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This report covers fistic action from the first half of September 1945. A total of four WBA title bouts are scheduled for this month, one of which is included in this report.

Sep. 1, 1945: The month commences with a card at the Stadium in Liverpool. No title bouts on the agenda, and the main event features two MWs, with the “Fighting Iceman,” USBA MW Champ Coley Welch crossing the pond to take on British hopeful Tommy Davies. No prior meetings of the two, and it appears to be a tall order for Davies, as Welch is coming off a win over Georgie Abrams in which he captured the USBA MW title. The bout is fairly close for the first two rounds, before Welch goes on the offensive in round three; while Welch manages to get a couple of good shots in, Davies’ defense remains firm. Urged on by an appreciative crowd, Davies manages to keep Welch off guard and, by the midway point, the unofficial scorer has him well ahead on points (50-45), although the punches landed stats suggest a much closer bout. Into the second half of the contest, and Welch continues to apply pressure; in round six, he manages to rip open a cut over Davies’ left eye. The cut is quickly patched up between rounds, and Welch continues to apply pressure, forcing Davies into a defensive posture. Finally, near the end of round eight, with Davies’ right eye beginning to puff up, Welch lands a huge straight right that staggers the British fighter, but the bell sounds before Welch can do further damage. Lots of work for the men in Davies’ corner, as the cut has been reopened, in addition to the swelling under the other eye. Welch keeps up the attack as the bout enters the final stages, but in round nine he gets careless, allowing Davies to connect with a right hook that also draws blood just above Welch’s left eye. In the final round, an increasingly frustrated Welch continues his aggressive approach, reopening the cut a second time, but Davies manages to last until the final bell. The bout goes to the judges, and, in what can only be described as a major surprise, Davies pulls off the upset, taking a close but UD 10 (96-94, 97-93, 96-94), perhaps with the aid of a bit of hometown bias in the officiating. Post-bout, Davies improves to 22-6-2 (7). Welch drops to 29-9-3 (14) with the loss. With a “4” outboxing a “7,” certainly this bout merits consideration as a candidate for “Upset of the Year.”

Sep. 7, 1945: Next card takes place at a seldom used venue, the Cirkusbygningen Arena in Copenhagen. Another non-title bout tops the card, as Bep Van Klaveren, the “Dutch Windmill,” faces Freddie “Red” Cochane for the first time. Van Klaveren, a former EBU WW Champion who is now on the downside of his career arc, has an indifferent start before moving inside in round three to apply more pressure on his American opponent; in a sharp exchange, he manages to rip open a cut over the right eye of Cochrane. More action in round five, when the cut is reopened, plus Cochrane is penalized for excessive rabbit punching. Thus, at the midway point of the bout, Van Klaveren has a slim lead (48-47) on the unofficial card. The Dutch fighter, despite being behind in the punches landed stat, continues to target the cut over Cochrane’s eye and, when it is reopened a second time in round seven, a stoppage is ordered. Van Klaveren prevails via a TKO 7 on the cuts stoppage. Post-bout career marks: Van Klaveren, 43-19-10 (13); Cochrane, 33-13-5 (9). It will take some time for Cochrane to heal, meaning he will be at Post-Prime for his next outing in early 1946, his real-life retirement year.

Sep. 8, 1945: Heavyweights are featured in the main event at the next card at Chicago, as Jersey Joe Walcott challenges Roscoe Toles for Toles’ NABF HW title belt. The two have met three times previously, with Walcott winning all three. For the first four rounds, the bout is a close one, with Toles holding a slight edge in the punches landed count. In an action-packed round five, Walcott has the best of it as the two exchange blows on the inside. Walcott also wins the sixth round but the unofficial scorecard at ringside has Toles with a narrow lead (58-57) at the bout’s midway point. Into the second half of the bout, and Toles seems content to box from the outside, putting the onus on Walcott to take an aggressive approach to pressing the action. Toles continues to hold the edge in punches landed as the rounds tick off, with the stamina factor being relatively even. However, Toles’ defense remains solid and, despite a strong rally from Walcott in the final round, the SD 12 goes to Toles by the slimmest of margins (115-114, 114-115, 115-114). Toles, now 41-14-6 (7), defeats Walcott for the first time and, having won his last five bouts, is seeking a rematch with WBA HW Champ Joe Louis. The loss leaves a disappointed Walcott at 52-9 (31), but Jersey Joe retains his USBA HW title which was not at stake, and he remains a formidable HW contender.

