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This report covers fistic action from the second half of January 1946. Two WBA title bouts are included in this report.

Jan. 18, 1946: Next up is a Friday night card at Toronto’s Maple Leaf Gardens. In the main event, the Commonwealth BW title is at stake, with Canada’s Fernando Gagnon challenging Brit Norman Lewis for the belt. The two have not met before, and this represents the second title challenge in recent months for the 21-1 Gagnon, who came up a bit short in his prior challenge (resulting in his only career setback to date), the resulted in a MD 12 loss to NABF BW titleholder Manuel Ortiz. For Lewis, it is his first defense in over a year. After a couple of rounds of tactical fencing, with Gagnon beginning to assert himself with a dominant round three. Gagnon goes on to continue to outhit his opponent and, by the midway point of the bout, the Canadian challenger has built a huge points lead (60-54) on the unofficial scorecard. In the second half of the bout, it is incumbent upon Lewis to adopt a more aggressive approach. However, as the bout wears on, Gagnon’s stamina advantage is telling, and he goes on to a fairly comfortable UD 12 (118-108, 118-108, 117-109) to lift the belt, improving to 22-1 (15) with the win. The loss leaves Lewis at 22-6-1 (14). No cuts or knockdowns in this one, just a solid, one-sided triumph for the challenger.

Jan. 19, 1946: WBA title bout action is on the agenda at the next card, which takes place at the Boston Garden. First up, though, in the main preliminary bout, two BWs take to the ring, as newly crowned OPBF BW kingpin Tirso Del Rosario makes the long trip from the Philippines to square off against Romania’s Aurel Toma. Being from different parts of the globe, it is no surprise that the two have not met before. Both boxers (as opposed to sluggers) means a tactical battle, as neither are prepared to take large risks, at least in the early stages. With a couple of strong rounds in the third and the fourth, Toma edges ahead in the punches landed stat. By the midway point of the bout, the unofficial card has Toma up by just one (48-47). In the second half of the bout, both men are content to work from the outside, again eschewing unnecessary risks. This tends to make for a rather drab encounter, with neither man seizing control of the bout. Feeling the bout slipping away from him, Del Rosario decides to ramp up the pressure in the final two rounds, but it is all to no avail as Toma goes on to rack up a UD 10 win (97-93, 97-93, 98-92) in a bout that was void of any exciting moments. Post-bout career marks: Toma, 34-19-1 (13); Del Rosario, 15-3 (4). Then, in the main event, it is a rematch of a 1945 WBA title bout as Marty Servo faces ex-Champ Henry “Homicide Hank” for Servo’s WBA WW title belt. Two prior meetings, both for a WBA title, each man having one once makes this the rubber match. Both fighters get off to decent starts, and it is Armstrong who takes the initiative by working his way inside in round three. Armstrong has limited success, however, and he has to come to grips with the fact that, now at Post-Prime, his skills have diminished. After the first five rounds are in the books, the unofficial scorer has Armstrong with a narrow one-point lead (49-48), but several rounds were close and could have gone either way. In round seven, the two battle away on the inside, and Servo manages to hurt Armstrong, backing up the former Champion, plus Armstrong’s left eye begins to puff up – an added bonus. In the next round, the eighth, Armstrong connects with a hard cross, and it is Servo who is on the defensive, covering up to avoid further damage and, despite plenty of time remaining in the round, “Homicide Hank” is unable to follow up. In rounds nine and 10, Armstrong continues to wing away, forcing Servo to back up and absorb some blows. At the two-thirds mark, Armstrong’s aggressiveness has paid off as he has forged a narrow lead (97-94) on the unofficial card. In the final third of the bout, Armstrong eases off a bit, but remains aggressive while fighting outside. Servo attempts a more active approach, and both fighters are showing signs of fatigue at this point. Armstrong continues to hold the upper hand, thwarting Servo’s efforts as the bout heads into the final two rounds. Finally, in the 14th, with Servo going for a knockout, Armstrong connects with a perfect hook, putting Servo down and out. KO 14 for Armstrong, who regains the title, improving his career stats to 47-9-3 (39). The loss drops Servo, who was actually ahead on two of the judges’ cards, to 30-6-1 (11). Early Fight-of-the Year candidate and, with Armstrong regaining the crown, fight fans are clamoring for a matchup between Armstrong and “Sugar” Ray Robinson, the NABF WW Champ and a fast-rising star.

Jan. 19, 1946: The scene shifts to the West Coast, specifically Los Angeles, for the next fight card at the Olympic Auditorium there. No titles at stake, but an exciting main event tops the card, as unbeaten Mexican LW Enrique Bolanos, “the Durango Dropper, in his initial bout at Prime career stage, faces veteran Johnny Bellus. First meeting of the two, and Bellus is handicapped by the fact that he is past his Prime. Solid start from Bolanos, who takes charge from the opening bell, putting the cautious Bellus on his back heel. By the end of round three, Bolanos is swarming all over Bellus, who appears to be suffering from a broken jaw; just before the bell, however, Bellus connects with a strong combination that sends Bolanos to the canvas, but time runs out before the ref can complete his count, so Bolanos is able to recover between rounds. Early in round five, Bolanos stuns Bellus with a quick hook to the head, and Bellus covers up and stays out of trouble for the rest of the round. Despite being down once, Bolanos has a slight points lead (48-47) on the unofficial card at the halfway point of the bout. Bolanos continues with an active, aggressive posture into the second half of the bout. By the end of round seven, there is a welt under Bellus’ left eye. The two continue to battle away until the final round, and Bolanos is able to squeeze out a UD 10 by a fairly comfortable margin (96-93, 97-92, 95-94) to keep his unbeaten record intact. Post-bout records: Bolanos, 21-0 (18); Bellus, 39-21-7 (14).

