[JCWeb]

This report covers fistic action from the first half of May 1945. One WBA title bout is included.

May 4, 1945: The month’s action kicks off with a Friday night affair at the Boston Garden. Featured in the main event are two top MW contenders, both former WBA Champions, as Holman Williams takes on Marcel Cerdan, the “Casablanca Clouter.” Williams is the current NABF MW titleholder, while Cerdan is the reigning EBU MW Champ. Third meeting of the two, with Williams coming out on top in their two prior confrontations. The action picks up midway through the second round, when a Williams uppercut rips open a cut over Cerdan’s right eye. After some sharp exchanges in round five, the bout comes to a sudden end, after the cut is reopened. The ring doctor is called in, and the ref orders an immediate halt. Williams makes it three wins over Cerdan, taking a TKO 5 to run his career record to 47-9-1 (23). Cerdan drops to 40-7-3 (27) with the loss. Williams has cemented his position as #1 MW contender for the WBA title currently held by Steve Belloise.

May 5, 1945: The scene shifts to Europe, this time to wartorn Italy for the first fight card in some time at the Sports Palace in Rome. No title bouts on the agenda, and the main event features two veteran WW campaigners, with Italy’s Michele Palermo facing Belgian Felix Wouters in the main event. Third meeting of the two, with each having won once before. This time around, Wouters connects with a hard shot, decking Palermo in the opening minute of the first round. Palermo recovers quickly but, with plenty of time remaining in the round, covers up and manages to last the round without further damage. After this opening salvo, the bout settles down, and Wouters has just a slim lead (48-47, according to the unofficial card) after the first five. By the second half of the bout, Palermo has battled his way back into the bout, and he holds an edge in both the punches landed stat as well as the stamina factor. In round eight, attempting to regain the momentum, Wouters moves forward but steps into the way of a hard counter from Palermo that opens a cut on his lip. Palermo withstands a late surge from Wouters, who goes all-out aggressive in the final few rounds, and he takes a solid UD 10 (96-93, 95-94, 97-92). Post-bout records: Palermo, 38-13-9 (10); Wouters, 32-13-3 (14).

May 5, 1945: To Chicago for the next card, and this time there is a title bout topping the agenda, with Georgie Abrams on hand to defend his USBA MW title against a first-time title challenger in Cecil Hudson. First meeting of these two, and, with two boxers, it’s a tactical battle, with both men probing for openings. Some solid boxing from Abrams enables him to gradually build an early points lead and, at the halfway point, the unofficial scorecard has Abrams up by a wide margin (59-55). In the second half of the bout, the challenger tries to be more aggressive, but a rapidly swelling left eye slows Hudson’s progress. The rest of the bout sees Abrams withstanding all of Hudson’s efforts at applying pressure, and Abrams is able to grind out a convincing UD 12 (119-110, 120-109, 119-110) to keep the belt. As a result, Abrams improves to 26-8-2 (10) with the win. Hudson ends the bout at 24-7 (9).

May 11, 1945: To Johannesburg’s Rand Stadium for the next card, a Friday night affair. Featured is a non-title bout in the LW division, matching South Africa’s former WBA LW Champion Laurie Stevens with Sammy “the Clutch” Angott, a former USBA LW titleholder. No prior meetings, and Stevens dominates the opening round after stunning Angott with a hard shot in the opening 30 seconds of the bout. After another big round in the third, Stevens is well on his way to victory. A big right hand from Stevens in round five draws blood, cutting Angott’s lip. After the first five rounds, Stevens is up on the unofficial card (48-47). The action slows as the bout wears on, and both fighters begin to tire badly. No knockdowns as the bout goes to decision, and a lackadaisical approach in the second half ends up costing Stevens, as Angott takes a SD 10 (95-96, 96-95, 96-95) to walk away with the win by a razor-thin margin. Post-bout marks: Angott, 31-8-6 (11); Stevens, 35-13-1 (21).

May 12, 1945: Next up is a huge card in Montreal, with some WBA title bout action on the agenda. First up, in the main supporting bout, LW contender Lenny “Boom Boom” Mancini runs his career record to 26-10-3 (7) with a 10th round knockout of aging veteran Chino Alvarez, who has faded from top 10 contender status after hitting Post-Prime career stage; the win snaps a two-bout losing streak for Mancini, who won despite suffering a cut over his left eye and is eager to face other top LW contenders with an eye towards a possible title shot. LWs are also featured in the main event, as double WBA Champion (in two weight classes) Baby Arizmendi defends the WBA LW title against challenger and current NABF Champ “Bobcat” Bob Montgomery. First meeting of the two, and Montgomery has won three successive NABF LW title bouts to set up this, his second try for the WBA title (he lost to Jack Kid Berg in his one previous attempt). This time around, Montgomery gains the early initiative and presses home the attack against a rather passive Champion for the first few rounds. Finally, Arizmendi gets going with a strong round in round five; after five, the unofficial scorer has the bout as even (48-48). By this time, Montgomery’s early edge had evaporated, plus his corner had to deal with a cut on his mouth. Into the middle rounds, and Montgomery continues to press the action, but the cut on his lip is reopened in round seven, slowing his progress. By round 10, with both the stamina and punches landed factor favoring his aggressive opponent, Arizmendi finally elects to step up the pace and become more aggressive. With five rounds left in the scheduled 15, the unofficial card has Montgomery in front (by a count of 96-94). By round 12, Montgomery’s right eye has begun to puff up, indicating that Arizmendi’s punches have had some effect. The bout, a close one, comes down to the final round and appears to be headed to a judges’ decision when the cut on Montgomery’s lip is reopened and, this time, it leads to an immediate stoppage. Interestingly, all three judges had the challenger ahead at the time of the stoppage, so a tough loss for Montgomery that goes into the books as a TKO 15 for Arizmendi on the cuts stoppage. Post-bout career marks: 54-10-4 (13) for Arizmendi; 27-3-2 (15) for Montgomery, a hard-luck loser in this one.

May 12, 1945: Next fistic action takes place at Denver’s Mammoth Gardens. In the main event, two top 10 HW contenders square off in a non-title matchup, as Lou Nova faces Alberto Santiago Lovell, the Argentinian who currently reigns as LABF HW Champion. First meeting of the two and, despite facing a hostile crowd, Lovell does have one advantage in the fact that Nova is at Post-Prime and on the downside of his career. The key moment in this bout occurs in the opening seconds, when Lovell connects with his opening punch – a cross – that rips open a gash over Nova’s right eye. The cut is in a bad spot, and it is reopened in round three, and again, in round four. After the cut is reopened a second time, the ref, after consulting with the ring physician, calls a halt, and Lovell is declared a TKO 4 winner. With the win, Lovell runs his career record to 34-16-1 (27). The loss leaves Nova at 31-14-1 (24).