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This report covers a total of 61 bouts taking place during the second half of August 1942. Two WBA title bouts are included in this report.

Aug. 15, 1942: To Los Angeles for a solid card, topped by a WBA BW title bout. Making his is second title defense is K. O. Morgan, and the challenger is USBA BW titleholder Manuel Ortiz. First meeting of the two, each of whom takes a six-bout unbeaten streak into the title clash. 10. Ortiz proves to be a tough challenger, gaining the upper hand after a strong showing in rounds three and four. After five, the unofficial scorer at ringside has the challenger in front (by a count of 50-46). Into the middle rounds, Ortiz seems content to hang back on the outside, while Morgan tries to force the action by pressing forward on the inside. After 10 rounds, the situation has not improved for the defending Champion as, according to the unofficial card, Ortiz has expanded his points lead (to 98-93). Into the later rounds, and Morgan begins to slow, showing the effects of fatigue. And a desperate-looking Morgan tries to mount a rally, but he cannot make progress against a determined opponent. In round 14, Ortiz manages to rip open a cut over Morgan’s left eye – more trouble for the Champion. The bout goes to decision, and Ortiz manages to earn the nod from all three judges to lift the belt via a UD 15 (146-139, 143-142, 146-139) – a solid performance by Ortiz, who improves to 20-3-1 (13) with the win. The loss drops Morgan to 36-13-8 (17) as another WBA title belt changes hands.

Aug. 21, 1942: The action shifts to the Boston Garden for a Friday night card, and the main event is for the NABF LH title, featuring two talented LH contenders – Tiger Jack Fox and Archie Moore – who have not met before, in the second defense of the belt Fox won earlier in 1942. After a strong round two, Moore has the upper hand and he continues in dominating fashion, winning rounds three and four before pummeling Fox into surrender in round five, when the ref steps in to save Fox from further punishment. TKO 5 for Moore to capture the NABF title belt. Post-bout career marks: Moore, 23-2-4 (18); Fox, 53-8-1 (38). Impressive win for Archie against a tough opponent.

Aug. 22, 1942: The Amor Bahn in Munich, Germany sets the scene for the next fistic action. Only one bout of note, and it is the main event, for the EBU LH title. Two familiar foes face off, as Adolf Heuser, the “Bulldog of the Rhine,” defends his title against Heinz Lazek. Heuser has won all four of their previous meetings, three of which have been contests with the EBU title belt at stake. In this encounter, Lazek surprises Heuser, landing a big hook in the opening round that forces the Champion to cover up. However, a round later, Lazek is the one in trouble, as blood spurts forth from a cut over his right eye. The cut is patched up but re-opened in round six and, at the midway point, the unofficial card has Heuser in front (58-56). The cut, reopened a second time, leads to an early end in round nine, with Heuser holding on to the title via a TKO 9 stoppage. With the win, Heuser improves to 42-11-2 (19), while the loss drops the unfortunate Lazek to 34-12 (21).

Aug. 22, 1942: Next up is a nice card at Pittsburgh, featuring an NABF title bout. Hot LH prospect Ezzard Charles, the “Cincinnati Cobra,” proves his mettle on the undercard, running his career record to 10-0 (9) with a second round TKO versus token TC opposition. It is Charles’ first scheduled 10-rounder – thus far, he has been brought along carefully, but may soon be ready for some stiffer opposition. Then, in the main event, Charley Burley makes the fourth defense of his NABF MW title, facing newly crowned USBA MW Champ Allen Matthews, in the first meeting of these two MW contenders. In round two, Burley puts Matthews on the deck, and the challenger barely manages to beat the count, surviving to last the round. Burley follows up with some impressive boxing, piling up points until suddenly, near the end of round six, he goes down from a delayed reaction to a Matthews cross. Burley is able to regain his footing and last the round, shaking off the effects of the KD. At this point, midway through the bout, the unofficial card has Burley with a nice points edge (58-55), but Matthews has proved to be a tough opponent. Into the second half of the bout, and Burley recovers quickly, continuing to pile up points. At the same time, Matthews begins to tire, and Burley goes on to take a rather comfortable UD 12 (117-110, 116-111, 118-109). Post-bout career marks: 30-1 (22) for Burley; 34-13-4 (24) for Matthews.

