Charley Zivic

Charley Zivic (né Charley Affif)
Statistics
Nickname(s)	Chink [1]
Rated at	Welterweight Middleweight
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Nationality	American
Born	January 31, 1925(1925-01-31) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Died	November 26, 1984(1984-11-26) (aged 59) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	59
Wins	42
Wins by KO	14
Losses	13
Draws	4

Charley Zivic (January 31, 1925 – November 26, 1984) later known as Charley Affif, was a Lebanese American professional boxer from 1944 through 1951, with 42 wins, 13 losses, and 4 draws.^[2] Notably, he fought through his entire career with a metal plate in his right arm – limiting his range of motion to 5 to 7 inches – and a dead or dying kidney, both as a result of childhood injuries.^[3]

Career

In April 1950, at Duquesne Gardens in Pittsburgh, Affif was ahead in a fight with Laurent Dauthuille, in the elimination bout for a title shot with Jake LaMotta. After getting knocked down in the ninth round, Affif was on his feet taking the mandatory standing eight count, when Dauthuille moved out of his neutral corner and pounced on him for the kill at 1:15.^[4]

Affif went into the ring four more times after this loss, winning two and losing two, his last loss to Gene Hairston.^[5] He'd signed to meet Bobby Dykes and was back in training at the Pittsburgh Lyceum, when he complained of an unusual weariness. He was taken to the nearby Mercy Hospital where X-rays revealed that he had a dead right kidney that dated back to 1944, the same year that he began his boxing career. Doctors explained it as not a boxing injury at all, but an old football injury from his years as a semi-professional running back.^[3]

Affif's story is also the basis of the 2011 novel "Poor Man's Out".^[6]

Ownership and Name Change

For the first part of Affif's career he was owned and managed by fellow Pittsburgher and ex-Welterweight Champion of the World, Fritzie Zivic, who was not only still active in the ring himself, but also owned a growing stable of other professional prizefighters. When Fritzie lacked the adequate time to devote to Affif's career, he sold his contract to Billy Sarkis and Hymie Schwartz, also of Pittsburgh. From then on, he fought under his birth name, Charley Affif.^[7]

References

1. ^ "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Playing Games". http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=gdlaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=0WwDAAAAIBAJ&dq=charley-affif%20chink&pg=7097%2C1566611. 
2. ^ "BoxRec: Charley Zivic - Boxer". http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=24422&cat=boxer. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "A Sport Riches Turned To Rags". http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=slgdAAAAIBAJ&sjid=alcEAAAAIBAJ&dq=charley-affif%20arm&pg=6887%2C4971956. 
4. ^ "French Boxer Kayoes Affif". http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=mV8bAAAAIBAJ&sjid=UU0EAAAAIBAJ&dq=affif&pg=2400%2C1520608. 
5. ^ "BoxRec: Gene Hairston - Boxer". http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=11086&cat=boxer. 
6. ^ "Poor Man's Out - CityGlow Publishing". http://www.cityglowpublishing.com/poor-mans-out/. 
7. ^ "'Sixth Zivic' Aims To Win Fame As Charley Affif". http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=kS8bAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Gk0EAAAAIBAJ&dq=affif%20sixth%20zivic&pg=2016%2C2652359. 

External links

• Poor Man's Out

Persondata
Name	Zivic,Charley
Alternative names	Affif,Charley
Short description	American boxer
Date of birth	January 31, 1925
Place of birth	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Date of death	November 26, 1984
Place of death	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania