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Old 06-17-2019, 08:00 PM   #1331
JCWeb
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June 1942 - Part 1 of 1

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

June 5, 1942: The month’s fistic action kicks off with a Friday night card at Jersey City’s Roosevelt Stadium. Highlighting the action is the main event, for the USBA LH title currently held by Melio Bettina. In his first defense of that belt, Bettina faces “Irish” Jimmy Webb, who has won six of his last seven to set up this, his first title shot of any kind. This bout is the first meeting of these two. Some good action in the opening few rounds, which see Bettina, the slugger, as pressing the action against Webb, the boxer. Webb does well to keep the bout close and, at the midway point, he trails Bettina by just a couple of points (58-56) on the unofficial card. Into the later rounds, and here Bettina’s edge in experience as well as stamina kicks in. In round eight, a Bettina combination sends Webb to the canvas. In the final three rounds, Webb changes his approach and turns slugger, only to find himself low on energy and unable to penetrate Bettina’s defenses. As a result, Bettina coasts to a solid UD 12 win (117-111, 118-112, 117-111) to keep the belt and improve his career record to 28-5-4 (11). The loss leaves Webb at 24-6-1 (10).

June 6, 1942: Next card is at St. Louis’ Kiel Auditorium. No title bouts on the card, and the main event matches top 10 LH contender Gus Lesnevich, a former WBA LH Champion, versus 19-1 Harry Matthews. No prior meetings of these two, and Matthews is in his first bout at Prime career stage. Close bout for the opening few rounds, and Matthews does enough damage in the third round to cause some initial swelling around the left eye of the ex-Champ. By round five, there is puffiness around the left eye of Matthews as well. At the midway point, the unofficial scorer at ringside has Matthews with a narrow one-point lead (48-47). The bout remains close into the final few rounds, and Matthews takes a razor-thin SD 10 (96-95 Matthews, 95-96 Lesnevich, 96-95 Matthews) to hand Lesnevich his third loss in his last four outings. Post-bout career records: Matthews, 20-1 (15); Lesnevich, 31-8-3 (14).

June 6, 1942: Heavyweights top the next card, on Canada’s West Coast, at Vancouver’s Exhibition Gardens. Max Baer, the “Livermore Larruper,” faces Elmer “Kid Violent” Ray, in the main event. These two have met frequently, this being the fifth matchup going back to 1935; Baer has won three times, losing once. Over 60 career KOs on the records of these veteran HW sluggers; this time around, both men are at Post-Prime career stage. Not much to choose between the two until midway through round four, when Baer connects with a nice combination that puts Ray on the deck. Ray manages to recover and cover up to last the round, but the end comes a round later, when a Baer cross puts Ray down and out. The KO 5 win lifts Baer’s career totals to 35-16 (30); the loss drops Ray to 47-15 (32).