Aug. 28, 1942: Next is a rare Friday night card at London’s Earls Court, headlined by a twin feature of title bouts. In the first of these, “Fearless” Freddie Mills makes the first defense of his GBU LH title in over a year, facing Bert Gilroy, the man he defeated to capture that title back in 1940. In this rematch, Gilroy starts well, winning round two and managing to keep the bout relatively close, at least until the fifth round, when Mills breaks through, dropping Gilroy with a solid uppercut and ripping open a cut over the right eye of the challenger. Aided by the 10-8 round, Mills pulls in front on the unofficial card at the midway point (by a count of 58-55). Into the later stages of the bout, and it is Gilroy who takes on the role of the aggressor, but instead he leaves himself open to some vicious counterpunching from Mills. By round eight, there is some puffiness forming under the left eye of Gilroy. With the cut being re-opened and requiring more attention, Gilroy is gradually worn down and lacks the ability to mount an effective rally, and, in the end, the bout comes within seconds of going the distance, with the cut leading to a late stoppage, so it goes down as a TKO 12 for Mills, who had pulled ahead to comfortable leads on all three cards. With the win, Mills improved to 24-4-1 (14), while the loss dropped Gilroy to 24-9-3 (15). Then, in the second co-main event, the EBU FW title is at stake, with Dave Crowley defending that belt versus the veteran Frenchman, Maurice Holtzer. These two are meeting for the fourth time, with Holtzer holding a 2-1 edge in prior bouts, although Crowley prevailed in their most recent encounter, for this same EBU belt, back in 1941. Crowley, who is coming off a WBA title loss, is still at Prime while Holtzer has slipped into Post-Prime career stage. The early action favors Holtzer, who lands some effective blows while staying clear of Crowley’s power. By round five, Crowley is showing the effects, with some swelling around both eyes and, at the midway point, the unofficial scorer has Holtzer in front (58-56). In the second half of the bout, Crowley begins to assert his superiority, gradually pulling ahead and taking advantage of a stamina edge to gradually wear down his opponent. However, a late surge from Holtzer restores his earlier edge and, to the dismay of the British fight fans, the bout goes the full 12 and Holtzer manages to regain the title belt via a UD 12 (116-112, 115-113, 115-113), winning the last two rounds on all three cards. Post-bout career records: Holtzer, 45-21-5 (16); Crowley, 34-25-1 (14). Tough loss for Crowley and for Holtzer, it may turn out to be a pyrrhic victory, as the Frenchman is set to hit End career stage with his next outing.

Aug. 29, 1942: The month wraps with a big card in New York City. On tap is a WBA title bout matching two current Champions, amply supported by a 10-round, non-title affair matching two top 10 HW contenders: Roscoe Toles and reigning Commonwealth HW Champ Tommy Martin, the “British Brown Bomber.” These two have met twice before and, with the prior results showing a win for each, this is the rubber match. Both men start cautiously, but the edge in the early rounds goes to Toles, who is the more active and accurate of the two. Toles is up by a sizable points margin (50-45, according to the unofficial card), at the halfway point. Into the later rounds, and Martin (who is at Post-Prime career stage), shows the effects of fatigue, while Toles is full of fight. The rest of the bout is rather uneventful, as Toles waltzes his way to a comfortable UD 10 (97-93, 99-91, 99-92) to run his career totals to 36-9-3 (6). The loss leaves Martin at 29-11-3 (17). In the feature, Henry Armstrong, who has already won WBA titles in three divisions (FW, LW and WW) tries for the third time to capture the WBA MW title, challenging recently crowned Champ Holman Williams for that belt. The two have not met before and Williams, looking confident, comes out firing and does enough to take round one. After another listless round in round two, Armstrong takes the initiative, moving inside to apply some pressure in round three. The third round is close and, in round for, Williams works his way inside and manages to take the round. More inside exchanges in round five, and these appear to favor Williams. After the first five, there is a welt forming under Armstrong’s left eye, and the unofficial card has it as a whitewash for Williams (50-45). Into the middle rounds, and Williams continues to have the upper hand, as the swelling under Armstrong’s eye worsens, plus he is unable to make much progress in his efforts to penetrate Williams’ defenses. Two thirds of the way through the bout, Williams has an unassailable lead (100-90) on the unofficial card. In the later rounds, a desperate looking Armstrong goes for an all-out attack, attempting to force the action. In the end, though, kind of a disappointing performance for “Homicide Hank,” whose efforts go for naught, plus he must battle swelling in the other (right) eye in the later stages. On the other hand, credit is due to a fine showing by Williams – who takes a lopsided UD 15 (146-139, 149-136, 148-137) -- in a very high profile bout. Post-bout career marks: Williams, 39-8 (20); Armstrong, 39-6-3 (32).