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This report covers a total of 61 bouts taking place during the second half of April 1942. One WBA title bout is included in this report.

Apr. 17, 1942: Next, back Down Under for more “Friday Night Fights” action. Featured is the reigning OPBF WW Champ, Aussie Jack McNamee, who takes on Tippy Larkin, who has competed both at the now defunct JWW level before moving up to WW. First meeting of the two, and there is a long feeling out process with little in the way of action for the first few rounds. Larkin proves to be a difficult nut to crack and, despite some urgent encouragement from a boisterous hometown crowd, McNamee trails Larkin (49-46) at the midway point, according to the unofficial scorer. In the second half of the bout, McNamee steadies himself, finishing strongly and, in the end, it is just enough to secure a draw (97-93 Larkin, 94-96 McNamee, 95-95). Post-bout career marks: McNamee, 30-9-1 (18); Larkin, 21-4-2 (12).

Apr. 18, 1942: The scene shifts to the Sportpalast in Berlin, where a sizable crowd of German fight fans has assembled to see their hero, ex-WBA HW Champ Max Schmeling, unable to arrange a WBA title rematch with Joe Louis due to the current political climate, making yet another defense of the EBU HW title, this against his German compatriot Walter “Der Blonde” Neusel, who has risen through the ranks to top 10 contender status. The two have met twice before, once here in Berlin in 1936 where Neusel famously battled Max to a draw and, more recently, in 1938, when Schmeling prevailed via a UD 12 for this same title. This time around, things are relatively quiet for the first round or two, at least until a gash appears over Schmeling’s left eye midway through the second round. With the cut caused by a punch, and not a butt, it is quickly addressed by Schmeling’s cornermen between rounds. In round three, Schmeling rocks the challenger with a sharp combination, and Neusel wisely covers up and lasts the round. In round four, Max moves inside, doing more damage, and enough to cause some puffiness to appear under Neusel’s right eye. However – bad news for Schmeling – the cut over his left eye is reopened, and more intense cornerwork is required to keep it under control. The two men battle toe-to-toe in round six, a situation that favors Schmeling, who lands several heavy blows, finally putting Neusel down just before the bell, so the knockdown count is waved off. At the midway point, Schmelng leads on points (57-55, according to the unofficial card), but the cut over his eye remains a serious concern. Into the second half of the bout and Neusel switches tactics, adopting a more passive posture designed to stay in the bout and pin his hopes on a possible cuts stoppage. In round nine, the ref steps in and docks Neusel a point for repeated rabbit punching. Into the final few rounds and, once again, Neusel switches tactics, going all-out aggressive and hoping to catch a tired-looking Schmeling with a wild knockout punch. However, this backfires as Neusel leaves himself open for a big countershot, which lands with sufficient force that Schemling puts Neusel down for a second time. After Neusel arises, Schmeling lands several unanswered blows before the ref, mercifully, calls a halt. Solid TKO 10 win for Schmeling, who is now 60-6-1 (42) with the win, his 14th in succession. Neusel drops to 30-13- 2 (21) with the loss.

Apr. 18, 1942: Next fistic action is on the West Coast, this time at Seattle’s Sicks Stadium. Topping the card is a matchup for the USBA LW title, currently held by Tony Chavez. For Chavez, it is his third title defense as he faces a highly touted challenger, Bob Montgomery, who wrapped up his pre-Prime career with a 19-0-1 mark. First meeting of the two, and it is Montgomery’s first title bout at any level. The bout remains close through the opening three rounds, with Montgomery holding his own against the much more experienced Chavez. In round four, Chavez decks Montgomery with a big shot but cannot follow up as Montgomery is able to regain his footing, clear his head, and cover up to survive the round. Headed back to his corner, a trickle of blood appears around Montgomery’s lip. Montgomery recovers and does well with a solid showing in round five. According to the unofficial card, Chavez has a narrow lead (57-56) at the midway point. Into the second half of the bout, with the outcome still in doubt, Chavez focuses on remaining on the outside while Montgomery, recovered from the KD, looks to up the pace. Neither man is able to dominate the action, and the bout goes the distance, with the outcome in the judges’ hands. The one KD looms large as the judges award Chavez a close, but UD 12 (114-113, 114-113, 115-112), enabling him to keep the belt while handing Montgomery his first career loss. Post-bout career records: Chavez, 34-10-4 (12); Montgomery, 19-1-1 (13).

