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This report covers a total of 57 bouts taking place during the second half of January 1942. No WBA title action but, as mention in the prior post, two current WBA Champions will be in action, both moving up in weight to seek a title in another division.

Jan. 16, 1942: World LW Champion Tony Canzoneri moves up in weight, challenging Izzy Jannazzo for Jannazzo’s USBA WW title, in the main event of the next card at Detroit’s Briggs Stadium. After a couple of close opening rounds, appearances favor “the Roman Warrior,” Canzoneri, as there is a trace of puffiness around the right eye of Jannazzo. Round three is won by Jannazzo, who resists Canzoneri’s efforts to press the action on the inside. Canzoneri returns the favor, winning round four by staying on the outside. In round five, both men attempt to mix it up on the inside, and, less than a minute into the round, a hard body shot from Jannazzo sends Canzoneri tumbling to the deck. At the midway point, the one KD is key in forging a nice points edge (58-55) for Jannazzo, according to the unofficial scorer at ringside. Canzoneri, sensing the urgency of the situation, becomes more aggressive in the second half of the bout. Jannazzo, who exhibits superior stamina, is able to fend off Canzoneri with some solid defense and is firmly in control as the bout wears on. A tired and haggard looking Canzoneri – now at Post-Prime career stage – is ineffective, slowed by age as well as a rapidly swelling right eye. The bout goes the full 12, and all three judges have an identical result, as it’s a comfortable UD 12 for Jannazzo (118-109 on all cards) to run Izzy’s career totals to 33-5-3 (13). Canzoneri, now 54-6-4 (17), will need to reassess his decision to move up in weight given the surprisingly lopsided nature of this defeat.

Jan. 22, 1942: The scene shifts to the Ullevi Arena in Stockholm for a Friday night card. In the first of two co-features, the German HW Walter “Der Blonde” Neusel, who has risen to #8 in the HW world rankings, faces newly crowned LABF HW Champ Alberto Santiago Lovell. Neusel wastes little time disposing of his Argentine foe, decking Lovell with a big hook for a first round KO. The KO 1 result lifts Neusel’s career totals to 30-12-2 (21); the loss drops Lovell to 28-10-1 (22). After this, the second co-feature is a rematch for the EBU LW title, recently won by Italy’s Aldo Spoldi, whose camp has rewarded Jack Kid Berg, the “Whitechapel Whirlwind,” with an immediate rematch. These two familiar foes have met five times before, with Berg winning all but the most recent encounter. After a solid start in the opening two rounds, Spoldi moves inside and rips a hook to the head, taking round three. Berg moves inside with better results in round four. Round five sees both men standing toe-to-toe, and again, Berg comes away landing sufficient blows to take the round. Spoldi bounces back with a big round six, and, at the halfway point, the Italian holds a slim points lead (58-57) on the unofficial scorecard. Into the second half of the bout, and there is a slight stamina advantage for Berg, who appears to be the more active of the two. After seeing Berg do well in rounds eight and nine, Spoldi switches tactics and takes a more aggressive approach as the bout heads into the later rounds. A huge round 10 for Spoldi sees Berg suffering from puffiness under both eyes as a result of the Italian’s two-fisted attack. In round 11, more trouble for Berg, who is cut over his right eye. The bout goes the full distance and, in the end, Spoldi wins the final three rounds to prevail, thus retaining the belt via a UD 12 (116-113 on all three cards). Post-bout career totals: Spoldi, 41-9-5 (14); Berg, 47-18-5 (15).

Jan. 23, 1942: Next card takes place at New Orleans’ Coliseum Arena. Featured is a NABF MW title bout, with Charley Burley defending his title, but also seeking to move up in the MW rankings as he faces a top contender in Teddy Yarosz, who has won his last three to set up this title clash. It is the first meeting of the two, and a solid start from Burley, who is content to try to outbox his more experienced opponent, at least for the opening few rounds. Burley has the edge through the first four rounds, but Yarosz has managed to keep the bout reasonably close. Despite his opponent’s best efforts, Burley is able to build a sizeable points lead on the unofficial card (60-54), doing no major damage but just enough to edge Yarosz on points in each of the opening six rounds. In round seven, with both men operating from the outside, Burley lands some punishing blows, causing some initial swelling under the left eye of the challenger. As the bout wears on, a fatigued Yarosz becomes more and more desperate, but he is unable to seriously challenge Burley, who goes on to register his seventh straight win, a rather comprehensive UD 12 (117-109, 118-108, 118-108) to keep the belt. Post-bout career marks: 27-1 (20) for Burley; 39-16-3 (13) for Yarosz. Burley has emerged as the #1 contender for Tony Zale’s WBA MW title, whereas Yarosz, who has just hit Post-Prime career stage, has seen better days.

