Graziano, a former juvenile delinquent from the mean streets of New York City, wasn’t the brightest natural talent or the most skilled technician, but he was a born puncher with a savage fighting spirit who developed into a bona-fide attraction by the mid-1940s. Graziano (born Thomas Rocco Barbella) entered The Ring’s middleweight rankings in 1945 with back-to-back knockouts of welterweight champ Freddie “Red” Cochrane (twice) and Ring-rated Harold Green, who had twice outpointed Rocky in 1944. Win or lose, Graziano always delivered action and drama, but he saved his best efforts for middleweight champ Tony Zale, who he challenged in 1946.