Al Silvani was an American boxing

Professional Boxing

Professional boxing, or prizefighting, emerged in the early twentieth century as boxing gradually attained legitimacy and became a regulated, sanctioned sport. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse which is divided among the fighters and promoters as determined by contract...

 trainer and actor.

As one of the most sought-after trainers in the business, Silvani trained over twenty world champions, including Jake LaMotta

Jake LaMotta

Giacobbe LaMotta , better known as Jake LaMotta, nicknamed "The Bronx Bull" and "The Raging Bull", is a former American world middleweight champion boxer...

, Henry Armstrong

Henry Armstrong

Henry Jackson Jr. was a world boxing champion who fought under the name Henry Armstrong. He is universally regarded as one of the greatest fighters of all time by many boxing critics and fellow professionals.Henry Jr...

, Carmen Basilio

Carmen Basilio

Carmine Basilio better known in the boxing world as Carmen Basilio, is an American former professional boxer who was a two weight world boxing champion...

, Fritzie Zivic

Fritzie Zivic

Fritzie Zivic , born as Ferdinand Henry John Zivcich , was an American boxer.-Biography:...

, Pone Kingpetch

Pone Kingpetch

Pone Kingpetch , a.k.a. Mana Seedokbuab was a professional Thai boxer and three time world flyweight champion. He became Thailand's first world boxing champion on April 16, 1960 when he defeated Pascual Pérez of Argentina at Lumphini Boxing Stadium in Bangkok for the world flyweight championship...

, Rocky Graziano

Rocky Graziano

Rocky Graziano, born Thomas Rocco Barbella in New York City , was an Italian American boxer. Graziano was considered one of the greatest knockout artists in boxing history, often displaying the capacity to take his opponent out with a single punch...

, Ingemar Johansson

Ingemar Johansson

Jens Ingemar Johansson was a Swedish boxer and former heavyweight champion of the world. Johansson was the fifth heavyweight champion born outside the United States. In 1959 he defeated Floyd Patterson by TKO in the third round, after flooring Patterson seven times in that round, to win the World...

, and Lou Ambers

Lou Ambers

Luigi Giuseppe d'Ambrosio , aka Lou Ambers, was a lightweight boxer who fought from 1932 to 1941.Managed by Al Weill and trained by Charley Goldman, the "Herkimer Hurricane", as he was known, began his career losing only once in more than three years when he faced future hall of fame lightweight...

.

He also had a lengthy career in the film industry as an actor, stunt man, and as a technical advisor—most note-worthy a lead role in Robin and the Seven Hoods. He also appeared in From Here to Eternity

From Here to Eternity

From Here to Eternity is a 1953 drama film directed by Fred Zinnemann and based on the novel of the same name by James Jones. It deals with the troubles of soldiers, played by Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Frank Sinatra and Ernest Borgnine stationed on Hawaii in the months leading up to the...

, Ocean's Eleven

Ocean's Eleven (1960 film)

Ocean's 11 is a 1960 heist film directed by Lewis Milestone and starring five Rat Packers: Peter Lawford, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Joey Bishop....

, Rocky

Rocky

Rocky is a 1976 American sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and both written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It tells the rags to riches American Dream story of Rocky Balboa, an uneducated but kind-hearted debt collector for a loan shark in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...

, Rocky II

Rocky II

Rocky II is a 1979 American film that is the sequel to Rocky, a motion picture in which an unknown boxer had been given a chance to go the distance with the World Heavyweight Champion. Sylvester Stallone, Carl Weathers, Tony Burton, Burgess Meredith, Burt Young and Talia Shire reprised their...

 and Rocky III

Rocky III

Rocky III is a 1982 American film that is the third installment in the Rocky film series. It is written and directed by and stars Sylvester Stallone as the title character, with Carl Weathers as former boxing rival Apollo Creed, Burgess Meredith as Rocky's trainer Mickey, and Talia Shire as Rocky's...

.

He was a close personal friend of Frank Sinatra

Frank Sinatra

Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...

 and hung out with Sinatra's Rat Pack

Rat Pack

The Rat Pack was a group of actors originally centered on Humphrey Bogart. In the mid-1960s it was the name used by the press and the general public to refer to a later variation of the group, after Bogart's death, that called itself "the summit" or "the clan," featuring Frank Sinatra, Dean...

.

Inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame

World Boxing Hall of Fame

The World Boxing Hall of Fame is located in Riverside, California, United States, in Southern California. The WBHF is one of two recognized international boxing halls of fame with the other being the International Boxing Hall of Fame , with the IBHOF being the more widely recognized...

.

2006 California Boxing Hall of Fame Inductee.

Fighters trained

• Cisco Andrade
• Alexis Argüello
  Alexis Argüello
  Alexis Argüello , also known by the stage name El Flaco Explosivo , was a Nicaraguan professional boxer and politician...
  
  
• Billy Backus
• Nino Benvenuti (Late in his Career 1968-71)
• Tom Bogs
  Tom Bogs
  Tom Bogs is a retired Danish middleweight boxer.Bogs competed for Denmark at the 1964 Summer Olympics in the light-middleweight division and reached the quarter-finals, where he lost to Nojim Maiyegun of Nigeria. Bogs turned professional shortly after the games and was active during the 1960s and...
  
  
• Mustafa Hamsho
  Mustafa Hamsho
  Mustafa Hamsho , born in 10 October 1953 in Latakia, Syria, was a Assyrian/Syriac boxer who never won a world title, but fought some big names in his career. Though he was not a winner in all of those fights, he did some things to make every one of his fights interesting and controversial in some...
  
   (For second Hagler fight)
• Eddie Machen
  Eddie Machen
  Edward Mills Machen was born in Redding, California, on June 15, 1932. Machen was a convict turned boxer. His 64-bout career began on March 22, 1955, and he went on to win his first 24 bouts....
  
  
• Tami Mauriello
• Buster Mathis
  Buster Mathis
  Buster Mathis was a boxer who had a very successful career as an amateur heavyweight boxer. He qualified for a spot in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. However, he was injured and was unable to compete there. Instead of him, the fighter Mathis beat in the Olympic Trials went to the Olympics...
  
  
• Floyd Patterson
  Floyd Patterson
  Floyd Patterson was an American heavyweight boxer and former undisputed heavyweight champion. At 21, Patterson became the youngest man to win the world heavyweight title. He was also the first heavyweight boxer to regain the title. He had a record of 55 wins 8 losses and 1 draw, with 40 wins by...
  
   (Later in his Career)
• Al Tribuani
• Cleveland Williams
  Cleveland Williams
  Cleveland "Big Cat" Williams was an American heavyweight boxer who fought in the 1950s through the 1970s. A Ring Magazine poll once rated him as one of the finest boxers who never won a title...
  
  
• Robert De Niro
  Robert De Niro
  Robert De Niro, Jr. is an American actor, director and producer. His first major film roles were in Bang the Drum Slowly and Mean Streets, both in 1973...
  
  (for his role in Raging Bull)

External links