[JCWeb]

This is a summary of ring action from the second half of May 1936, covering a total of 67 bouts. Two WBA title bouts are included in this report.

May 16, 1936: The Gran Stadium in Havana, Cuba is the backdrop for the next fistic action, with a pair of LABF title bouts headlining a card that includes mostly Latin or Hispanic fighters. In the first of these, Emory Cabana puts his LABF LW title on the line, making his second defense against the man he defeated for the belt, Justo Suarez. Cabana enters the bout on a five-bout winning streak, but he is 2-2 in prior meetings with Suarez, who is now at Post-Prime. The bout turns into a boxing exhibition by Cabana, who easily outclasses Suarez, who struggles with his timing while also battling a rapidly swelling left eye. With little resistance from Suarez, Cabana goes on to post a UD 12 (118-111 on all three cards) to push his career record to 39-16-4 (12). Suarez is now 27-9-1 (17). Then, in the second co-feature, it is another rematch as Cocoa Kid takes on Manuel Quintero for Kid’s LABF WW title. Kid has won his last three, while Quintero has gone undefeated (two wins, two draws) since losing the inaugural LABF WW title clash to Kid via a MD, but now the Cuban is at Post-Prime career stage. Kid gets off to a solid start, and midway through the bout, Quintero suffers a cut lip. The cut proves to be a problem, and with the bleeding continuing after a reopening, the late stoppage enables Cocoa Kid to retain the belt via a TKO 9 due to the cuts stoppage. Post-fight, Cocoa Kid is now 27-4-2 (11); Quintero slips to 31-15-7 (12).

May 16, 1936: Next card is a packed one at Chicago, albeit one without any title bouts. In the co-feature, newly crowned NABF LW Champ Tod Morgan (the former WBA JLW Champ, which belt he relinquished in the move up to LW) faces his counterpart from across the seas, Harry “Leeds” Mason, holder of the GBU and Commonwealth LW titles (but recent loser in an EBU title fight). Morgan starts well, landing some effective punches early and, as a result, there is swelling under the left eye of Mason as early as the end of the third round. Morgan continues with a dominant performance, building a huge points lead and winning just about every round to claim a UD 10 win (100-91 on all three cards) to run his career totals to 46-13-3 (12). Mason is 37-24-4 (5) after the loss. Then, in the second co-feature, LHs are on display as Joe “Cairo Calamity” Knight, WBA Champ until losing his title to John Henry Lewis earlier in the year, attempts to rebound but faces a tough young opponent in fast-rising Jimmy Adamick, aka “the Midland Mauler.” In his first bout back after losing the title, Knight looks a bit rusty, and Adamick takes advantage, landing some good shots to cause Knight’s left eye to begin to puff up before the end of the second round. Knight battles back, however, and he manages to put Adamick on the deck in a barrage of blows in round three. Then, in the fourth round, once again it is Adamick in charge, as he connects with a solid uppercut that stuns Knight. Knight covers up to last the round, but the end comes a round later as Adamick continues to dominate, landing blow after unanswered blow until the ref calls a halt. TKO 5 for Adamick, who looked very impressive in coming off the canvas to defeat a former WBA Champion. Post-fight marks: Adamick, 20-1-1 (19); Knight, 27-6-2 (15). This win moves Adamick into the top 10 in the LH rankings, marking him as a future title contender.

May 22, 1936: Next up is a Friday night card at Gothenburg, Sweden’s Ullevi Stadium. Main support bout on the undercard (leading up to an EBU title clash) features “the Casablanca Clouter,” Marcel Cerdan, taking on Italian veteran Leone Jacovacci in a 10-round, MW affair. After a taking a couple of rounds to get going, Cerdan breaks down Jacovacci’s defenses in round three, ripping open a cut over the left eye, causing some swelling over the right eye, then finishing well with a couple of hooks followed by a nice combination that puts Jacovacci down and out. The KO 3 moves Cerdan to a perfect 12-0 (11), while Jacovacci will be hanging up the gloves after this one, wrapping up a 30-27-6 (9) career, mostly as a journeyman. In the main event, Frenchman Maurice Holtzer attempts to regain the EBU FW title from the main who took it from him twice, veteran Englishman Dom Volante. Volante, who bested Holtzer for the EBU belt in 1932 and again in 1934, may be more vulnerable this time by virtue of the fact he has now hit Post-Prime career stage; this will be his first defense of this belt in over two years since downing Holtzer in 1934. Holtzer gets off to a solid start while Volante struggles to find his timing, fighting inside mostly. Holtzer is content to box Volante from the outside, but in round four he leaves himself open to a Volante cross that puts the Frenchman down for the fight’s first knockdown. After that, Holtzer adopts an even more cautious approach that seems to work as Volante eventually punches himself out and is low on energy in the later rounds. Despite suffering the knockdown, Holtzer goes on to take a narrow UD 12 (115-113, 115-113, 115-114) to regain the EBU title. Post-fight career marks: 32-13-3 (12) for Holtzer, and 31-18-2 (20) for Volante.

