[JCWeb]

This report summarizes action from the second half of October 1947. Two WBA title bouts are included in this report.

Oct. 18, 1947: To the French Riviera for the next card in Cannes, and France’s WBA MW Champion, Marcel Cerdan, is featured in the main event, making another title defense. Preceding this is a main supporting bout matching the OPBF BW kingpin, Tirso Del Rosario, who has journeyed all the way from the Philippines to face Spaniard Luis Romero in a 10-round, non-title bout. As the two have not met before, there is a long feeling out process at the outset, with both men circling each other, feinting and probing for openings. Then, in round three, Romero moves inside and does some damage, causing some initial puffiness to appear around Del Rosario’s left eye. In round five, the two battle away on the inside, and this time Del Rosario has the upper hand. At the halfway point, Romero has a slim one-point lead (48-47) on the unofficial scorer’s card. In the second half of the bout, and the punches landed stats as well as the stamina factor both favor the Spaniard, Romero. Late in round seven, Romero stuns Del Rosario with a sharp combination, but there is not enough time left in the round for Romero to follow up. In the final few rounds, Del Rosario tries to battle back, becoming more aggressive, but is unable to make much of an impression on Romero, who goes on to take a surprisingly close MD 10 (96-94, 95-95, 96-94), withstanding a late surge from Del Rosario that closed the gap in the final two rounds. Post-bout career marks: Romero, 19-1-2 (8); Del Rosario, 19-5-2 (4). Then, in the finale, Marcel Cerdan, the “Casbalanca Clouter,” makes the third defense of the WBA MW title, taking on a two-time former Champion in challenger Holman Williams. These two have met four times previously, and Williams has won three, Cerdan just once. However, this time around, Williams is at Post-Prime career stage – a big advantage for Cerdan. In this rematch, Williams gets off to a solid start, holding his own through the opening few rounds. Near the end of the round four, just before the bell, Cerdan lands a hard shot that snaps Williams’ head back. At the one third mark of the bout, the unofficial scorer has it even (48-48). In the middle rounds, Cerdan steps up the pace, taking the fight to Williams, who is content to spar away from the outside. Williams has a big round in the seventh, but from then on, the stamina factor begins to weigh heavily in favor of the French Champion. After 10 rounds are in the books, the unofficial scorer has Williams up by two (96-94), including a 10-8 round in the ninth where Cerdan was called for holding and hitting. With the crowd behind him, Cerdan takes on a more aggressive posture, attempting to rally in the latter stages of the bout. However, Williams’ defense remains solid, and he has a huge edge in terms of the punches landed stats, frustrating Cerdan. Then, early in round 14, Cerdan gets a lucky break as Williams injures his hand while landing a punch, and pulls away, contorting in pain. Williams is unable to continue, and Cerdan is declared a TKO 14 winner. With the win, Cerdan keeps the belt and improves to 48-7-3 (32). For Williams, who was leading on all three cards at the time of the stoppage, it is a bitter loss that leaves him at 54-14-1 (24).

Oct. 18, 1947: Next card is at San Francisco’s Cow Palace, and the main event pits “the Austin Atom,” Jackie Graves, versus “the Pride of East Boston,” Sal Bartolo, for the NABF FW title that Graves won earlier in 1947. Previously, these two met in 1946 for the USBA title belt, and Bartolo came away a points winner, but Graves has hit Prime career stage since then, plus he will have a possible further advantage as the defending titleholder in this matchup. In the opening minute, Bartolo unleashes a barrage of blows, dropping Graves, who cannot beat the count. Thus, 35 seconds in (one of the quickest KOs in the history of this Uni, particularly in a title matchup), the bout comes to a sudden end, with Bartolo taking the title via a KO 1. Post-bout records: Bartolo, 33-10-4 (10); Graves, 19-3-1 (14). With this impressive win, Bartolo’s connections are now angling for a WBA title shot.

