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After a much longer delay than I would have liked, it's on to fight action from the first half of October, 1929.

Oct. 4, 1929: October action kicks off with a Friday night fight card at Philadelphia Stadium. No titles at stake, but tonight's feature match is between two former WBA Champions, two all-time ring greats, Jack Dempsey and Gene Tunney, who meet in a rubber match as each has won once in two prior meetings. Both are at Post-Prime career stage, but tonight's fight draws a capacity crowd. The action is fast and furious, starting midway through the second round when Dempsey lands a strong shot, dropping Tunney for an eight count. The "Fighting Marine" scrambles back to his feet, successfully managing to last the round by covering up. Tunney is in trouble again in round three, and his left eye starts to puff up as a result of the repeated blows from the fists of the "Manassa Mauler." In round four, Dempsey connects with a strong combination to register the second knockdown of the fight. Dempsey holds a 49-45 lead on the unofficial card at the bout's halfway point. Tunney mounts a strong comeback in the later rounds, outboxing Dempsey and causing Jack's right eye to start swelling by the end of round seven. Dempsey, going for his 50th career KO, cannot put Tunney away. He suffers a cut lip in the final round as the bout goes the distance. The two KDs were decisive in the scoring, as Dempsey hangs on to take a narrow MD 10 (95-94, 94-94, 95-94). The win lifts Dempsey to 55-10-1 (49) while Tunney is 44-11-3 (26) after the loss.

Oct. 5, 1929: More fight action at the Stadium in Liverpool, England. In tonight's feature bout, Bermondsey Billy Wells makes his first defense of his long-dormant EBU title bout since December 1927. His opponent is another Brit, Alf Mancini. Wells, who won their only prior encounter, has a bit of an indifferent start when he walks into a well-timed combination from the challenger in round two. By round four, however, he battles back and stuns Mancini with a quick hook to the head that forces the challenger to cover up. Mancini has his moments, but Wells grinds out a narrow SD 12 win (112-115, 117-110, 116-111), doing enough to keep the title. The win moves Wells to 46-12-2 (16) while Mancini drops to 26-11-2 (10) with the loss.

Oct. 5, 1929: Chicago's Comiskey Park is the scene of the next fight card. Featured bout is for the NABF WW crown, pitting Joe Dundee defending against Young Corbett III. The two have had some close bouts, one ending in a draw and the other, a split duke for Dundee. The tenstion in this one builds slowly, as Corbett is active early on, causing Dundee's left eye to start swelling by the end of round four. Dundee, however, starts to turn things around a couple of rounds later, and Corbett must battle a cut over his right eye and some swelling under both eyes. It's a close bout into the later rounds, with Corbett becoming more and more aggressive. No KDs, this one goes the distance, and Dundee keeps his title via a close MD 12 (115-113, 114-114, 116-112). Post-fight, Dundee moves to 31-8-4 (12), while Corbett slips to 30-7-3 (12).

Oct. 11, 1929: Friday night fights moves to Miami Stadium. Fetured bout is for the vacant NABF LW crown. Sammy Fuller and Sammy Mandell are matched up for the title previously held by Billy Petrolle, now the WBA LW kingpin. Fuller won a prior encounter, back in 1928, via a split technical decision. The bout turns out to be a defensive struggle between two boxers. Not much in the way of action until round 10, when a controversial call by the ref results in Mandell's being disqualified. Up to that point it had been an even bout. The DQ 10 win moves Fuller to 26-2 (8) compared to 30-11 (9) for Mandell. The controversial decision leads to calls for an immediate rematch, which may take place as early as next month.

Oct. 12, 1929: Next card is at the Palais du Sport in Cannes, France. Featured on this card is the farewell bout of a former WBA Champ, and an EBU title defense by a former WBA Champ; both of the featured performers are French fighters, drawing a huge crowd. First up, former WBA BW king Charles "Little Apache" Ledoux, who held the EBU title for an eigh-year span from 1912 through 1920, makes his final ring appearance against former EBU Champ, Kid Francis of Italy. Ledoux gives a good account of himself, battling all the way to the end but coming out on the short end of a SD 10. He finishes out a 21-year ring career at 53-24-2 (37). After a few more preliminary bouts, it's time for the main event, matching the "French Flash," Benny Valgar, in his first EBU LW title defense in over a year. His opponent, Belgian Francois Sybille, is perhaps overmatched in his first title contest of any time. After a slow start, Valgar begins to dominate the action in the middle rounds. By the end of round six, Sybille's left eye is starting to swell. Sybille is floored once, in round 10, the victim of a Valgar combination. The bout goes the distance and it goes down as a UD 12 win for Valgar (118-108, 115-112, 116-110) although a three-point margin seemed overly generous to the challenger. Valgar moves to 40-14-3 (13) with the win, compared to 16-6-1 (7) for Sybille.

Oct. 12, 1929: Next fight card is at the Exhibition Gardens in Vancouver, Canada, and featured is Canadian HW Larry Gains who defends his Commonwealth title against a former titleholder, Ireland's Bartley Madden, who is now near the tail-end of his long career. Less than a minute into the bout, Gains asserts his superiority when he drops Madden with a sharp cross. Not much in the way of additional action until round four, when Gains delivers a devastating hook for the bout's second KD. By the midway point, both the challenger's eyes are starting to swell up. Madden is game, but he starts carrying his hands low and is vulnerable to another strong shot from the Canadian. Gains ends it with a third knockdown, KO 7 for Gains who looked very impressive in this one. Gains' career totals are now 26-5 (17) compared to 46-18-6 (18) for the well-traveled Madden.