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This report summarizes action from the second half of June 1947, and no WBA title bouts are included.

June 20, 1947: Next is a Friday night card at Luna Park in Buenos Aires. On tap in the main event is a LABF MW title clash, with Argentina’s Mario Diaz making his first title defense against a former titleholder, Chilean Antonio Fernandez. It is the first meeting of the two, and, surprisingly, the bout lasts less than a minute as Diaz connects with a left hook to the body that causes Fernandez to wince in pain, dropping to one knee. The immediately impact of the punch was to cause a fractured rib, forcing an early retirement by the challenger. Thus, Diaz is able to retain the belt via a TKO 1. Post-bout, Diaz improves to 17-5-2 (6). The loss leaves Fernandez, who slips to the End career stage with his next outing, at 41-24-6 (13).

June 21, 1947: A nice crowd has gathered for the next fistic action, this at the Olympia in London. The featured bout is for the GBU Flyweight title, and Peter Kane defends that belt, facing challenger Jackie Paterson. The two met once before, for the WBA Fly title, and Paterson prevailed via a points win. Fairly even for the first four rounds, then Paterson pulls ahead slightly after a strong round five. Midway through the sixth round, Paterson connects with a straight right that sends Kane reeling, and Kane resorts to the cover up strategy to last the round. At the midway point of the bout, Paterson has forged a slim points lead (58-57) on the unofficial scorecard. Kane tries to become more aggressive in the second half of the bout, but in round nine, he leaves himself open and Paterson is able to rip open a cut over Kane’s left eye. Late in round 10, Kane goes down, victim of a Paterson hook; Kane scrambles to his feet, but the bell sounds before Paterson can do further damage. The onus is on Kane to go on the attack in the final two rounds, and, while he does manage to cause some swelling under Paterson’s right eye, the cut remains a problem. Then, in the final round, a Kane cross floors Paterson just before the final bell, but the bell sounds just as the ref is picking up the count. Thus, it goes to the scorecards, and Paterson picks up the title via a MD 12 (115-112, 113-113, 115-111). Post-bout career records: Paterson, 29-7-2 (19); Kane, 36-9-1 (13). Despite the narrow loss, Kane still has the Commonwealth Fly title to fall back on, as that belt was not on the line in this GBU title encounter.

June 21, 1947: To Los Angeles for the next fight card, and twin feature title bouts top the agenda. In the first co-feature, Tony Olivera takes to the ring to defend his USBA BW title against challenger Tommy Forte. In two previous meetings, each has won once, and now, both are at Post-Prime career stage. Forte has the upper hand through most of the early rounds, and in the fifth round, he connects with an overhand right that puts Olivera on the deck for an eight count. At the halfway point of the point of the bout, Forte is ahead on the unofficial card (by a count of 57-56), largely on the strength of the one knockdown. Olivera takes a more active approach to the second half of the bout, but he soon begins to tire and falls further and further behind as the bout wears on. Thus, while Olivera manages to stage a minor rally in the 10th, the bout goes the distance, and Forte scoops up the belt with a UD 12 win (115-112, 115-112, 116-111), running his career stats to 36-9-3 (12). Meanwhile, the loss leaves Olivera at 31-10-2 (19). In the second co-feature, aging veteran Baby Arizmendi is back in the ring, challenging Carlos Chavez for Chavez’s NABF FW title. The two have not met before and Arizmendi, who is at Post-Prime, is looking to call on his vast experience in the ring wars to defeat his younger foe. The bout devolves into a tactical battle, with the two boxers both probing for openings. The bout is a close one through the opening few rounds, with Chavez seeming to pull ahead in the middle rounds. At the halfway point, the unofficial scorer at ringside has the bout scored as even (57-57). Into the later stages of the bout, both fighters show signs of fatigue, while Chavez clings to a small lead in the punches landed stats. No cuts or knockdowns, so the bout goes to decision, and Chavez is able to retain the title via a SD 12 (115-113 Chavez, 113-115 Arizmendi, 117-112 Chavez). Post-bout records: Chavez, 28-7-1 (10); Arizmendi, 59-14-4 (14).