Oct. 24, 1947: Next is a Friday night card at Mexico City, and popular Mexican Flyweight Otilio Galvan is matched in the main event with a boxer who has become his nemesis, Cuban Black Pico. At stake is Galvan’s NABF Flyweight title but of note is the two past results, all within the past 15 months, both in Mexico City, which saw Pico prevail, both times by a unanimous points win, both for the LABF Flyweight title, still held by Pico but not at stake in this rematch. Nonetheless, Pico is still a bout away from Prime career stage, so there is hope for Galvan to produce a different result. The bout is fairly close through the opening few rounds, but Pico, the sharper and more accurate puncher of the two, has managed to land the more telling blows, causing some initial swelling to appear under the right eye of Galvan. At the halfway point, the unofficial scorer at ringside has the bout as even (57-57). Galvan, urged on by the Mexican fight fans in attendance, is the more active of the two in the second half of the contest. Pico holds the edge in terms of the punches landed stats, but Galvan exhibits slightly superior stamina. However, as the bout wears on, Pico has settled into a rhythm, while Galvan struggles to find the range with his punches. Near the end of round 10, a frustrated Galvan is warned for holding and hitting. Galvan ramps up the aggression in the final few rounds, but to no avail, as Pico goes on to win the title, but only via a SD 12 (118-111, 113-115, 116-113), as one of the judges favored Galvan. Nonetheless, this was Pico’s third win in succession over Galvan, and he added the NABF title to his LABF one, upping his career totals to 17-2-2 (0) – with all the wins coming via decision, no knockouts. For Galvan, who had impressive in a split duke over Jackie Jurich to win the NABF belt, the loss drops him to 19-8-2 (5).

Oct. 25, 1947: To the Earls Court in London for a massive fight card; featured are no fewer than three title contests, two for a GBU belt followed by a WBA title matchup. In the first of these, it is the GBU BW title that is at stake as Gus Foran faces challenger Norman Lewis, who picked up the EBU BW title (which is not at stake in this contest) in his most recent outing. The three prior meetings – none of which were title bouts – Foran emerged as a UD 10 winner. This time around, Lewis drives a hard left hook to the body in the opening round that stops Foran in his tracks, forcing the Champ to cover up. Then, later in the second round, it is Foran who lands a telling blow, a big left that sends Lewis reeling and resorting to the cover up to clear his head, all while remaining upright. The two continue to mix it up for the remainder of the early rounds, with Lewis, the sluggers, taking on the role of aggressor while Foran, the boxer, tended to hang back. Early in round five, Lewis breaks through, decking Foran with a hard shot, then quickly following up with a quick combination to deliver a second KD. Covering up once again, Foran was able to survive the round, but Lewis followed up with another good round in the sixth. At the midway point, surprisingly, despite a 10-8 round for Lewis in the fifth, the unofficial scorer had Foran leading on points (57-56). In round seven, an offensive minded Lewis continues to fire away, and he manages to rip open a nasty looking cut on Foran’s lip. As the rounds tick off, the punches landed stats are relatively even, as is the stamina factor, the only difference being the cut and two KDs suffered by Foran, the defending Champ. In the end, the bout goes to decision and, largely on the strength of the two knockdowns, Lewis captures the belt via a UD 12 (115-111, 115-112, 114-112) to run his career record to 27-8-1 (15). The loss leaves Foran at 24-6-3 (14). In the second GBU title encounter, it is Vince Hawkins defending the GBU MW title against Mark Hart. This is a rematch of their title bout in August that ended in a controversial DQ win for Hawkins. This time around, it is a workman-like performance by Hawkins that enables him to build a solid points lead. At the halfway point of the contest, Hawkins has a solid points lead (59-55), according to the unofficial scorer at ringside. Hart, forced to go on the offensive and take more risks in the second half of the bout, is unable to make much progress, so Hawkins goes on to retain the title via a routine UD 12 (115-113, 118-110, 117-111). Post-bout records: Hawkins, 20-12-4 (7); Hart, 15-3 (9). Wrapping up the festivities is a bout for the WBA Flyweight title, with Rinty Monaghan defending against a familiar foe in challenger Peter Kane, the reigning Commonwealth Fly titleholder. The two are meeting for the fifth time, with Kane having prevailed in three of those prior encounters, although one was via a controversial DQ call. In this rematch with the WBA title at stake, Kane seizes the initiative with an effective inside attack to dominate the action in round three. Into the middle rounds, Kane continues to pound away and, at the one third mark, he has pulled out to an early points lead (49-47) on the unofficial scorer’s card. In round nine, Kane breaks through and drops Monaghan with a hook. Monaghan scrambles to his feet, but then is dropped a second time by a Kane combination. Monaghan recovers his footing and survives the onslaught but, after 10 rounds are in the books, Kane is well ahead on points (98-92) on the unofficial card. In the later rounds, Monaghan tries to battle back, becoming more aggressive, but he is unable to make much of an impression on a determined challenger. To make matters worse, Monaghan has to deal with a badly swollen left eye in the later rounds of the contest. In the end, it goes the distance and is a solid UD 15 for Kane (145-139, 148-135, 145, 138), who lifts the WBA belt for the second time and improves to 37-9-1 (13) as a result. Monaghan slips to 42-14-1 (12) with the loss.

