Primo Carnera

Carnera was a major box-office attraction during the 1930s, regularly drawing large crowds due to his sheer size and spectacle. He set many attendance records during the height of the Great Depression. Later active as a professional wrestler and film actor, he appeared alongside Max Baer and Jack Dempsey in the Oscar nominated film The Prizefighter and the Lady (1933). Primo's life is crudely mirrored in the Humphrey Bogart film The Harder They Fall (1956). He sued the producers for invasion of privacy but was unsuccessful.

Primo Carnera was born in Sequals, then in the Province of Udine, now in the Province of Pordenone, Friuli-Venezia Giulia at the north-easternmost corner of Italy. On 13 March 1939, Carnera married Giuseppina Kovačič (1913–1980), a post office clerk from Gorizia. In 1953, they received dual US and Italian citizenship. They settled in Los Angeles, where Carnera opened a restaurant and a liquor store. They had two children, Umberto and Giovanna Maria. Umberto became a medical doctor. Carnera died in 1967 at age 60 in his native town of Sequals, Italy. He died from a combination of liver disease and complications from diabetes.

Upon arrival in America, Carnera was first touted as being 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) tall, and thus the tallest heavyweight in history, but later reporting lists him as low as 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) tall. He fought at over 275 pounds (125 kg). Often listed as 6 feet 6½ inches to draw comparison to Jess Willard's record breaking height, Carnera was known to be slightly shorter but around 40 lb (18 kg) heavier and was the heaviest champion in boxing history until Nikolai Valuev in 2005. The average height in Italy was approximately 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) and in the United States 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m), Heavyweights at the time were 175 pounds (79 kg) and up. After Carnera's bout with Ernie Schaaf the New York Boxing Commission considered a proposal that Carnera would only be sanctioned to fight opponents 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 220 pounds (100 kg) and up, which would have limited him to 10 known opponents.

According to boxing historian Herbert Goldman (managing editor of The Ring 1978–1987), Carnera was "very much mob controlled." His contract was purchased by mobster Owney Madden after Carnera's arrival in New York in 1930. Abe Attell was brought in to train Carnera. Attell had been caught up in the Black Sox Scandal. However Attell was acquitted when he successfully convinced the jury that he was the wrong Abe Attell. Carnera met his first serious heavyweight contender, Young Stribling, in 1929, and won when Stribling fouled him. In a rematch, he fouled Stribling. Each scored a victory by disqualification. Commenting on the unsatisfactory conclusion of the two matches, sportswriter Robert Edgren commented, "Stribling seems to be playing Carnera the way he has played a lot of palukas and stable mates at different towns in 'the sticks' in this country. Always the return engagement." Carnera was immediately a draw in the United States. 18,500 saw his American debut against Big Boy Peterson at Madison Square Garden. Carnera won easily in the 1st round. The New York Times noted the absence of betting on the outcome causing skepticism prior to the match. Peterson was counted out while punching himself in the jaw. "Whether to make sure he was knocked out or in an effort to restore his jarred senses could not be ascertained." A week later in Chicago against Elzear Rioux the fight lasted only 47 seconds and Rioux was down 6 times. Bob Soderman of the Chicago Tribune reported, "Rioux didn't do much fighting... being too intent on doing what he had been hired to do; that is, making sure he fell to the canvas at the slightest provocation." After an investigation, the Illinois Boxing Commission cleared Carnera but fined Rioux $1,000 (~$20,000 in 2025) and revoked his license. In March 1930, Primo Carnera faced George Trafton, an active player for the Chicago Bears. Trafton was knocked out by Carnera in the first round of their fight. In the aftermath of the fight, the Missouri Boxing Commission suspended Trafton but laid no blame on Carnera. His April 1930 fight against California club fighter Bombo Chevalier ended when one of Chevalier's seconds, Bob Perry, threw in the towel, although it appeared that Chevalier was in no worse condition than Carnera. The match was found to be fixed, Carnera's purse was initially withheld. Chevalier's manager stated "the towel should not have been thrown in." In an investigation, Chevalier said he had been approached earlier about a "fake fight," but had declined. No one had expected the towel to be thrown in. Chevalier also stated that Perry had rubbed him with a sponge that caused his eyes and nose to burn. In May 1930 the National Boxing Association, which represented 13 states of the US, suspended Carnera. This banned Carnera from the biggest boxing venues in New York and New Jersey at least temporarily. His June 1930 match against George Godfrey in Philadelphia was controversial before it began. Seconds were forbidden from throwing in the towel. Godfrey was disqualified for a low blow in the fifth round when he was clearly getting the better of Carnera. In the aftermath, Godfrey lost his boxing license and half his purse, Carnera was cleared. Chief Justice of the United States Earl Warren, at the time district attorney of Alameda County, California, became suspicious of boxing at the time Primo Carnera fought George Godfrey. There was no law against prize-fight fixing in Oakland at that time, and Earl Warren saw that one was passed. TIME, in a 5 October 1931 cover story on Carnera before he won the heavyweight title, commented on his odd career: Since his arrival in the US, backed by a group of prosperous but shady entrepreneurs, Carnera's career has been less glorious than fantastic. His first opponents—Big Boy Peterson, Elzear Rioux, Cowboy Owens—were known to be incompetent but their feeble opposition to Carnera suggested that they had been bribed to lose. Suspicion concerning the Monster's abilities became almost universal when another adversary, Bombo Chevalier, stated that one of his own seconds had threatened to kill him unless he lost to Carnera. Against the huge, lazy, amiable George Godfrey (249 lb), he won on a foul. But only one of 33 US opponents has defeated Monster Carnera—fat, slovenly Jimmy Maloney, whom Sharkey beat five years ago. In a return fight, at Miami last March, Carnera managed to outpoint Maloney.

