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This report includes bouts from the second half of May 1948. Three WBA title bouts are included in this report.

May 15, 1948: Next card takes place in Pittsburgh. In the main event, Al Hostak, the “Savage Slav,” challenges Charley Burley for Burley’s USBA MW title. The two are squaring off for the second time; in one prior encounter, back in 1941, Burley took the NABF MW title from Hostak. Burley lands punches in bunches in the opening round, and, as a result, Hostak returns to his corner with a trace of swelling under his left eye. As the bout wears on, Burley continues to grind, adding to his early lead almost every round. At the halfway point of the bout, Burley maintains a two-point edge (58-56) on the unofficial scorecard, but Hostak has been able to work his way into the bout, making it a competitive contest. In round seven, Hostak tries to seize the initiative by working his way inside, but he only opens himself up for target practice by Burley. Late in the round, Burley connects with a straight right hand that sends Hostak reeling against the ropes. Hostak remains upright, attempts to cover up, but Burley does not relent, and he forces the ref to call an early halt with seconds remaining in round seven. Impressive TKO 7 for Burley, who retains the title and improves his career stats to 47-4 (33). Hostak falls to 46-15- 3 (33) with the loss.

May 21, 1948: At the next card, a Friday night affair at Manila, Filipino fan favorite Tirso Del Rosario is on hand to make his second defense (and first in over a year) of the OPBF BW title he has held since 1945. Del Rosario’s opponent is the Japanese boxer, Hiroshi Horiguchi. The two met once before, with no title at stake, back in 1945 when both were at Pre-Prime, and Del Rosario took a UD on his way to rising up the ranks and capturing the OPBF title. The opening rounds see Del Rosario boxing comfortably, and compiling an early edge in the punches landed stats at a steady pace. In the middle rounds, Horiguchi works his way into the bout, but there are few openings for him to exploit and, at the midway point, Del Rosario has a solid points lead (60-55) on the unofficial scorer’s card. Into the second half of the bout, and Horiguchi is the more active of the two, chipping away at Del Rosario’s early lead in the punches landed category. By round 11, Horiguchi has managed to land enough accurate blows to cause some initial puffiness under the right eye of Del Rosario. The late surge and strong second half by Horiguchi (who won the last four rounds from all three judges) is sufficient to carry him to a surprise victory, taking the title via a close but UD 12 (115-113, 115-113, 116-112). Filipino fight fans are stunned in disbelief by this result and, given that Horiguchi is rated a “4” versus an “8” for Del Rosario, this bout has to be a strong contender for the Upset of the Year. Post-bout career marks: Horiguchi, 17-3-4 (4); Del Rosario, 19-8-2 (4).

May 22, 1948: A pair of LH title contests top the next card at New York City. In the first co-feature, Lloyd Marshall is challenged by Harry “Kid” Matthews for the USBA LH title that Marshall, a former WBA LH titleholder, has held since early 1948. The two met once before, in 1947, and Marshall prevailed via a fifth round knockout. By the end of round three, Marshall appears to be making progress, and there is a trace of swelling under the right eye of the challenger. Marshall continues to dominate in the middle rounds and, by the midway point, Marshall has pulled in front on the unofficial scorer’s card (by a count of 58-56). Matthews tries to battle back, but Marshall gradually wears him down and, late in round 10, he decks Matthews with a barrage of blows. Matthews barely beats the count, then covers up to last the round. Marshall puts Matthews on the deck a second time in round 11, and, again, a third time, in round 12. This seals a lopsided UD 12 for Marshall (118-106, 118-109, 118-108), who retains the title, running his career stats to 37-6-5 (30). The loss leaves Matthews at 31-9 (21). With five wins in his last five outings, Marshall has re-established his credentials a potential challenger for the WBA LH title. In the second co-main event, that WBA LH title is on the line, as NABF LH Champ Archie Moore challenges Melio Bettina for the title belt. Moore, who briefly held the WBA LH title once before (in the 1941-42 time frame), has waited a long time for another WBA title shot, and, in Bettina, he is facing an opponent he has bested twice before. This time, with the WBA title at stake, Moore gets off to a strong start, putting Bettina on the defensive from the opening bell. It is not until midway through the fourth round that Bettina gets on track, stunning Moore with a strong shot. Another strong round for Bettina in the fifth cuts Moore’s early lead to just one (48-47), according to the unofficial card at the one-third mark of the bout. Into the middle rounds, and the two sluggers hammer away at each other. In round seven, Bettina walks into a Moore uppercut, and he goes down, taking an eight count. Moore takes full advantage of a vulnerable opponent, forcing Bettina into submission to regain the WBA title in impressive fashion, and the bout goes into the books as a TKO 7 for Moore. Post-bout career marks: Moore, 43-4-5 (30); Bettina, 43-11-7 (18).

