Charley Goldman

Israel "Charley" Goldman (December 22, 1887, in Warsaw, Poland – November 11, 1968) was a Polish-born American boxer and boxing trainer. A former bantamweight, he later became best known as the trainer of undefeated heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano. Goldman also trained or worked with several other world champions, including Al McCoy, Lou Ambers, Marty Servo and Joey Archibald.

Career as a boxer Goldman, who was Jewish, grew up in the Red Hook section of the borough Brooklyn of New York City. The area was then known as a tough neighborhood, and Goldman learned how to use his fists at an early age to protect his older brother Sam. He became a professional boxer as a bantamweight. He was a protégé of world champion "Terrible" Terry McGovern, and claimed to have adopted the habit of wearing a derby hat from McGovern. He fought his first professional fight, at the age of 16, in a Brooklyn, New York saloon.

Goldman claimed to have engaged in over 400 bouts fought between 1904 and 1914, but most were unrecorded. Goldman claimed to have fought Whitey twice on the same day, and 12 times in 12 days.

Career as a trainer After retiring as a boxer, Goldman became a trainer. His first champion was middleweight Al McCoy. Following the legalization of professional boxing in New York under the Walker Law in 1920, Goldman worked with manager Al Weill. He later moved to Newburgh, New York, where he opened a roadhouse, but continued to train fighters on occasion.

Goldman is best known for his work with heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano. When he first encountered Marciano, Goldman recognized his punching power but also noted his technical limitations, including his short reach, late start as a professional, and relatively light build for a heavyweight. Rather than trying to turn Marciano into a conventional boxer, Goldman sought to develop a style suited to his natural strengths and physical limitations. Goldman taught Marciano to fight from a low crouch, making him a smaller target while allowing him to generate power at close range. He also worked to shorten Marciano’s punches, narrow his stance, and improve his use of combinations. These adjustments helped shape Marciano’s distinctive style, which combined pressure, durability, and punching power. Goldman once said:"A lot of people say Rocky don't look too good in there, but the guy on the ground don't look too good either."

Legacy After Marciano retired, Goldman continued to train fighters. Although he briefly worked with Argentinian Oscar Bonavena in his early career, he never again trained a world championship contender.

Goldman was popular with the sportswriters of his day. and the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1999.

Some boxing writers have compared Goldman to Mickey Goldmill, the fictional trainer portrayed by Burgess Meredith in the Rocky film series.