Oct. 25, 1947: A pair of HW bouts top the next card at New York’s Madison Square Garden. In the first co-feature, Swede Olle Tandberg visits the States to face Johnny Haynes. The two have not before, and not much happens in the opening few rounds. By the midway point, Tandberg has a narrow lead in the punches landed as well as a slim lead on points (48-47), according to the official scorer at ringside. In the second half of the bout, Haynes takes a more active role, swinging away freely. Tandberg, working outside, manages to control the situation, resisting Haynes’ aggressive forays. Consequently, Tandberg goes to on to capture a UD 10 (96-94, 96-95, 97-93) to run his career record to 27-6-3 (9). On the other hand, Haynes ends the bout at 19-3-1 (14). Then, in the second co-feature, “Tampa” Tommy Gomez is on hand to defend his USBA HW title versus Curtis “Hatchetman” Sheppard. First meeting of the two, and the action heats up less than two minutes into the opening round, when Gomez stuns Sheppard with a quick hook to the head, forcing the challenger to cover up. Then, in round two, Sheppard turns the tables, staggering Gomez with an uppercut, and this time, Gomez resorts to the cover up approach to survive the round. By the end of the second round, there is a trace of swelling under Gomez’s left eye. The bout remains close through the opening rounds, until round five, when, as the two are battling away on the inside, Gomez lands a crushing hook that sends Sheppard crashing to the deck. Sheppard is unable to beat the count, so Gomez retains the title via a KO 5, setting himself up for a possible WBA HW title clash with Joe Louis. Post-bout career marks: Gomez, 32-6-1 (29); Sheppard, 28-9-1 (18).

Oct. 31, 1947: Wrapping up the month’s activity is a Friday night “Halloween Fright night” card at Havana’s Gran Stadium. A LABF title clash tops the card, preceded by a WW bout pairing Cuba’s LABF WW Champion, Joe Legon, with veteran Tippy Larkin. No prior meetings of the two, and not much in the way of action takes place in the early rounds. Larkin has the early edge in the punches landed stats, taking advantage of the fact that Legon is at Post-Prime career stage. At the halfway point, the unofficial card has Larkin with a slim one-point lead (49-48). With both fighters beginning to tire in the later stages of the contest, Legon takes the initiative, pressuring his opponent. Finally, in the 10th and final round, Legon breaks through, dropping Larkin for an eight count with an effective combination. Larkin picks himself off the canvas and finishes the bout, but the damage has been done, as the late KD was sufficient to enable Legon to squeak through as a SD 10 winner (95-96, 96-95, 96-94). Post-bout career records: Legon, 34-17-6 (14); Larkin, 31-14-3 (14). Then, in the final bout on the card, Cuban HW Omelio Agramonte challenges Alberto Santiago Lovell for Lovell’s LABF HW title. No prior meetings of the two, and Agramonte gets off to a good start with an excellent showing in round two. By the end of round four, there is noticeable swelling visible under the left eye of Lovell, indicating that Agramonte’s punches have had an effect. Then, with both men battling away on the inside in round five, Lovell rocks Agramonte with a solid cross, causing the Cuban fighter to cover up. At the halfway point, the unofficial scorer at ringside has the bout as even (57-57). Lovell, trailing in the punches landed stat, takes a more offensive posture in the second half of the bout. By round eight, some puffiness appears under Agramonte’s right eye, indicating that Lovell had begun to make progress. Thus, the issue remained in doubt as the rounds ticked off, with Agramonte now taking on the mantle of the aggressor, starting in round 10. The bout remains a close one into the final few rounds, and Lovell manages to keep the title via a SD 12 (116-112, 113-115, 115-113). As a result, Lovell’s career mark improved to 41-17-1 (30), while Agramonte ended the bout at 21-7 (13).