June 12, 1942: It’s a twin bill of LABF title bouts topping a Friday night card in San Juan, Puerto Rico. In the first co-feature, long-time LABF WW Champion Cocoa Kid, who is based in Puerto Rico, The udefends the LABF WW title against Battling Shaw, a veteran Mexican WW who also competed at JWW earlier in his career. Kid took a UD 12 over Shaw for this very same belt, back in 1936, and he expects to repeat that result in 1942. Early punches landed advantage for Kid, and in truth, the bout turns into a mismatch as Kid dominates the action versus a shopworn opponent, now at the end of his long career dating back to 1927. In round five, a straight right hand from Kid buckles the knees of the challenger, who manages to remain upright after covering up. The unofficial scorer has it as a shutout (60-54) for Kid at the halfway point. Mercifully for his opponent, Kid eases up in the final few rounds, and the outcome is a foregone conclusion, a lopsided UD 12 for Kid (120-108, 118-110, 120-108), with Kid improving to 42-18-4 (16) with the win. Meanwhile, Shaw, who announced his retirement from the ring wars immediately after the bout, wrapped up a 33-21-6 (14) career. In the second co-feature, a much more competitive bout is anticipated as Chino Alvarez defends his LABF LW title, facing ex-Champ Pedro Montanez, a hometown crowd favorite here in San Juan. The two split in two prior meetings, the most recent being in 1941, when Alvarez captured the LABF belt. This time around, after a cautious opening round by both men, Alvarez manages to rock Montanez with a strong uppercut midway through the second round. Late in round five, Montanez walks into an Alvarez hook and tumbles to the canvas, arising after taking a count of three. Nonetheless, despite the 10-8 round, Alvarez holds only a razor-thin points margin (58-57) at the halfway point, at least according to the unofficial card. Action heats up in round eight, with Montanez ripping open a cut over the right eye of Alvarez. Then, with blood streaming down his face, Alvarez unleashes a combination of blows to put Montanez down for a second time and, this time, the Puerto Rican challenger barely beats the count. With the cut still a factor, Alvarez responds with a huge round nine, decking Montanez for the third time with a perfect cross and, by the end of the round, there is puffiness around the left eye of the challenger. However, despite the three knockdowns, it is the cut that decides the outcome, as it is reopened in round 10 and, with blood streaming down and interfering with Alvarez’s vision, the ref steps in an calls a halt -- TKO 10 for Montanez on the cuts stoppage. Exciting bout but a tough loss for Alvarez, who was well ahead on all three cards; however, there is talk of a rematch later in the year. Post-bout records: Montanez, 35-13 (17); Alvarez, 39-15-5 (22).

June 13, 1942: Next is a card at New Orleans’ Coliseum Arena. No titles at stake, and the main event features two LWs, “Herkimer Hurricane” Lou Ambers and Lenny Mancini. First meeting of the two, and it is Mancini’s first opportunity as a main event fighter, while the much more experienced Ambers has been through the ring wars and multiple title bouts and held both NABF and USBA LW title belts. After a cautious start by both men, and Mancini does well to hold his own, becoming the aggressor against a post-Prime Ambers. At the midway point of the bout, the unofficial card has a narrow one-point edge (48-47) for Ambers. Into the later rounds, and Mancini seems to find a boost in energy, with a stamina edge versus the shopworn Ambers. Mancini gets stronger as the bout wears on, and he manages to eke out a close but UD 10 (96-94, 96-94, 98-92) which should boost his stock in the LW ranks, as well as upping his career stats to an impressive 20-4-3 (6), while the loss drops Ambers to 36-7-1 (18).

June 13, 1942: Next up is a card in Phoenix, at the Dodge Theatre. Twin bill features, the first of which matches Mexico’s Raul Casanova with Pete “Baby Cyclone” Sanstol. It is the first meeting of these two, and Casanova is the newly crowned LABF BW Champ, while Sanstol, a former WBA BW Champ, is in decline after having peaked earlier in his career. Action heats up in the second round, with Casanova sustaining a cut over his right eye. Then, in round five, it is Sanstol who suffers a nick under his right eye. A check of the unofficial scorecard at the midway point reveals a close bout, with Casanova holding a slight lead (48-47). The bout remains close into the final rounds, with a slight stamina edge for Casanova. By the end of the ninth round, there is puffiness around the left eye of Sanstol and, by the end, Casanova’s left eye is beginning to swell up as well. The decision, an extremely close one, is a MD 10 for Casanova (96-95, 95-95, 96-94). Post-bout career marks are 32-10-2 (15) for Casanova and 41-18-6 (9) for Sanstol. In the final bout of the evening, Tony Chavez makes the fourth defense of the USBA LW title won in 1940, and the challenger, Willie Joyce, is in his first title shot of any kind. First meeting of the two, and Joyce starts well, landing a solid shot in round two that ends up with Chavez sporting a bloody nose. While Chavez’s corner is busy dealing with the cut nose, his opponent, Joyce, continues to pile up points but then Chavez battles back, winning rounds five and six to even the tally on the unofficial card (57-57), after six. Despite a stamina edge, Chavez is undone by the severity of the cut, which is re-opened twice and finally leads to a stoppage in the final minute of round nine. TKO 9 for Joyce, who improves to 22-2-3 (12) and lifts the belt. The loss leaves Chavez at 34-11-4 (12).
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