June 27, 1947: Next card is a Friday night affair at Havana’s Gran Stadium. Featured is a twin bill of non-title bouts. In the first of these, the “Durango Dropper,” Mexican Enrique Bolanos faces another young LW contender, Canada’s Harry Hurst. It is the first meeting of the two, and the 22-2 Bolanos is quick to exploit any weakness, landing some hammer blows in the opening stanza of the bout, doing enough to cause a trace of swelling to appear under Hurst’s right eye. In the final minute of round three, Bolanos connects with a big cross, sending Hurst tumbling to the canvas; after arising at the count of eight, Hurst covers up to survive the round. A badly shaken Hurst returns to his corner, and Bolanos continues swinging away freely in round four, but he cannot finish off his Canadian opponent. After dominating the action for the first half of the bout, it is no surprise that Durango has a wide lead (50-44) on the unofficial scorer’s card. In round six, the first blemish in Bolanos’ performance appears in the form of a bleeding cut on his upper lip. In round seven, there is more trouble for Hurst as a cut appears over his right left eye, plus his right eye has puffed up to an even greater degree. Bolanos eases up in the final few rounds, coasting to a lopsided UD 10 win (99-91, 99-90, 99-90), running his career stats to 23-2 (19). Meanwhile, Hurst ends the bout at 23-9-1 (10). In the second co-feature, a pair of top 10 HW contenders take to the ring as Lee Q. Murray takes on Cuban knockout artist Nino Valdes. These two sluggers have not met before and, in the bout’s opening minute, Valdes brings the Cuban fight fans to their feet when he rocks Murray with a hard hook. Effective use of the cover up strategy enables Murray to remain upright and survive the opening round onslaught relatively unscathed. The two continue swinging away at each other for the remainder of the opening rounds, with Murray being cautioned for a low blow in round four. At the halfway point, the unofficial scorer has Murray with a slight lead (48-47), although the bout remains very close. By the end of round six, a welt has formed under Murray’s right eye. As the bout wears on, the stamina factor favors Murray, and Valdes’ punches seem to lack steam as the Cuban slugger begins to slow visibly in the later rounds. Punches landed stat remains close, with a slight edge to Murray in this key category. The bout comes down to the final few rounds, with little to choose between the two. After a long pause, the cards are read, and it is a split decision, one judge for Valdes, but the other two for Murray, who escapes with a SD 10 verdict in his favor (98-94 Murray, 94-97 Valdes, 97-95 Murray) – a wide divergence of opinion, and a result that is not well received the Cuban fight fans, whose chorus of boos echo throughout the arena. Post-bout career marks: Murray, 30-9-1 (23); Valdes, 19-5-2 (15). A bit of a disappointment that the bout between these two did not see more action in the form of knockdowns, given the prior records of both fighters.

June 28, 1947: To New York’s Madison Square Garden for another exciting card of fisticuffs, topped by a HW encounter featuring Jersey Joe Walcott, still on the comeback trail and now in the Post-Prime of his career; Walcott takes on Johnny Haynes, a much lower rated fighter who should prove to be a nice confidence booster as Jersey Joe seeks to remain a viable top contender in the HW ranks. No prior meetings of the two, and the lightly regarded Haynes has reached Prime career stage and fashioned a three-bout winning streak to set up this, his first main event appearance on any fight card. The opening round sees a solid start from Haynes, who is some nine years Walcott’s junior; by the end of the round, Walcott’s right eye is beginning to show signs of puffiness. By round three, however, Walcott has got things on track, decking Haynes with a hook to the head. Haynes recovers after taking a seven count, but he emerges some worse for the wear, as Walcott has managed to cause some initial swelling under and around Haynes’ left eye. The tide shifts again in the fourth round, when a hard cross from Haynes rips open a cut on Walcott’s forehead. At the midway point, Walcott has the upper hand, having landed more punches, and this translates into a points lead on the unofficial card (by a count of 48-46). In round six, Haynes manages to reopen the cut on Walcott’s forehead, and the cut gets worse as the round progresses. The end comes two rounds later, after the cut is reopened once again; despite pleading from Walcott and his corner to allow the bout to continue, the ref has seen enough. Haynes is declared a TKO 8 victor due to the cuts stoppage. Post-bout records: Haynes, 19-2-1 (14); Walcott, 53-14 (31). Tough loss for Walcott, who drops out of the top 10 in the HW ranks for the first time in over a decade, putting him one step closer to retirement.

June 28, 1947: Final card of the month takes place at Seattle’s Sicks Stadium. In the feature bout, Georgie Crouch is on hand to defend the NABF WW title he won earlier in the year. In his first defense, the challenger is Johnny Greco, who has journeyed south from Canada to take on Crouch for the belt. The two have not met before, and Crouch takes advantage of a sluggish start by Greco to compile an early lead in the punches landed stats. However, Greco regroups quickly and comes out swinging, decking Crouch with a hard shot early in the third round. Crouch arises at the count of six, then covers up and manages to last the round. Not much changes in the overall complexion of the bout, which remains a close one, with Crouch holding a slim one point lead (57-56) at the midway point, according to the unofficial scorecard. Into the second half of the bout, and Greco is the more aggressive of the two. Midway through round seven, Greco stuns Crouch with a straight right and, once again, Crouch wisely elects to cover up to avert further damage, remaining on his feet for the remainder of the round. By this time, however, Crouch is showing signs of wear and tear, with a rapidly swollen and bruised left eye having borne the brunt of Greco’s aggressive posture. However, the stamina factor works in Crouch’s favor, as Greco tires badly and, early in round 11, he runs into a Crouch cross and goes down. Greco goes down a second time late in the final stanza, and this allows Crouch to break open a close bout to take a fairly comfortable UD 12 (115-111, 116-109, 115-110) to retain the NABF belt. Post-bout career marks: Crouch, 35-13-4 (18); Greco, 22-9-1 (13).