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This report covers a total of 62 bouts taking place during the second half of November 1941. Two WBA title bouts are included in this report.

Nov. 15, 1941: Just two months after capturing the USBA LW title, Tony Chavez is back in New Orleans to defend that belt against a veteran challenger, Benny “Little Fish” Bass. It is the first meeting of these two, so a long feeling-out process takes place through the opening four rounds with Bass, who had held this bout previously, seeming to hold his own. Chavez, after a slow start, is on target and dominating the action in round five, his blows landing repeatedly to cause initial swelling around the left eye of the challenger. Bass bounces back with a strong round six, and there is puffiness around Chavez’s left eye as well. After six, the unofficial scorer has Bass with a narrow one-point lead (58-57). In round eight, more bad news for Chavez as he sustains a cut over his right eye. The bout continues to ebb and flow back and forth, with a strong round nine for Chavez, then a strong 10th round for Bass. Finally, late in round 11, a solid hook from Chavez drops a weary Bass to the canvas. The bout goes the distance, and the late KD is enough for Chavez to escape with the belt and a MD 12 win (116-112, 114-114, 116-112). Post-bout career marks: 33-10-3 (12) for Chavez; 52-29-7 (16) for Bass who, despite the strong effort, will lapse into End career stage for his next bout. Even with the subpar performance in this title defense, Chavez remains the #1 contender for Tony Canzoneri’s WBA LW crown.

Nov. 21, 1941: Havana’s Gran Stadium is the venue for a Friday night card. Featured in the main event is the current OPBF FW Champion Tsuneo Horiguchi, who has come all the way across the globe to face Filio Julian Echevarria in a 10-round, non-title affair. Horiguchi is looking to avenge an earlier loss, via a UD, to Echevarria, in Manila back in 1938. Nothing exciting happens through the first half of the bout, and Echevarria quietly builds a solid points lead – his edge is only one (48-47, according to the unofficial card) at the midway point. Trailing, Horiguchi picks up the pace and is the aggressor in the second half of the bout. The bout, a rather uneventful one, manages to last the distance with no cuts or knockdowns. Echevarria repeats his earlier success against Horiguchi, this time taking a MD 10 (96-94, 95-95) to run his career stats to 39-16-5 (12); meanwhile, Horiguchi dips to 29-9-1 (16) with the loss.

Nov. 22, 1941: Nice card at Gothenburg, Sweden with two EBU Champions on display, one defending his title and the other, appearing in a key non-title bout. Otherwise, a rather mundane undercard. In the co-feature, it’s reigning EBU HW Champ and #1 contender Max Schemling, still unable to arrange a rematch with Joe Louis, who takes on American Natie Brown, a fringe contender, while remaining on a holding pattern with respect to a WBA title matchup. First meeting of the two, but Brown is rated as having little chance versus the powerful German, having lost to his lesser known countryman, Walter “Der Blonde” Neusel, in his most recent outing, whereas Schmeling has fashioned an impressive 11-bout winning streak since his last loss, to Joe Louis, in 1939. Schmeling exhibits a lot of patience in this bout, gradually building a solid points lead, all while probing for weaknesses. After the first five rounds, Max holds a very comfortable lead (49-46) on the unofficial card. Into the later stages, Brown tries to become more aggressive, but he just doesn’t have the weapons to trouble Schmeling. Thoroughly dominating throughout, Schmeling grinds out a UD 10 win, but it’s surprising to see that one of judges has only a two-point margin (98-92, 98-92, 96-94). Anyway, post-bout career marks: Schmeling, 58-6-1 (40); Brown, 32-17-7 (10). Anyway, in the main event, two familiar foes square off in the main event: German Gustav Eder and Dutchman Bep Van Klaveren, for the EBU WW title, currently held by Eder. In five prior meetings, Eder has won three, Van Klaveren twice. The bout seems incredibly close, with two evenly-matched fighters battling it out. After the first six, Eder holds a slim lead (57-56) on the unofficial scorecard. Into the later rounds, Eder manages to maintain a slight edge in punches landed, while the stamina situation favors the Dutch challenger. No cuts or knockdowns, and the issue remains in doubt right down to the final bell. After a long wait, the judges’ cards are tallied and, to noone’s surprise, the judges cannot agree, one going for Eder but two for Van Klaveren, who takes a SD 12 (111-116, 114-113, 114-113) and with it, the EBU WW title belt. The win lifts Van Klaveren to a post-bout record of 33-14-9 (11), while Eder drops to 38-10-10 (9) after the loss.