In November 1930 he traveled to Spain and defeated Spanish contender Paulino Uzcudun in front of 75,000-90,000 spectators at Barcelona Olympic Stadium winning by split decision. It was a record boxing crowd in Spain at the time. Carnera came up short in a decision against future heavyweight champion Jack Sharkey before 30,000 fans at Ebbets Field. He followed that with a winning streak that included victories over King Levinsky, Pierre Charles, Don McCorkindale, and Hans Schönrath. He suffered a surprise loss to Larry Gains in front of 70,000 at White City Stadium. It was a record crowd for boxing in Britain at the time. In February 1933, Carnera fought contender Ernie Schaaf in a bout that would earn him a heavyweight title shot if he won. Schaaf entered as a slight favorite. The bout was held at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Primo won by KO in round 13. Schaaf left the ring unconscious and died four days later. An autopsy revealed that Schaaf had meningitis, a swelling of the brain, and was still recovering from a severe case of influenza which had briefly hospitalized him during his training camp.

In June 1933 Carnera faced the now world heavyweight champion Jack Sharkey at the Madison Square Garden Bowl in Queens, New York in front of 40,000. Sharkey had won a decision over Carnera two years before, and this seemed to be a safe title defense. At first it mirrored their first encounter with Sharkey ahead on points early, before Carnera knocked out Sharkey in round six with "a terrific right hand uppercut to the chin that almost decapitated Sharkey and brought Carnera the title." He successfully defended his title against Paulino Uzcudun in front of 55,000-70,000 spectators in Rome, what was the first heavyweight title fight in Italy. Then he defended against Tommy Loughran in what was the greatest weight disparity between fighters in a championship fight in history at the time, 84 pounds (38 kg). During his championship reign, he starred opposite his next opponent Max Baer in the Oscar-nominated film The Prizefighter and the Lady (1933). In the film, Baer and Carnera's characters fight for the heavyweight title. The two sparred together during filming (reportedly over a dozen rounds), giving Baer extra time to figure out Carnera's fighting style. In their 1934 bout Baer wore a Star of David on his trunks, underscoring Carnera’s perceived ties to Fascist Italy. Carnera had performed the fascist salute for his home crowd during his first title defense, which had included Benito Mussolini in attendance. Now he was in his 3rd title defense, back at the familiar Madison Square Garden Bowl, this time in front of 56,000. Carnera was knocked down 3 times in each of the first two rounds, but managed to hang around until in the 11th round when referee Arthur Donovon stopped the fight. He was knocked down 11 times in total, and fractured his right ankle in the defeat. A statue of the defeated Carnera won the Prix de Rome First Prize in 1934, "L'Athlète Vaincu," by Albert Bouquillon.

