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This report includes bouts from the first half of April 1949. Two WBA title bouts are included.

Apr. 1, 1949: The month kicks off with a Friday night card at Havana’s Gran Stadium. No title bouts on the menu, and featured in the main event is a former WBA WW Champ, Marty Servo. His opponent is a hometown crowd favorite, Kid Gavilan, aka “the Cuban Hawk.” No prior meetings of the two, and Gavilan is hoping to use this opportunity to take advantage of an aging veteran (with Servo now at End career stage) to advance his standing in the WW rankings. The two boxers both exhibit a cautious approach to the opening rounds, but Gavilan is able to gradually pull ahead to a nice lead in the punches landed count. At the midway point of the contest, scheduled for 10 rounds, Gavilan was well ahead on points as well (49-46), according to the unofficial scorer at ringside. Servo tries to turn things around, moving inside in round seven, but all he gets for his troubles is a rapidly swelling left eye, the result of some accurate counterpunching by the “Cuban Hawk.” Servo is unable to make much progress as the bout reaches its later stages, and Gavilan goes on to take a fairly routine UD 10 (97-93, 99-91, 97-93) to run his career record to 22-3-1 (4). The loss leaves Servo at 36-11-2 (13).

Apr. 2, 1949: Next card takes place at Atlantic City’s Convention Hall. No title bouts, but the main event matches two top five Flyweight contenders: NABF Flyweight titleholder Dado Marino and Yoshio Shirai, who briefly held the WBA Flyweight crown after a stint as OPBF Flyweight Champ. No prior meetings of these two, and, after a couple of pedestrian opening rounds, Shirai takes charge in round three, moving inside and landing some telling blows to pull ahead in the punch count stat. Marino responds by moving inside with some effective punching in round four. At the halfway point, the unofficial card has Marino up by one (48-47), and there is some puffiness under the right eye of Shirai. In the second half of the bout, Marino seems content to stay on the outside, leaving it to Shirai to press the action on the inside. Shirai does well to keep the bout reasonably close, but Marino is able to grind out a convincing UD 10 win (97-93, 97-93, 98-92). Post-bout records: Marino, 34-10 (14); Shirai, 24-5 (12).

Apr. 8, 1949: The Commonwealth BW title is on the line in the featured bout at the next card, a Friday night affair at the Forum in Montreal. Challenging Canadian Fernando Gagnon for the crown is Brit Stan Rowan. The two have not met previously, and Rowan has been unbeaten in his last five (four wins, one draw) to set up this, his first title shot. Gagnon starts well, compiling an early lead in the punches landed; by the middle rounds, the challenger is showing signs of fatigue as well as some puffiness that is visible under his left eye. In round six, there is an accidental clash of heads, and Gagnon suffers a cut on his forehead as a result. At the midway point of the bout, Gagnon has a healthy points lead (59-56), according to the unofficial scorecard. In round eight, cut on Gagnon’s forehead is reopened. Into the final rounds, and Rowan tries to become more aggressive, but Gagnon’s corner does a good job with the cut, and he is not seriously threatened by Rowan for the remainder of the bout. In fact, Rowan leaves himself open and is decked by a barrage of blows from Gagnon near the end of round 10. The bout goes the distance, and Gagnon is able to retain the title via a lopsided UD 12 (117-110, 117-111, 118-110). With the win, Gagnon improves his career stats to 28-5 (17). The loss drops Rowan to 26-4-2 (11).

Apr. 9, 1949: Next up is a huge card at the Sports Palace in Rome that features a WBA title clash at the top of the agenda. In the main supporting bout, a post-Prime Benny Goldberg, a former WBA BW Champ who remains a top contender, faces Spaniard Luis Romero, who is looking to advance up the BW ranks. The two have not met before. From the early rounds, it is Romero who takes on the role of aggressor, forcing the action. However, some solid boxing from Goldberg gives the American an early edge in the punch count stats. The battle between the two intensifies as both swing away freely with some inside exchanges in round five and, at the halfway point, Goldberg is up by two (49-47) on the unofficial card. Romero continues to take an aggressive approach as the bout heads into the later rounds, but some solid defense and counterpunching by Goldberg prevents him from making any progress. Goldberg goes to take a fairly routine UD 10 (97-93, 98-94, 97-92) to run his career totals to 37-7-3 (14). The loss leaves Romero, who is hopeful for a shot at the EBU BW title, at 21-4-2 (8). Then, the WBA LW title matchup takes place, and Italy’s Aldo Spoldi, who has held the EBU LW title since 1941, finally gets his first shot at a WBA title, as he challenges Ike Williams for the belt. No prior meetings, but Spoldi is at Post-Prime, having had to wait so long for this opportunity. Williams gets off to a strong start, rocking Spolid with a hard uppercut near the end of the opening stanza. Spoldi continues to struggle with his timing through most of the early rounds, while Williams is on target, landing his punches with alacrity. Late in the fifth round, a big cross from Williams snakes through, and once again Spoldi is hurt, but he remains upright. At this point, one third of the way through the bout, Williams has a commanding points lead (50-45), according to the unofficial scorer at ringside. Then, in round six, Spoldi goes down, as an overhand right from Williams finds its mark. Spoldi struggles to regain his footing, arising at the count of eight. Still plenty of time left in the round, but Williams is unable to finish off the game challenger. Early in round seven, things begin to look better for Spoldi, as he snakes through a right cross that rips open a cut over Williams’ left eye. Undaunted, Williams stalks Spoldi around the ring, finally catching him with a devastating hook that puts Spoldi down and out. Solid effort from Williams, who retains the WBA title with a KO 7 result. Post-bout career marks: Williams, 37-4-1 (32); Spoldi, 50-19-7 (18). Spoldi will be at End career stage with his next outing.