May 23, 1936: Action is back in the States with a big card at Yankee Stadium in New York City. Headliner is a WBA MW title clash, but two interesting non-title bouts are on the agenda as well. In the first one of these, unbeaten LH prospect Gus Lesnevich is in action, facing veteran Lou Scozza. Lesnevich gets off to a solid start, nothing fancy, but by the end of the third round, there is noticeable swelling under the left eye of Scozza. Scozza is cut over the other eye in round five. Rest of the way, it’s not much of a contest as Lesnevich waltzes to a UD 10 triumph (100-90, 98-92, 100-90) to push his career totals to 17-0 (12), good for a spot in the top 20 LH rankings. Scozza is now 34-13-1 (25). In the co-feature, two popular HWs (each coming off a significant loss) meet in a crossroads career bout for both men, as Max Baer faces ex-Champ Jack Sharkey. Baer jumps off to a quick start while Sharkey tries to settle in, fighting outside. However, when the two mix it up on the inside in round five, Baer seizes control, landing punch after punch until a defenseless Sharkey is left, dazed and lifeless, against the ropes. The ref calls a halt, and it goes down as a TKO 5 for Baer, who improves to 24-7 (23) with the win, moving back into the top 10 in the HW rankings. Sharkey, now 34-14 (19), definitely appeared shopworn and, now at Post-Prime, is definitely on the downside of his career path. Then, Eddie “Babe” Risko meets Commonwealth Champ Ron Richards for the WBA MW title; it is Risko’s first defense and many believe that Richards, not ranked among the top 10 MWs, is likely to be an “easy” defense. However, Richards – out to prove the critics wrong – looks sharp early, causing Risko to retreat with swelling under his right eye as early as the end of the opening round. Then, in round three, Richards stalks his opponent, dropping the Champ with a vicious uppercut that puts Risko down and out. Surprise winner and new champion by a KO 3 is Aussie Ron Richards, who becomes the first Aussie to hold a WBA welt since WW Tommy Uren in the early 1920s. Post-fight marks: Richards, 28-6-2 (21); Risko, 26-4-2 (11).

May 29, 1936: Next ia a Friday night card at the Olympia in London. A WBA Flyweight title bout is featured, but first up is a non-title contest featuring two ranked BWs. Brit Benny Sharkey, a former CBU and EBU titleholder, takes on the current OPBF BW Champ, Young Tommy, and Sharkey is on target early, with Tommy sporting a rapidly swelling right eye as a result of Sharkey’s effective blows. Heading into the second half of the bout, Tommy decides to pick up the pace, but it also weakens his defenses – and in round eight, Sharkey catches the Filipino with a nice hook that puts Tommy down briefly. A round later, Sharkey follows up with a big shot to register a second KD and, after a third KD a round later, Tommy limps to the bell only to drop the UD 10 to Sharkey by a wide margin (100-86, 99-87, 99-87). Post-fight marks: Sharkey, 27-5 (13); Tommy, 28-8-1 (17) – and the win helps re-establish Sharkey’s credentials as a top 10 BW contender. Then, in the main event, Midget Wolgast, who has held the WBA Flyweight title since 1931, makes his 15^th defense against the “Tunis Terror,” Young Perez. Solid boxing by the Champ enables Wolgast to build a solid points advantage through the early and middle rounds. Perez digs in on the outside, doing the best he can to try to keep the bout close. However, he is no match for Wolgast, and by round 11, a frustrated Perez must deal with a badly swollen left eye. Wolgast goes on to capture another one-sided UD 15 (149-137 on all three cards) to run his career record to 40-4-1 (18). He has not lost since 1930 (over six years) and Wolgast’s five-year reign as WBA Champion is longer than any other current champions, except for Jack Kid Berg in the devalued JWW weight class. Perez, now 24-7-3 (10), will go back to training and hopefully launch another try for the EBU title in the future. Right now the WBA title matchup in this dividion that many are hoping for is between Wolgast and the reigning EBU Champ, Istvan Enekes.

May 30, 1936: The month wraps up with a solid card in Los Angeles at the Olympic Auditorium. Featured is a NABF BW title contest, with Bobby Green facing challenger K. O. Morgan, who is a former USBA BW titleholder; these two battled to a draw in a prior NABF title tilt in 1935. This is Green’s third defense of this title, won back in 1934. Morgan is the aggressor, establishing early control on the inside. By the end of round four, Green is already wearing down, and his right eye is showing signs of swelling. Then, in round five, Morgan opens up and lands a big hook that puts Green down and out. KO 5 for Morgan, who moves to 24-4-5 (15) and is back in the picture as a WBA title contender. Green drops to 36-19-8 (15) with the loss.