Jan. 25, 1946: Next up is a Friday night card at the Rand Stadium in Johannesburg, and a WBA title clash tops the agenda. First up, in the main supporting bout, former WBA HW Champ Max Schmeling, reeling from a series of recent setbacks (having loss three of his last four), takes on the newly crowned USBA HW Champion, Lee Q. Murray. Murray serves notice in the opening stanza, when he connects with a wicked hook to the head that sends Max tumbling to the deck. After taking a three count, Max arises and covers up to last the round. Murray continues hammering away and, by the end of round two, there is a trace of swelling under Schmeling’s left eye. In round three, Schmeling goes down, courtesy of a Murray combination, and this time, he takes an eight count. By the midway point of the bout, Murray has a large edge (49-45) on the unofficial scorecard. Two more knockdowns follow in the second half of the bout, then Murray eases up, allowing Schmeling to press the action while remaining alert to opportunities to launch a counterstrike. Schmeling’s other eye begins to puff up, and Max is unable to overcome the effects of aging (not to mention the four knockdowns), so Murray takes a one-sided UD 10 (96-90, 97-89, 97-89) to move to 29-6-1 (23) overall. The Post-Prime Schmeling, now in his 23rd year as a ring professional, is now 69-10-1 (45). After this, the ring is cleared for the main event, as South African fight fans have turned out to see countryman Laurie Stevens, a former WBA Champ and the current Commonwealth LW titleholder, attempt to regain the WBA LW title from Bob Montgomery, who captured the belt in November 1945 and is making his first title defense. No prior meetings of the two, and it is Montgomery who is on target often in the opening round, landing enough blows to cause some puffiness to appear under Stevens’ right eye. Montgomery continues to have the upper hand through the first five rounds and, after five, he has a large lead (50-45) on the unofficial card. In the middle rounds, it is just more of the same, with Montgomery easing up as Stevens, trailing and further hampered by the fact that he is at Post-Prime career stage, is forced to become more aggressive. After another five rounds, the situation has not changed, with Montgomery still way ahead (100-90) on the unofficial scorecard. Early in round 11, Montgomery rocks Stevens with a hard shot, forcing the South African challenger to cover up. Trailing badly and tiring badly, Stevens continues to battle on to the final few rounds. In the final seconds of round 13, Montgomery connects with with a devastating hook to the head, and Stevens barely beats the count, arising just before the bell sounds to end the round. The bout goes the distance, and Montgomery retains the belt via a lopsided UD 15 (148-135, 148-136, 149-136). Post-bout career records: Montgomery, 29-3-2 (16); Stevens, 36-15-1 (21).

Jan. 26, 1946: Next up is a full card at London’s Earls Court. In spite of the large number of bouts on the agenda, no titles were on the line, and the main event features reigning GBU Flyweight Jimmy Gill, the Fighting Jockey,” who faces, for the third time, his OPBF counterpart, Yoichiro Hanada from Japan. Both prior meetings in Manila resulted in points wins for Gill. This time around, in front of an appreciative hometown crowd, Gill starts slowly, allowing Hanada to build an early edge in terms of the punches landed stat. Hanada continues to hold the upper hand through the first half of the bout, and the Japanese fighter is rewarded with a nice points lead (50-46) after five rounds are in the books. Recovering from his slow start, Gill finally gets going with a strong round six, and he manages to cause some initial swelling around the left eye of Hanada as well. Gill moves inside to do more damage in round seven, and, by round eight, both fighters are beginning to show signs of fatigue. With Hanada electing to adopt a rearguard, safety-first approach, Gill is able to pull back the earlier deficit in the punches landed stat and, in a bout going the distance with no cuts or knockdowns, Gill manages to convince one judge, but the other two go for Hanada, who hangs on to take a close SD 10 (95-96, 97-94, 97-96) by winning the final round on two judges’ cards to give him the upset win. The surprise win by Hanada lifts him to 36-17-4 (9), while the loss leaves Gill at 37-16-4 (12).

Jan. 26, 1946: The month’s fistic activity concludes with a card at New York City. No titles at stake and, in the main event, USBA LH Champ Archie Moore returns to the LH division after a brief but unsuccessful foray into the HW ranks. His opponent is Greek Anton Christoforidis, who recently won the EBU LH crown. In this, the first meeting of these two, and the two trade blows through a few relatively even early rounds. Then, late in round four, Moore lands a big hook flush on Christoforidis’ chin, staggering the EBU Champ, and, fortunately for Christoforidis, there is not enough time left in the round for Moore to follow up. Moore keeps plugging away and, midway through round five, he drops Christoforidis with a nice combination. At the midway point, the unofficial scorer has Archie up by two (48-46) after having awarded two of the first three rounds to Christoforidis. In the second half of the bout, Christoforidis becomes more aggressive, but he is unable to make much of an impression on Moore, who carries on with his otherwise steady performance to post a UD 10 win (95-94, 97-92, 98-91). Post-bout career marks: Moore, 36-4-4 (25); Christoforidis, 29-14-3 (13).