Jan. 23, 1942: To the West Coast for next fistic action, which sees a twin bill of non-title fights featuring local fan favorites taking on visiting Latino boxing talent. In the first co-feature, FWs do battle as “Homicide Hal” Harold Hoshino faces one-time WBA FW Champion Simon Chavez. Despite the fact that the 28-3 Hoshino holds a UD win in their one prior encounter, the Venezuelan fighter, who is still in his Prime, poses a significant challenge to Hoshino. After a strong second round, Hoshino moves inside in round three, but some solid defense from Chavez manages to keep the bout close. Not much to choose between the two as he bout hits the halfway mark, with unofficial scorer at ringside unable to decide who is ahead, calling the bout even (48-48). By round eight, there are traces of swelling around the left eye of Chavez, which has been a favorite target of some accurate punching by Hoshino. A strong finish by Chavez, scooping up the final two rounds on all three cards, is enough to secure the ex-Champ a majority draw (95-95, 96-94 Chavez, 95-95) against the higher ranked Hoshino. Post-bout, Hoshino is 28-3-1 (15) compared to 29-17-3 (7) for Chavez. In the second main event, newly crowned USBA BW David Kui Kong Young is back in action, facing Mexico’s Raul Casanova, who recently claimed the LABF title. The two have not met before, but Kui Kong Young wastes little time getting down to business, landing some punishing blows in round two. More of the same in round three, which sees Casanova already showing the effects, being forced to cover up from a right that lands flush, as well as dealing with some puffiness around his left eye. When Casanova tries his luck on the inside in round four, he is met by a fusillade of blows from the confident Kui Kong Young, who wraps up the first half of the bout with a solid points lead (50-45, according to the unofficial scorer at ringside). Casanova manages to get in a few licks of his own, and by round six, there’s some puffiness under the left eye of Kui Kong Young as well. A cross to the head puts Casanova down just before the bell sounds to end round seven, and but the game Mexican fighter carries on, getting up again after being floored a second time from a Kui Kong Young combination late in round nine. The bout goes the distance, but it’s no surprise in the result – a lopsided UD 10 for Kui Kong Young (99-89, 100-88, 100-89). Post-bout records: Kui Kong Young, 24-1-1 (14); Casanova, 30-10-2 (15).

Jan. 29, 1942: Next is a rather abbreviated Friday night card at Mexico City. Only one bout of note, for the LABF LW title, and it sees the reigning WBA FW Champ, Baby Arizmendi moving up in weight to face Chino Alvarez, defending his LABF LW belt. Action is slow to develop, and Alvarez takes on the aggressor role, moving inside in round three, with little impact on the Mexican fighter. The bout remains close through the midway point, with the unofficial card favoring Alvarez (by a score of 58-56). In the second half of the bout, the stamina factor seems to favor Alvarez, but Arizmendi, the crowd favorite, is urged on by a throng of rabid Mexican fight fans. In round eight, he manages to rip open a cut over Alvarez’s right eye. The cut is patched up, but it forces Alvarez to adopt a more defensive posture, protecting against further damage, while Arizmendi seizes on the situation to continue to apply pressure. The cut is not reopened, and the bout goes the distance, with one judge favoring the Mexican. However, the other two score it even, so the end result is a majority draw (116-113 Arizmendi, 114-114, 114-114) – a result that is roundly booed by the pro-Arizmendi crowd who felt their man had done enough to claim the victory. Post-bout career marks are 38-14-5 (22) for Alvarez and 44-9-4 (10) for Arizmendi, who plans to continue to compete at LW while retaining his WBA FW title for the time being.

Jan. 30, 1942: To London’s Harringay Arena for an evening of exciting fisticuffs action, headlined by a pair of EBU title bouts. In the first of these, Britain’s Peter Kane puts his EBU Flyweight title on the line, facing France’s Valentin Angelmann, a former EBU titleholder. It is the first meeting of the two and thus, there is a long feeling out process that lasts for several rounds. Kane, the more aggressive of the two, and, by the end of round three, he has landed enough leather to cause some puffiness around the right eye of the Frenchman. By the midway point, the unofficial scorer has Kane ahead (58-56), but it’s only a two-point margin, and plus there’s a trace of swelling around Kane’s right eye as well. In round seven, Angelmann rips open a cut under Kane’s right eye. Angelmann targets the cut, but Kane manages to keep his composure despite the fact that the cut is not entirely closed between rounds. In round 10, with the cut still oozing blood, Kane lands a solid hook that sends Angelmann to the canvas. The Frenchman recovers, arising at the count of six, but any momentum gained by the persistence of the cut under Kane’s eye has been lost. Another hook from Kane, and a second KD follows in round 11. After a third KD in round 11, there is little resistance from the Frenchman, so the bout goes to decision and Kane takes a one-sided UD 12 (116-109, 116-109, 118-107) to retain the belt, upping his career totals to 24-3-1 (11) with the win. Anglemann slips to 40-21-1 (13) with the loss. In the second EBU title matchup, GBU and Commonwealth WW Champion Ernie Roderick is the challenger, seeking to add a third belt, the EBU WW title, to his collection as he faces Bep Van Klaveren, for Van Klaveren’s EBU title belt. As in the prior bout, the two have not met before; thus, the action is slow to develop. No cuts or swelling, though, and once the bout gets going, it’s mostly one-way traffic as Van Klaveren pulls out a huge lead on the punches landed stats, and, at the midway point, the unofficial card has the Dutchman ahead by a wide margin (60-54). Into the later rounds of the bout, Roderick is the more aggressive of the two, but he is vulnerable to Van Klaveren’s jab and counterpunching. The bout proceeds the rest of the way without incident – again, no cuts or swelling noted – and it goes down as a routine UD 12 win for Van Klaveren (119-109 on all three cards). Post-bout records: Van Klaveren, 34-14-9 (11); Roderick, 26-13-1 (7). Four wins in a row for the Dutchman, who is now in the picture as a possible WBA WW title challenger, particularly if Henry Armstrong continues campaigning as a MW.