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This report covers a total of 60 bouts taking place during the first half of March 1942. No WBA title bouts are included in this report.

Mar. 6, 1942: The month’s fistic action commences with a Friday night card at the Atlantic City Convention Center. Featured are two LH as veteran contender and one-time WBA Champ Gus Lesnevich faces Freddie Mills, the reigning GBU LH Champ. First meeting of these two, who met twice in real life, with each man winning once. Br round two, Lesnevich has gained the upper hand, and he displays even more aggressiveness by moving inside in round three, forcing the action. Mills manages to hold his own and does well enough to win round four, keeping the bout close. In round five, Mills decks Lesnevich with a short, clean uppercut. Lesnevich manages to recover, covering up to last the round, but the damage is done – the unofficial scorer at ringside has Mills ahead by two (49-47) at the midway point of this 10-round, feature bout. Into the second half of the bout, Mills seizes the initiative, seeking to exploit the situation. In round seven, a Lesnevich hook rips open a cut over Mills’ right eye. A rejuvenated Lesnevich bounces back with a strong performance in rounds eight and nine. The bout remains in the balance as the two touch gloves for the 10th and final round. Lesnevich dominates the final round of action, reopening the cut. In the end, however, the one KD turned out to be decisive, and the three-judge panel rules it a close but UD 10 win for Mills (95-94, 95-94, 96-93). Tough loss for Lesnevich, who came on strongly in the final two rounds, and the decision was received by a chorus of boos from the pro-Lesnevich crowd. Nonetheless, a big win for Mills, his first in over a year. Post-bout career marks: Mills, 22-4-1 (13); Lesnevich, 31-7-3 (14).

Mar. 7, 1942: Next card takes place at Johannesburg’s Rand Stadium. German HW and EBU HW Champ Max Schmeling, still the #1 ranked HW contender, faces an aging but still dangerous opponent in Art Lasky in the main event. Great start for Schmeling, who is able to break down Lasky’s defenses at the outset and lands at will in the opening round, so much so that Lasky returns to his corner sporting a big welt under his right eye. In round three, Lasky moves inside but leaves himself open for a big hook from Schmeling, sending the American slugger to the deck; Lasky arises after taking an eight count. Schmeling’s killer instinct has kicked in, and he continues to hammer away until the ref calls a halt, saving Lasky from further punishment. Solid TKO 3 win for Schmeling, who improves his career record to 59-6-1 (41) with the win. For Lasky, now 29-13-3 (27), he is another step closer to retirement.

Mar. 7, 1942: Havana’s Gran Stadium is the scene for the next fistic action. Twin features top the card, both of which are 10-round, non-title affairs. In the first of these, Cuba’s Kid Tunero, a former LABF MW Champ, faces the “Savage Slav,” Al Hostak, a recent NABF MW titleholder who has moved to #6 in the MW rankings by virtue of a recent win over Freddie Apostoli. The two met once before, with in 1940, with Hostak coming away as a TKO winner. Hostak takes charge in round three, moving inside and landing effectively. More trouble for Tunero in round four, as the hapless Cuban fighter is pinned against the ropes, with Hostak landing blow after blow until the ref steps in to call a halt. Hostak repeats his earlier win over Tunero, this time via a TKO 4; he improves to 33-7 (26) as a result, cementing his position among the top MW contenders. The loss drops Tunero to 33-15-5 (10) overall. In the second co-feature, the #1 and #2 ranked Fly contenders square off, as long-time Champ Midget Wolgast faces a familiar foe in Istvan Enekes. The two have met twice before, with Wolgast besting Enekes for the WBA title back in 1938 but, more recently, Enekes managed a points win over the now Post-Prime ex-Champ in 1940. This is the rubber match, with the reward of a possible WBA title shot going to the winner. It is a standoff for the first three rounds, then in round four, Enekes gets inside, drills Wolgast with an uppercut that puts the former Champion down. Wolgast arises after taking a six-count, and he covers up to survive the rest of the round. In the next round, with Wolgast still struggling with his timing, Enekes gets his hands free and reins a combination of blows to the head and body, this time dropping Wolgast for the count. Huge KO 5 win for Enekes, moving him up to #1 contender status, while Wolgast’s days as a serious title contender are numbered. Post-bout career records: Enekes, 38-10-2 (11); Wolgast, 54-9-1 (19).

