[JCWeb]

This report covers fistic action from the first half of June 1945. No WBA title bouts, but plenty of regional titles are at stake in this month’s action.

June 1, 1945: The month commences with a Friday night card at Johannesburg, South Africa. Due to the lack of any “Friday night fights Down Under” this month, several Aussie fighters have headed here to perform in front of the South African fight fans. No titles at stake, and the main event pits the OPBF LW Champ, Aussie Vic Patrick, up against former WBA and CBU LW titleholder Dave Castilloux, from Canada. First meeting of the two and the first notable moment occurs late in round two, when Patrick connects with a nice uppercut that staggers Castilloux, who covers up and manages to last the round. Late in round four, another Patrick uppercut finds the target, ripping open a cut over Castilloux’s right eye. Then, in round five, Patrick dominates the action on the inside. He manages to reopen the cut and, after the ref consults the ringside physician and allows the bout to continue, Patrick corners Castilloux and then puts his opponent down and out with a vicious hook. Impressive KO 5 for Patrick, running his career record to 22-2 (17). Castilloux drops to 33-16-3 (9) with the loss.

June 2, 1945: The scene shifts to Atlantic City’s Convention Hall, where the headliner is a meeting of former WBA MW Champ Ken Overlin, who faces a rising star in unbeaten MW Jake LaMotta, who has been rapidly rising up the MW ranks. First meeting of the two in this non-title bout, and it is a solid start from LaMotta, who moves inside in round three to press his early advantage. However, Overlin, despite being at Post-Prime, is able to work his way into the bout, keeping it close. At the halfway point, LaMotta is up by one (48-47) on the unofficial scorecard. Into the second half of the bout, and LaMotta continues to take the fight to his veteran opponent in an aggressive fashion. With both the punches landed stats and stamina factors favoring his younger opponent, Overlin finally comes forward and takes the initiative in the final two rounds, but to no avail. LaMotta walks away a UD 10 winner, although the scores were reasonably close (96-94, 98-93, 96-95), as Overlin proved to be a difficult opponent. Post-bout records: LaMotta, 22-0 (17); Overlin, 42-16-5 (14).

June 8, 1945: Next card at Montreal is topped by twin title bouts, both for regional titles. In the first of these, Ernie Roderick is on hand to defend his Commonwealth WW title, and the challenger is Canadian Berger, who is contending for his first ever title. First meeting of the two, and after a rather boring opening few rounds, Roderick opens up in round five, decking Berger with a hard cross. The Canadian challenger is able to regain his footing, covering up to last the round. At the midway point, the unofficial card has Roderick with a comfortable lead in points (60-53). Not much changes in the second half of the bout, and Roderick is able to retain the title via a lopsided UD 12 (119-108, 119-108, 118-109) to move to 34-16-4 (7) overall; the loss leaves Berger at 27-16 (6). In the second co-feature, at stake is the NABF BW title, with another Canadian, Fernando Gagnon, who emerged from the Pre-Prime stage of his career with a perfect 20-0 record, challenging for the title against defending Champ Manuel Ortiz. First meeting of the two, and the bout is a close one through the opening few rounds. Then, a minute into round five, Ortiz floors Gagnon with a vicious cross, and Gagnon is barely able to beat the count. By round six, there is noticeable swelling under the right eye of the challenger. At the halfway point, Ortiz is up two (58-56) on the unofficial card. In the second half of the bout, some good defense from Ortiz is able to negate any efforts by Gagnon to mount a rally. The bout goes the distance and, despite some favorable hometown judging that makes the scores close, Ortiz retains the title via a MD 12 (117-110, 114-114, 114-113), handing Gagnon his first career loss. Post-bout records: Ortiz, 28-6-2 (16); Gagnon, 20-1 (15).