May 22, 1948: To the West Coast, where another WBA title contest tops the agenda. First up are two main supporting bouts. In the first of these, former WBA BW Champ David Kui Kong Young continues of the comeback trail, facing the “Pocket Battleship,” aka Luis Castillo, who is the reigning LABF BW Champ. Back in 1943, Kui Kong Young prevailed in a clash for the NABF BW title belt; this time, no titles are at stake in this 10-rounder. Kui Kong Young wastes little time going to work in the opening rounds, building a solid early lead in the punches landed stats. At the midway point, it appears that the unofficial scorer has given a couple of close rounds to Castillo, so the narrow one point lead for Kui Kong Young (48-47) has the bout as much closer than the punches landed count. With Castillo appearing to have made some inroads in the middle rounds, Kui Kong Young steps up the pace, applying pressure on the inside in the seventh and eighth rounds. However, Castillo is offering up some stout resistance, and he has narrowed the gap in the punches landed stat to virtually nil as the bout enters its later stages. With Castillo holding his own, the two battle right down to the final round, and, with a minute left in the bout, Kui Kong Young decks Castillo with a big uppercut. Castillo picks himself up off the canvas after taking a six count. The bout goes to decision, and the final round knockdown is sufficient for Kui Kong Young to eke out a narrow SD 10 verdict (94-96, 95-93, 95-94) to run his career record to 44-4-4 (20). Tough loss for Castillo, who ends the bout at 26-12-1 (11). In the second main support, the NABF WW title is on the line, with “the Cuban Hawk,” Kid Gavilan challenging Georgie Crouch for Crouch’s title belt. The two have not met before, and Gavilan starts well, taking charge from the second round onward. In round four, Gavilan connects with a sharp uppercut that draws blood from a cut over Crouch’s right eye. By the middle rounds, Crouch has begun to recover from a poor start and is working his way into the bout. At the midway point, Gavilan is up by two (58-56) on the unofficial scorer’s card. In round eight, the cut over Crouch’s eye is reopened, while Gavilan continues to expand his lead. Then, when the cut is reopened a second time, in the 10th round, an immediate stoppage is ordered, so Gavilan takes a TKO 10. Post-bout records: Gavilan, 20-2-1 (4); Crouch, 37-15-4 (18). Finally, in the main event, “Bobcat” Bob Montgomery, who has been inactive since December 1947, defends the WBA LW title against Maxie “Little Duke” Docusen, a boxer who just wrapped up the Pre-Prime stage of his career, having barely nudged his way into the top 20 in the LW rankings. No prior meetings. After a couple of non-descript opening rounds, Montgomery moves inside, applying some pressure to his somewhat inexperienced opponent. However, Docusen is able to withstand the pressure and bounces back with a strong round in the fourth. After the first five rounds are in the books, the unofficial scorer has Montgomery well ahead (49-46), with Docusen credited with winning just one round (the fourth). Into the middle rounds, and Docusen, surprisingly, pulls ahead in the punches landed count. Montgomery tries hard to force the action on the inside, while Docusen, boxing beautifully, stays on the outside. However, at the two thirds mark, it appears that Docusen has yet to make major inroads, at least according to the unofficial scorecard, which has Montgomery still holding a solid points lead (98-94). In round 11, Docusen manages to launch a two-fisted assault that causes some puffiness to appear under Montgomery’s left eye. Fearing his title slipping away, Montgomery remains active until the very end, but by the final few rounds, both fighters appear exhausted as they drag themselves to the finish line. The bout goes the full 15 and, with a strong final third, Montgomery is able to retain the title via a UD 15 (145-140, 144-141, 144-141), running his career record to 38-4-2 (21) as a result. For Docusen, it is only his second career loss, leaving him at 17-2-2 (1).

