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This report covers fistic action from the first half of November 1944. No WBA title bouts are included in this report.

Nov. 3, 1944: The month kicks off with a relatively thin Friday night card at San Juan Puerto Rico’s Escobar Stadium. In the main event, two regional titleholders square off but in a 10-round, non-title affair. Meeting for the first time are EBU LW Champ Aldo Spoldi and Commonwealth LW titleholder Lefty Satan Flynn, aka as “his Satanic Majesty.” Action is slow to develop in this one as there is a lot of feinting, probing and jockeying for position through the opening rounds. Spoldi begins to assert himself with a strong fourth round but Flynn bounces back with a big round in the fifth. At the midway point, the unofficial scorecard has the bout as even (48-48). In the second half of the bout, with both the punches landed and stamina factors favoring his Italian opponent, Flynn switches tactics and tries to become more aggressive. However, late in round seven, a Spoldi hook manges to rip open a cut under Flynn’s right eye. Although the cut is reopened in round nine, it does not prove to be a factor in the outcome. The bout goes the distance, and the end result – a majority draw (95-95, 96-94 Flynn, 95-95) -- leaves both sides going home unhappy. Post-bout career marks: Spoldi, 45-12-6 (17); Flynn, 32-13- (17). Spoldi is due to hit Post-Prime career stage with his next outing.

Nov. 4, 1944: Next card is at the Rand Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa. No titles at stake, but featured is a matchup of two top HW contenders, as NABF HW Champ Jersey Joe Walcott faces ex-Champ Max Schmeling for the second time. In their first meeting, back in 1938, Walcott took a controversial SD 10 in front of a hostile crowd in Berlin. This time around, at a more neutral site, and an added factor favoring Walcott is the fact that Schmeling has recently hit Post-Prime career stage. After a couple of uneventful opening rounds, Jersey Joe gets going with a huge round three, moving inside to do some damage, causing some initial puffiness to appear under the left eye of Schmeling. By the midway point, Schmeling has begun to settle into the bout, but the unofficial card has Walcott with a sizable points advantage (49-46). The second half of the bout sees more of the same, with Schmeling beginning to flail away in desperation as fatigue begins to set in. The bout lasts the full 10 rounds, without any cuts or knockdowns, and Walcott takes a MD 10 (98-93, 95-95, 98-92), winning fairly comfortably on two of the judges’ cards. The points win lifts Walcott to 50-8 (29); the loss drops Schmeling to 68-8-1 (45). Post-bout, these two remain the top two HW contenders in the rankings for Joe Louis’ WBA HW crown.

Nov. 4, 1944: The scene shifts to Miami, where the card is topped by a USBA LH title bout featuring Archie Moore making his fourth defense of that title, facing challenger Danny Devlin. First meeting of the two and, with Devlin already at Post-Prime, Moore is a heavy favorite to retain the belt. Late in the opening round, Moore decks Devlin with a combination, but there is not enough time left in the round for Moore to follow up after Devlin bounces back to regain his footing quickly. In round five, Devlin goes down again, this time from an overhand right from Moore; again, Devlin gathers himself, regaining his footing at the count of six. However, despite a futile attempt by the challenger to cover up, Moore continues hammering away, forcing an early stoppage. TKO 5 for Moore, who retains the belt. Post-bout career records: Moore, 31-3-4 (22); Devlin, 39-19-7 (16). As winner of his last seven, as well as being a former Champion and #1 ranked LH contender, Moore hopes for a WBA title shot some time in 1945.