June 9, 1945: More doubleheader title bout action topping the next card at Rome’s Sports Palace. In the first of these, Italy’s own Aldo Spoldi makes the third defense of his EBU LW title, facing a first-time title challenger, Frenchman Emile Di Cristo. First meeting of the two, and DiCristo hopes to take advantage of the fact that Spoldi has recently hit Post-Prime career stage. The bout remains close through the opening few rounds, and neither man has the upper hand. At the midway point, Spoldi hs a slight points lead (58-57) on the unofficial card. Spoldi steps up the pace, showing more initiative as the second half of the bout unfolds. As the bout wears on, Di Cristo tries to become more active, taking a more aggressive approach in the final two rounds, but he comes up a bit short as Spoldi ekes out a SD 12 (115-114, 114-115, 115-113) to retain the belt, taking the final round from two of the three judges to secure the win. Post-bout records: Spoldi, 47-12-6 (17); Di Cristo, 19-6-2 (7). Next up is another EBU title contest, with Istvan Enekes facing Mustapha Mustaphaoui for the EBU Flyweight title recently vacated by Peter Kane, who captured the WBA Flyweight title. First meeting of the two and, after a couple of indifferent opening rounds, Enekes moves inside and takes charge in round three. However, with Enekes at Post-Prime, Mustaphaoui begins to assert himself in the middle rounds, pulling ahead in the punches landed stat. At the midway point, the unofficial scorecard has the bout even (57-57). Into the second half of the bout, Enekes continues to work inside, while Mustaphaoui is content to stay on the outside. Late in round seven, Enekes connects with a hard cross right before the bell that stuns Mustaphaoui, but there is not enough time left in the round to follow up. Enekes goes on to grind out a UD 12 (117-113, 116-113, 117-112) to regain the title he held four times previously. With the win, Enekes improves to 46-14-2 (13), while Mustaphaoui ends the bout at 20-5-5 (6).

June 9, 1945: Next card at Pittsburgh features two former WBA MW Champions as Holman Williams puts his NABF MW title on the line, facing a tough customer in the “Man of Steel,” Tony Zale. The two have met twice before, each winning once, so this is the rubber match. The action picks up when Zale moves inside in round three and launches a two-fisted attack, landing sufficient blows to cause initial swelling to appear under both Williams’ eyes. Williams, however, is able to hold his own and, at the midway point of the bout, the unofficial scorer has the bout even (57-57). Zale continues to press the attack as the bout wears on; both fighters lands some solid blows in an action-packed round seven, and Zale’s corner is forced into action, hurriedly applying some ice to a welt forming under the left eye of the challenger. Less than a minute into the ninth round, Zale serves notice by ripping an uppercut to the head that stuns Williams, forcing the Champion to retreat and cover up; Williams manages to avert further damage and last the remaining two minutes of the round despite a powerful assault from Zale. Zale, still full of energy, continues pressing forward as the bout heads into the later rounds. In round 11, a Zale uppercut sends Williams tumbling to the canvas, and Zale is able to follow this up with a picture perfect cross for a second KD later in the round. Nonetheless, Williams is able to regain his footing after both knockdowns, and he gamely carries on, taking the bout into the final round. The bout goes the distance but, with the two knockdowns, Zale takes an undisputed UD 12 (117-111, 117-110, 119-109) to capture the NABF MW belt; he now sets his sights on another shot at the WBA MW title. The win, a big one, boosts Zale’s overall record to 39-6-1 (24). Williams takes the loss in stride, and his post-bout career mark is 47-10-1 (23).

June 15, 1945: To the West Coast for the next card at the Cow Palace in San Francisco. Featured in the main event are a pair of post-Prime veteran BWs, as Georgie Pace and Lou Salica battle for the USBA BW title recently vacated by David Kui Kong Young, who is now the WBA BW Champion. The two met three times before with Salica winning twice and Pace, a former WBA BW Champ, winning once. Salica is on target early, and in round two, he manages to rip open a cut on Pace’s lip. At the midway point, Salica is ahead on the unofficial card (59-56). In the second half of the bout, Pace makes a determined effort to apply pressure by moving inside, ignoring the cut on his lip which has been closed due to some effective corner work. Despite Pace’s best efforts, he is unable to break through Salica’s defenses, and the SD 12 goes to Salica (117-110, 113-114, 117-110) by comfortable margin on a majority of the judges’ cards, although a third judge awarded the nod to Pace, who was by far the more aggressive of the two. Post-bunch records: Salica, 33-14-4 (13); Pace, 31-16-2 (20). Turns out this bout could be Pace’s last big night in the spotlight, as he will be at End career stage with his next outing.