After a successful South American tour that took him to Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay, Primo was ready for his next big test, a young Joe Louis. In 1935 Mussolini's Italy was preparing to invade Ethiopia, the last and only independent nation in Africa still ruled by native Africans. Newspapers hyped the political tensions. Joe Louis said, "they put a heavy weight on my twenty year old shoulders. Now, not only did I have to beat the man, but I had to beat him for a cause." At Yankee Stadium in front of 60,000 Louis won by KO in round six. Maya Angelou writes about this fight in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Two defeats in 1936 by Leroy Haynes left Primo in the hospital for three weeks with temporary paralysis in his left leg, caused by thrombosis, a sprained back, and a damaged kidney. In 1937 Carnera, now a diabetic, had to have the kidney removed, which forced him into retirement. After eight years of retirement he briefly returned to boxing in 1945 with three losses against Luigi Musina. Carnera's record was 88 wins and 14 losses.

In 1946 he became a professional wrestler and was immediately a huge success at the box office. For several years he was one of the top draws in wrestling. Carnera continued to be an attraction into the 1960s. Max Baer attended at least one of Carnera's wrestling matches. Carnera won his debut against Jules Strongbow in Wilmington, California on 20 August 1946. Two days later, he defeated Tommy O'Toole at the Grand Olympic Auditorium before 10,000 fans. On 23 October 1946, Carnera won his 41st consecutive wrestling match by defeating Jules Strongbow. On 19 November 1946, Carnera beat Harry Kruskamp to remain undefeated at 65–0–0. Primo Carnera went 120 straight wrestling matches undefeated (119–0–1) before suffering his first loss to Yvon Robert in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on 20 August 1947. Carnera's greatest victory took place on 7 December 1947 when he defeated former world heavyweight champion Ed "Strangler" Lewis. In May 1948, Carnera took a 143–1–1 record against world heavyweight champion Lou Thesz. Thesz defeated Carnera in a world title defense. In 1956, he won the WWA Tag Tema titles with Bobo Brazil. He retired from wrestling in 1962. In 2019, he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2019.

During his tenure as world champion he played a fictional version of himself in the 1933 film The Prizefighter and the Lady starring Myrna Loy featuring fellow boxers Max Baer and Jack Dempsey. He plays the heavyweight champion in a title fight with Baer. Carnera had a bit part in the 1949 movie Mighty Joe Young. He played himself in the tug-of-war scene with the giant gorilla. He also played a bully boy wrestler in Carol Reed's A Kid for Two Farthings (1955). Set in London's Petticoat Lane Market, the film pits Carnera's character against a local bodybuilder who is to marry another character named Sonia, played by Diana Dors. Primo appeared in at least ten Italian films between 1939 and 1943, as well as several in the 1950s, like Prince Valiant, in the role of Sligon. His last screen role was as the giant Antaeus alongside Steve Reeves in Hercules Unchained (US title, filmed in Italy, 1959, original title Ercole e la regina di Lidia).

In 1947, Carnera, an Italian comic book series sporting a fictional version of Primo Carnera, was produced. In 1953, it was translated into German. A facsimile version was published in 2010. Another popular Italian comic character, Dick Fulmine, was graphically inspired by Carnera.

Carnera is mentioned in Cambalache, a 1934 tango song by Enrique Santos Discépolo that was featured in the musical drama film The Soul of the Accordion. The Yeasayer song Ambling Alp, from their 2010 album Odd Blood references Carnera by his nickname in the title and second verse. Both Carnera and German boxer Max Schmeling are referenced for their bouts with American Joe Louis.

Wrestler Big Guido used the names Primo Carnera, Primo Carnera III, Primo Carnera Jr., Primo Carnero in some of his bouts. He stands at 6'9"..

All information in this section is derived from BoxRec, unless otherwise stated.

All newspaper decisions are officially regarded as “no decision” bouts and are not counted in the win/loss/draw column.

Record with the inclusion of newspaper decisions in the win/loss/draw column.

International Boxing Union IBU Heavyweight Championship (22 October 1933 – 21 June 1935; vacated) National Boxing Association NBA World Heavyweight Championship (29 June 1933 – 14 June 1934) New York State Athletic Commission NYSAC World Heavyweight Championship (29 June 1933 – 14 June 1934) The Ring magazine The Ring Heavyweight Champion (29 June 1933 – 14 June 1934) Undisputed Heavyweight Champion (29 June 1933 – 14 June 1934)

NWA Hollywood Wrestling NWA International Television Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Bobo Brazil NWA San Francisco NWA World Tag Team Championship (San Francisco version) (1 time) – with Sandor Szabo WWE WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2019)