Mar. 13, 1942: Back to the Forum in Montreal for another Friday night card there. Twin bill features, with some top Canadian talent on display. In the first co-feature, #5 ranked MW contender Holman Williams faces Lou Brouillard, the reigning CBU MW Champion. Williams is confident of victory in this return match, having bested Brouillard via a UD 10 in Toronto back in 1939. After a rather pedestrian opening round, Williams lets loose with some good shots from both hands, taking the second and third round on points. More of the same in round four and, after the inside exchanges in round five favor the higher rated Williams, the American stands well after the first half of the bout (although his points lead is only one – 48-47 – on the unofficial scorecard). Brouillard, who is dealing with a rapidly swelling right eye, soldiers on despite suffering from a stamina deficit as well. Into the later rounds, and Williams begins to toy with his opponent, all while maintaining a smothering defensive posture that Brouillard finds difficult to penetrate. In round nine, the complexion of the bout changes, as Williams sustains a cut over his right eye. Some good cornerwork and the cut is patched up, and Williams goes on to repeat his earlier success, registering another UD 10 win over the aging Canadian veteran (99-91, 99-91, 98-92). Post-bout career marks: Williams, 37-8 (20); Brouillard, 34-16-3 (15). Then, in the finale, popular Canadian LW Dave Castilloux, now ranked #9 in the World LW rankings, faces GBU LW Champ Harry Mizler, who has yet to meet with much success when facing fighters from outside the United Kingdom. Castilloux, the heavy favorite, carries the fight to Mizler, doing well enough to establish an early points lead. At the midway point, the unofficial scorer has the Canadian fan favorite well ahead (by a 49-46 count). In the second half of the bout, Mizler makes an effort to become more aggressive, but it is clear he is outclassed and running low on stamina. Both men survive the 10-rounder unscathed and unmarked, and Castilloux takes the win, but only via a MD 10 (96-94, 95-95, 96-94), as one judge called it even, to the dismay of the pro-Castilloux crowd. Nevertheless, another win lifts Castilloux to 29-9-3 (9) overall, compared to a post-bout career record of 24-14-6 (6) for Mizler.

Mar. 14, 1942: To Europe for the next card, this time at the Ullevi Stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden. In the feature, two regional Champs do battle in a 10-round, non-title bout, as LABF WW Champ Cocoa Kid, the #2 ranked WW contender, faces EBU WW Champ Bep Van Klaveren. First meeting of the two. The bout evolves into a defensive struggle, with not much in the way of action for the first five rounds. At the halfway point, the unofficial card has Kid with a slim, one-point lead (48-47). Into the later rounds and Kid, the more skilled boxer, appears to have the upper hand, but the Dutchman battles back with a big round in round seven, causing some puffiness to form around the right eye of Kid. The bout remains close until the very end, with the stamina factor favoring Van Klaveren. The bout goes to decision, and Van Klaveren walks away a UD 10 winner (96-94 on all three cards). Post-bout career marks: Van Klaveren, 35-14-9 (11); Kid, 41-8-4 (13). The win lifts Van Klaveren to the #2 spot in the WW rankings, behind #1 contender Izzy Jannazzo.

Mar. 14, 1942: To Miami for the next card, which features a NABF LW title bout, with Lou Ambers making his second defense of that belt, facing a challenge from Baby Arizmendi, the WBA FW Champion who has moved up to LW in quest of another title. The two have not met before, and Arizmendi hopes to take advantage of the fact that Ambers is now at Post-Prime to win his first title belt at the higher weight class. After some quiet opening few rounds, there is a slight edge for Ambers (59-56) at the halfway point. Punches landed stats and the stamina factor are relatively even as the two head into the later rounds. The bout remains close into the final few rounds, with Arizmendi coming on strongly to take rounds nine and 10. Some solid boxing from the Mexican fighter turns out to be just enough to capture the belt, via a SD 12 (115-113, 112-116, 115-113) to run his career record to 45-9-4 (10). The loss drops Ambers to 36-6-1 (18).