boxed in an era when the word contender meant something.

It meant they were stars in boxing.

Both men have passed away and the Long Island boxing community has lost two of its finest veterans.

Szuzina, a middleweight, died June 29 at the age of 77 at St. Francis Hospital of complications stemming from open-heart surgery he had in May. Szuzina resided in Rockville Centre.

Miceli, a welterweight and middleweight, died on July 19 at the age of 80. He had been battling lung cancer since February. Miceli resided in Brentwood.

Szuzina was born December 29, 1939 in Bremen, Germany and turned pro there in 1950. He made his way to New York by 1956 and immediately established himself as a force in the 160-pound division. But Franz often fought bigger men. He lost to Gustav Scholz, who would later challenge Hall-of-Famer Harold Johnson for the light heavyweight title. Franz won a decision over Willi Besmanoff, who would rise in weight and fight legends like Muhammad Ali, Sonny Liston and Archie Moore.

Franz once told me, "We all watched American fighters like Joe Louis and Sugar Ray Robinson. In Germany, the idol was Max Schmeling. I met him many times. He was a hell of a nice guy. I became the German Youth Champion and then I turned pro. I fought everyone, heavyweights, light heavyweights and I was really just a big welterweight. Someone told me, ‘Get away from that manager, he’s going to get you killed.’ ... I fought Virgil Akins in his hometown and I fought Joey Giardello three times. After my fight with Giardello in Washington, the crowd was very unhappy with the decision. There was almost a riot. I was supposed to fight Bobo Olson for the title. That’s why I came here, to fight for the title. But it never happened."

Franz fought nothing but tough guys -- often in their own backyards -- while compiling a record 48-23-14 (24). He held wins over Randy Sandy, welterweight champ Virgil Akins and Charley Cotton. He also fought Hall-of-Famer Joey Giardello, Rory Calhoun, Spider Webb and Henry Hank. He retired in 1961.

The same for Miceli. Joe's 110-bout career stretched from 1948 to 1961. He fought in 19 different states, plus the District of Columbia, as well as Cuba, Argentina and Canada. Miceli played all of boxing's grandest venues -- Madison Square Garden, the Olympic Auditorium, Legion Stadium, Chicago Stadium, St. Nicholas Arena, Boston Garden, War Memorial, Miami Beach Auditorium, The Arena in Philly and a lot more.

Throughout his career, Miceli fought a dozen world champions and six Hall of Famers. He met the best in the lightweight, welterweight and middleweight divisions and 37 of his fights were televised. Here is his ledger against Hall-of-Famers - Ike Williams (Joe beat him 2-out-of-3), Kid Gavilan (Joe lost a split decision at the Garden), Gene Fullmer (L), Joey Giardello (Draw), Luis Rodriguez (L) and Curtis Cokes (L).

I had many conversations with Miceli and his family. I remember him telling this story about fighting Ike Williams: "When I beat Ike Williams the first time, that was the biggest thrill of my life. He was lightweight champ of the world and we fought a 10-round non-title fight in Milwaukee. I saw him fight on television and he was tall, lanky and a hard puncher. I thought to myself, this guy is a great fighter, never thinking that I was going to fight him. I was still growing then. I was 139, 140 pounds. They knew I was a strong kid but a guy like Ike Williams doesn't fear nobody. I just went in against him and fought my heart out. I was young then and I had all the stamina I needed. He was a complete boxer. He did everything well, including punch. I was 21 years old and I beat the champ of the world. I was shocked myself. He gave me a rematch but never for the title."

Both Miceli and Szuzina were members of Ring 8 in New York.

They will be greatly missed.

-- CASSIDY