Sep. 8, 1945: Next, the scene shifts to Buenos Aires’ Luna Park, and featured is a twin bill of LABF title matchups. The first of these is for the LABF LW title, which has been vacant 18 months (last held by Baby Arizmendi who went on to win the WBA LW belt), and it matches Cuba’s Humberto Sierra and Panama’s Ralph Hurtado who are vying for the second time, having battled to a draw in late 1944 when attempting to claim this same title. In this rematch, Hurtado takes charge with a strong round three, putting pressure on his opponent. Sierra, however, is the more accurate puncher of the two, and he does well enough in the other rounds to forge a nice points lead (59-55) on the unofficial card at the halfway point of the bout. In the second half of the bout, Hurtado, a boxer by nature, shifts tactics and tries to force the action on the inside. He closes the gap in the punches landed stat, plus Sierra begins to tire as the bout reaches the later rounds. However, in round nine, Hurtado, swinging away freely, gets careless and is caught repeatedly hitting below the belt, an infraction for which is he disqualified. Thus, Sierra becomes the new LABF LW Champion, backing into the title via a controversial DQ-9 result. Post-bout career marks: Sierra, 18-1-3 (7); Hurtado, 32-18-4 (10). The title bout loss is a difficult pill for Hurtado to swallow, particularly since he had pulled in front on all three judges’ cards at the time of the stoppage. In the second co-feature, another Cuban fighter, Jose Basora, is on hand to make his first defense of the LABF MW title he won earlier in the year; the challenger is a homegrown fighter, Raul “Telerana” Rodriguez. The two met once before, back in 1941 when both were at Pre-Prime, and Basora walked away a TKO winner. This time, Basora has a big opening round, staggering Rodriguez with an uppercut, opening a cut under the right eye of the challenger, while also causing some puffiness to appear under Rodriguez’s left eye – a cause for major concern for the Argentinian’s corner in between rounds. Rodriguez recovers from the poor start and gradually works his way into the bout, while his corner manages to keep the cut and swelling under control. In round six, Basora manages to reopen the cut, but the unofficial scorer has the bout as even (57-57) after six rounds are in the books. In the second half of the bout, and Basora presses forward on the inside, targeting the cut whenever possible. In round nine, Basora breaks down Rodriguez’s defenses, with his hammer blows doing some major damage and forcing an early stoppage. TKO 9 for Basora, who retains the title and improves to 27-5 (19) with the win. The loss leaves Rodriguez at 22-6 (13).

Sep. 14, 1945: Next is more Friday Night finds “Down Under” action, this time at Sydney, with Aussie Dave Sands, current Commonwealth MW Champ, taking on a former WBA MW Champ in Holman Williams. First meeting of the two, and it’s a non-title bout. Solid start from Sands, who moves inside in round three to press his early advantage. Williams is up to the challenge, however, and he opens a cut under Sands’ right eye while dominating the third round action. As the bout reaches the middle stages, to the dismay of the Aussie crowd, the momentum seems to have swung in Williams’ favor, and the American ex-Champ has pulled ahead to a slight lead (48-47) on the unofficial card at the halfway point as a result. As the rounds tick off, Sands becomes more and more aggressive but also a bit desperate, as he finds it difficult to break through Williams’ defenses. Williams goes on to take a comfortable UD 10 (99-91, 99-90, 99-90) to hand Sands his second career loss. Post-bout career records: Williams, 48-10-1 (23); Sands, 23-2 (15).

Sep. 15, 1945: Next up is a card at New Orleans’ Coliseum Arena, and the only bout of note is the main event, but it is for the WBA WW title. Making the second defense of the WBA title is Marty Servo, and his opponent, Izzy Jannazzo, holds a prior win (albeit via a split duke) over Servo, in a bout that took place also in New Orleans, in early 1944. In this rematch, Jannazzo takes advantage of a slow start from Servo and takes the opening couple of rounds. By round three, Servo is on track and he moves inside in round four to put more pressure on his opponent. After the first five, the unofficial card has Jannazzo up by one (48-47), indicating an extremely close bout headed into the middle rounds. The two boxers both elect to try to outwit each other, rather than relying on raw power to dominate their opponent. After being warned a couple of times for holding and hitting, a frustrated Servo moves inside and tries to pressure Jannazzo. Jannazzo, for his part, remains calm and continues to find the range with his punches, causing some initial puffiness around the right eye of the Champ. After ten rounds, the bout remains close on the unofficial card, with Servo still ahead by one (96-95). Both fighters tire down the stretch, and Servo’s aggressive thrusts are thwarted by the challenger. With a huge lead in punches landed, Jannazzo is content to remain outside, putting the onus on Servo to initiate the action. In the final two rounds, Servo takes an ultra-aggressive approach, and the two battle to the very end. No cuts or knockdowns, and the bout goes to decision, with Servo managing to retain the title (barely) as the result is a majority draw (143-143, 143-143, 147-139 Jannazzo) with one judge leaning heavily in favor of the challenger. Post-bout career marks: Servo, 30-5-1 (11); Jannazzo, 41-9-5 (13). Tough result for Jannazzo, who had the momentum until the final two rounds (one of which went to Servo, one of which was scored even on all three cards), and a narrow escape for Servo, who was already subject of much criticism for not giving the title shot to Ray Robinson, who most experts believed would have been a stronger challenger, although Jannazzo certainly proved to be a worthy adversary.