May 28, 1948: Next is a rare Friday night card at London’s Harringay Arena. In the main event, Ritchie Tanner seeks to regain the GBU BW title as he challenges Norman Lewis for the belt that held previously for three years from 1943 to 1946. This represents the fourth meeting of the two; in their prior encounters, Lewis has won twice, and Tanner, once. This time around, a really strong start by a determined Tanner puts him well ahead in the punches landed stats after the opening three rounds, plus he has done enough damage to cause an initial trace of swelling to appear under the right eye of Lewis. Into the middle rounds, and Tanner continues to dominate much of the action. At the midway point, Tanner has the edge (58-56) on the unofficial scorer’s card, meaning that a couple of the closely contested rounds were awarded to Lewis. However, in round eight, any thought of a rally by Lewis to retain the belt is squashed, after the cut over Lewis’ eye is reopened and begins to bleed profusely. After consulting with the ring physician, the ref calls a halt, and Tanner regains the GBU title via a TKO 8 on the cuts stoppage. Post-bout records: Tanner, 27-15-3 (13); Lewis, 27-10-1 (15).

May 29, 1948: The month wraps up with a card in New Orleans, and with another WBA title bout topping the agenda. First up is the main supporting bout, matching MWs Coley “the Fighting Iceman” Welch with Tony Janiro. First meeting of the two and, with no titles at stake, the bout is scheduled for 10 rounds. Some solid boxing in the opening few rounds gives Welch an early edge in the punches landed stats. After a sluggish start, Janiro moves inside in round four and finds the range with some accurate punching. The two mix it up on the inside in round five and, at the halfway point, Welch holds a narrow lead (48-47), according the unofficial card. In the second half of the bout, it is Welch who is the aggressor, seeking the force the action while Janiro is more comfortable setting up shop on the outside. By the end of round seven, there is noticeable swelling under Welch’s right eye as he has paid a price for attempting to work his way inside. By this time, Janiro has pulled ahead in the punch count but it remains to be seen whether or not that translates into a points win with the judges. There are no cuts or knockdowns as the bout goes the distance, and Janiro scoops up a UD 10 (97-93, 96-94, 97-93), advancing his career totals to 20-1-2 (2) compared to 34-15-4 (15) post-bout for Welch. Then, in the main event, newly crowned USBA WW Champion Jimmy Sherrer, who is off to an excellent 22-1 career start, challenges “Sugar” Ray Robinson for Robinson’s WBA WW title. It is the first meeting of the two, and this is Robinson’s third defense after regaining the WBA title in August of 1947. After a pedestrian start in the first couple of rounds, Robinson moves inside in round three, but it is Sherrer who connects with a strong combination that sends “Sugar Ray” tumbling to the canvas. Robinson beats the count, arising at the count of eight, and covers up to last the round. The bout remains close and, even with a 10-8 round for Sherrer in the third, the unofficial scorer has it even (47-47) at the one-third point of the bout. The issue remains very much in doubt in the middle rounds, with Robinson taking a more active role and compiling an ever increasing lead in the punches landed count. In round 10, a Robinson uppercut gets through, opening a cut on Sherrer’s upper lip. After 10 rounds, the bout remains a close one – with Robinson up by just a point (95-94) on the unofficial card. Robinson does not let up, and, by the end of the 11th round, there is a trace of swelling that has formed around Sherrer’s right eye. Despite a strong stamina advantage that puts him on the path to a points win, Robinson then has a point deducted for excessive head butting in round 14. The bout goes the distance without further incident, and Robinson pulls out a UD 15 (144-139, 144-139, 143-140) that was a bit more competitive than he would have liked. Post-bout career marks: Robinson, 35-2-1 (25); Sherrer, 22-2 (12). Could be a Fight of the Year contender, given that Robinson came off the deck to win, but there are likely to be other bouts that are more likely to get the nod.