Apr. 9, 1949: Next up is more WBA title bout action, this time coming from the States, in Miami. First up, in the main supporting bout, two HWs take to the ring as newly crowned NABF HW Champ Tommy Gomez faces the hard-hitting Cuban, Nino Valdes, in a non-title matchup. The two, who have a combined 53 KOs to their respective ledgers) have not met before. “Tampa” Tommy is on the defensive from the start, as Valdes impresses with a strong start in the opening round. Valdes continues to press forward with a smothering attack, finally catching Gomez with a cross that puts Gomez down and out with seconds remaining in round two. Impressive KO 2 for Valdes, his best showing yet but, unfortunately, the NABF title was not on the line. Nonetheless, Valdes improves to 23-8-2 (19) with the win, and he is sure to move up the HW rankings as a result. The loss leaves Gomez at 38-7-1 (35). In the main event, Archie Moore makes another defense of his WBA LH title. The challenger is GBU, EBU and Commonwealth LH Champ “Fearless” Freddie Mills, whom Moore has beaten twice before, both inside the distance, the most recent being a first round knockout in New York in 1947, but this is the first time the two have competed with a title at stake. This time around, Mills is able to avoid a first round blowout, and Mills is actually having the better of the exchanges in round two. Moore responds with a strong showing in the third and fourth stanzas. The two sluggers exchange blows on the inside in round five and, once again, Mills seems to be holding his own. At the one thirds mark of the bout, it is a close one (48-47 in favor of Moore) on the unofficial card. In the middle rounds, Moore continues to work his way inside, applying pressure and winning most of the exchanges. In round nine, Mills tries to switch tactics and move inside, but Moore’s defense remains solid. Late in round 10, Moore decks Mills with a big hook, and Mills is able to resume only after taking a seven count. After 10 rounds are in the books, Moore has a solid points lead (98-92) on the unofficial card, his position being enhanced by the knockdown. Mills tries to bounce back, but he doesn’t last another round as, two minutes into the 11th, Moore decks him with a combination. Mills is counted out. KO 11 for Moore, who had to exert himself a bit more than in their two prior encounters. Post-bout career marks: Moore, 47-4-5 (33); Mills, 33-19-2 (16). Mills has accumulated enough retirement points that he will be at Post-Prime career stage with his next outing.

Apr. 15, 1949: Time for the next installment of the Friday night fights “Down Under” series, and a twin feature of two Commonwealth title bouts top the card, this time at Melbourne. In the first co-feature, the Commonwealth MW title is on the line, as Aussie Alfie Sands makes his first title defense against Vince Hawkins, current GBU MW titleholder. The two have not met before, and Sands, who takes an aggressive approach in the early stages of the bout, is met with some stiff resistance from Hawkins, However, in the fifth round, Sands breaks through and drops Hawkins with a sharp combination that finds its target. Hawkins is able to resume after taking a seven count, and he lasts the round by successfully electing to cover up. One more round and the midway point of the contest is reached, and it sees Sands well ahead on the unofficial scorer’s card (60-55). The punch count stats also favor Sands, but by a much narrower margin. Into the second half of the contest, and Sands, the slugger, retains his aggressive approach to the bout, while Hawkins, having recovered from the knockdown, seeks to become more active in initiating the action. Late in round seven, Sands staggers Hawkins with a big uppercut, and, right before the bell, he drops Hawkins for a second time with a picture perfect cross. Early in round nine, Hawkins walks into a Sands hook and goes down for a third time and, this time, he arises at the count of four. The bout goes the distance, and Sands, largely on the strength of the three knockdowns, is rewarded with a lopsided UD 12 (118-109, 117-110, 119-108) to retain the title. Post-bout records: Sands, 20-4 (11); Hawkins, 22-14-4 (8). The final bout of the card matches two familiar foes, Brit Ernie Roderick (current Commonwealth and GBU WW Champ) and Aussie Jack McNamee (reigning OPBF WW Champ), who are paired together for the eighth (!) time; this is for the Commonwealth WW title held by Roderick, and it is Roderick’s first defense in two years, with his last successful defense coming in April 1947, this a late stoppage (a technical decision win) versus McNamee in London. Midway through the opening round, Roderick lands a quick one-two combination that rips open a cut on McNamee’s forehead. After the first four rounds are in the books, Roderick has pulled ahead in the punch count stats, yet Roderick is also showing signs of swelling under his right eye. In round five, the cut over McNamee’s eye is reopened; the cut is quickly patched up in the corner between rounds. However, in round six, Roderick goes to work, opening a new cut under McNamee’s left eye. Then, later in the round, McNamee’s face becomes bloody mess as the cut on his forehead is reopened a second time. At this point, the ref steps in and calls a halt. The bout goes into the books as a TKO 6 for Roderick, who retains the Commonwealth belt, running his career record to 40-25-6 (9). Meanwhile, McNamee slips to 41-24-2 (23) with the loss. Both of these veteran fighters are at Post-Prime career stage but both remain as regional titleholders, largely due to the lack of qualified contenders