Nov. 10, 1944: Next is a Friday night card at Havana’s Gran Stadium. Featured in the main event is veteran Cuban WW Joe Legon, who faces another veteran of the ring wars, Italian Michele Palermo, in a non-title contest scheduled to go 10. First meeting of these two, with Legon having held the LABF WW title on two previous occasions, while Palermo has been a three-time unsuccessful challenger for the EBU WW crown. Not much happens for the first four rounds, with Legon holding an edge in terms of the punches landed stats. In round five, however, a solid combination from Palermo drops to Cuban fighter; Legon struggles but regains his footing in time to beat the count, and he wisely covers up to last the round. At the midway point, the unofficial card has the bout as even (47-47), after awarding the standard 10-8 round in the fifth for Palermo. Into the second half of the bout, and Legon has to deal with some noticeable swelling under both eyes. Meanwhile, the stamina factor weighs heavily in Palermo’s favor. Neither fighter seems to be able to gain a decisive advantage, although Legon continues to press forward, taking a more aggressive posture from the seventh round onward. The bout goes the distance and, in the end, the one knockdown plays a prominent role in the UD 10 going the way of Palermo (96-93 on all three cards). Post-bout career marks: Palermo, 36-13-9 (10); Legon, 28-13-6 (12). Tough loss for Legon, who was hoping to use this bout as a springboard to another title shot, either for the LABF or NABF WW belt.

Nov. 11, 1944: To Europe for the next card, at Gothenburg’s Ullevi Stadium. Twin feature title bouts top the agenda; the first of these matches two Flyweights. Former WBA Champ Jackie Paterson and former EBU Champ Istvan Enekes. First meeting of the two, and the action is slow to develop as neither man wants to risk much in the opening few rounds. By the fifth round, Paterson had the upper hand, and Enekes was suffering from a rapidly swelling right eye. The unofficial card at the halfway point had Paterson ahead (by a count of 49-46). Enekes rallies with a couple of strong rounds in the sixth and seventh, keeping the pressure on Paterson. Paterson recovers, and the bout remains close to the end, with Enekes squeaking out a SD 10 (94-95, 95-94, 95-94) to win the match and push his overall record to 44-14-2 (13) compared to Paterson’s post-bout mark of 22-5-1 (15). In the second co-feature, WWs take to the ring, with current GBU and CBU titleholder Ernie Roderick, who faces American George Costner in a 10-round, non-title bout. First meeting of the two so, again, it’s understandable that the action takes awhile to develop. In round four, a cut appears over Costner’s right eye, slowing his progress. At the midway point, the unofficial scorecard has Roderick with a slim lead (48-47) in a very close contest. In round six, the cut over Costner’s eye is reopened; this continues to be a problem for his cornermen to deal with. Battling back, Costner is finally able to score with a big hook early in round nine; this forces Roderick to cover up to avoid further damage. In the final round, an aggressive Costner goes all-out for the knockout, but Roderick’s defense remains solid, and he goes on to take a close but UD 10 (95-94, 95-94, 96-93). Post-bout career marks: Roderick, 32-16-4 (7); Costner, 18-3-1 (12).

Nov. 11, 1944: Next, it’s back to the States for a card in Philadelphia. The main event pairs together two top FW contenders, with Leo Rodak squaring off against Mike “the Bronx Spider” Belloise. The two met once before, for the for the USBA FW title, and Belloise took a UD 10 verdict. More recent loses to Willie Pep and Pedro Hernandez have caused Belloise to take a bit of a tumble in the rankings, so Rodak is currently the higher ranked of the two, at #7, while Belloise is struggling to regain his top 10 status (he ended the year at #3 in 1942 and even briefly held the WBA FW title during 1940). In this rematch, there is not much to choose between the two and, frankly, very little in the way of action until a cut appears over the left eye of Belloise midway through round five. After five, the unofficial scorer at ringside has Rodak with a narrow lead (48-47). In the second half of the bout, Rodak appears to be comfortably in control, as Belloise’s eye begins to swell up even though the cut has been closed. Belloise battles back, however, winning the last two rounds to secure a SD 10 victory (96-94, 94-96, 96-94) as Rodak appeared to ease up and become too passive in the final few rounds. The win lifts Belloise to 34-16-7 (11); the loss leaves Rodak at 31-15-1 (7).