Nov. 22, 1941: A huge throng of fight fans has gathered at Detroit’s Briggs Stadium to see hometown favorite Joe Louis make another defense of his WBA HW crown. First up, in the main support, featured is a former WBA MW Champion, Holman Williams, facing a young 19-1 opponent in Steve Belloise, in a 10-round bout, with no titles on the line (Williams having lost the USBA MW title to Charley Burley earlier in 1941). Early advantage to the more experienced Williams, who seems to have the upper hand through the opening rounds until Belloise gets in a solid uppercut in round five that stuns the ex-Champ. Williams remains upright, covering up to last the round and, at the halfway point, he enjoys a nice points lead (50-46), according to the unofficial scorer. By round six, there is a big welt under the right eye of Belloise, evidence of the accuracy and consistency of Williams’ punches. Throughout the second half of the bout, Williams continues to pile up points, outboxing and generally frustrating his younger opponent. In the final round, once again Belloise breaks through Williams’ defenses, landing a sharp combination, but once again the savvy Williams remains on his feet and uses the cover up strategy to last the round. After the final bell, the scorecards are totaled, and it is a UD 10 for Williams (98-92, 97-93, 97-92) to run his career record to 35-8 (20). The loss, just Belloise’s second, leaves him at 19-2 (11) and still poised for a run at top 20 contender status in a highly competitive division. After a brief interlude, it is time for the bout the fans have come to see: Joe Louis, the “Brown Bomber,” making his 11th WBA HW title defense since recapturing the belt from Germany’s Max Schmeling in 1938, facing not Schmeling, the #1 ranked contender, but #3 ranked Roscoe Toles, a former NABF HW titleholder and a man beaten by Schmeling (albeit via a SD) in his most recent outing. The two have not met previously and, roughly the same age in their mid-20s, both men are in the prime of their careers. Louis takes a few rounds to get warmed up, finally moving inside in round four while Toles adopts a defensive posture, remaining on the outside through most of the opening rounds of action. In round four, a series of blows from Louis does sufficient damage to cause a trace of swelling to appear under the left eye of the challenger. After five, the unofficial scorer at ringside has Louis well ahead on points (49-46). However, Louis doesn’t really break down Toles’ defenses until early in round seven when he rocks the challenger with a hard combination, forcing Toles to cover up. After that, Joe’s killer instinct kicks in, and he follows with a cross, a hook, and a barrage of blows that send Toles toppling to the canvas. Roscoe manages to beat the count, but he only manages to delay the inevitable – a few more blows are landed, before the ref steps in to call a halt to the onslaught. TKO 7 for Louis, which marks his 12th straight title bout win inside the distance. Post-bout career records: Louis, 37-1 (35); Toles, 34-9-3 (6), Louis’ win puts him within striking distance of the magic number of 2000 performance points, a level achieved only once or twice in the history of this Universe.

Nov. 28, 1941: The scene shifts to Mexico City, and topping the card is a matchup involving two Mexican fighters for the vacant LABF BW title, which was vacated by Panama Al Brown after Brown captured the WBA BW title earlier in the year. The two protagonists, who have not met before, are Raul “Baby” Casanova and Luis “Pocket Battleship” Castillo. The bout remains close through the opening rounds, with a slight edge for Casanova in terms of punches landed. Then, in round five, Casanova connects with a perfect cross and sends Castillo to the canvas. Up at the count of four, Castillo covers up and manages to last the round. Thus, at the midway point, the unofficial card shows Casanova with a wide points lead (59-54). Into the second half, despite tiring badly, Castillo tries to put some pressure on his opponent and is the more aggressive of the two combatants. A second KD from a Casanova combination in round 10, and then a third KD with seconds remaining in the final round, and Casanova seizes the belt with a convincing UD 12 win (117-108, 117-110, 118-108), running his career record to 30-9-2 (15) in the process. Castillo, still at Pre-Prime career stage, suffers his second consecutive defeat to fall to 13-2 (10) overall.

Nov. 29, 1941: The month wraps with – appropriately – “fight night” in New York City, in particular, at iconic Madison Square Garden. Plenty of good fistic action on the undercard, but this report covers only the feature, a FW matchup of Chalky Wright and Petey Sarron, with Sarron challenging for Wright’s USBA FW title. This is a reprise of an earlier encounter, back in 1935, also for the USBA title, then held by Sarron, that ended in a draw, with Sarron retaining the belt. Fast forward to 1941, and the shoe is on the other foot, with Wright holding the title and Sarron, now at Post-Prime career stage, looking to regain it. No major blows landed through the opening few rounds, with Wright holding the edge in terms of the punches landed stats. By the midway point, both boxers are still playing it close to the vest, and Wright has a slight but not insurmountable points lead (58-56, according to the unofficial scorer’s card). Sarron begins to show signs of fatigue as early as round eight and, feeling his chances slipping away, tries to be more aggressive as the bout enters the later stages. This leaves a more inviting target for Wright – in this case, it is Sarron’s right eye – and, accordingly, the eye becomes a target and becomes to puff up, starting in round 10. In the final two rounds, Sarron throws caution to the wind, going all out for a knockout (or even a knockdown) that never comes. The bout goes to the finish, and it’s a solid UD 12 for Wright (117-112, 115-113, 115-113) who thus retains the title. Post-bout career records: Wright, 38-12-4 (15); Sarron, 39-12-6 (10).