Apr. 24, 1942: Next is a Friday night card in Mexico City. On tap, in the main event, is an LABF title bout supported by a 10-round, non-title bout matching a former OPBF BW Champion Little Pancho with hometown fan favorite, Raul Casanova, who recently claimed the LABF BW belt. First meeting of the two, and both men have recently hit Post-Prime career stage. Not much to choose between the two until midway through round five, when suddenly Casanova connects with a sharp combination that sends Pancho tumbling to the deck. Pancho arises after taking a count of eight, but then he is dropped a second time late in the round but then saved by the bell. The 10-8 round translates into a two-point advantage (48-46) in favor of Casanova, according to the unofficial card. Late in round six, a wild overhand right from Casanova sends Pancho down for a second time; this time he barely manages to beat the count. Late in round eight, more problems for the Filipino fighter, who suffers another KD late in the round as well as suffering from a gash over his right eye. The cut is reopened in the ninth round and, with a desperate Pancho ramping up the pressure to try for a late KO as his only hope, Casanova wisely backs off and favors a safety first approach. The bout goes the full 10 and, to the delight of the Mexican fight fans, Casanova takes a very solid UD 10 (96-90, 95-91, 94-92) to run his career totals to 31-10-2 (15). Pancho ends the bout at 43-11-7 (10). In the main event, Chino Alvarez makes the first defense of the LABF LW title he won over a year ago, facing another Mexican fighter, Juan Zurita, for the belt. Some view Zurita, who is not ranked, is overmatched, despite wins in five of his last six outings to set up the title shot. After a solid couple of opening rounds by the challenger, the bout settles into a predictable pattern with Alvarez, the slugger, seeking to mix it up while Zurita, the boxer, prefers to stay on the outside. After the first four rounds, a major upset may be brewing as Zurita has the early edge in terms of punches landed. At the midway point, the unofficial scorer also has the Mexican challenger ahead on points (by a count of 59-55). Into the later rounds, and Alvarez continues to press the action on the inside, taking advantage of a significant stamina edge over the less experienced Zurita. Zurita finds his earlier points and punches landed lead dissipating as the bout enters the crucial later stages. In round 10, Alvarez catches Zurita with a short, clean hook that sends the Mexican challenger to the canvas. The 10-8 round sends the scorecards in Alvarez’s favor and, after two more rounds of boxing, he is declared a UD 12 winner (116-111, 116-111, 115-112) over a game Zurita. Post-bout career marks: Alvarez, 39-14-5 (22); Zurita, 25-11-3 (5). Definitely a bout of two halves, as Alvarez won the last five rounds on all judges’ cards to complete the comeback and prevent Zurita from registering a big upset win (Zurita’s overall boxer rating is a “1” compared to a “7” for Alvarez).

Apr. 25, 1942: London and the Harringay Arena sets the scene for the next fistic action. Topping the agenda are a pair of co-feature, the first matching two top 10 HWs in a non-title confrontation, as Tommy Martin – the “British Brown Bomber” – faces American Abe Simon. The two have not met before, and both have settled in to the Post-Prime stage of their respective careers. Simon is able to hold his own for the opening couple of rounds, and he moves inside in round three to press his advantage. However, Martin is comfortable working on the outside, and he manages to keep Simon at bay. At the midway point, though, the harder hitter, Simon, enjoys a slight points edge (49-48) from the unofficial scorer, although a couple of rounds were extremely close and could have gone either way. Sensing Martin falling behind, the hometown crowd exhorts him to press forward as the bout reaches the latter stages. It’s a relatively clean bout, no cuts or knockdowns, that goes the distance, and the UD 10 goes to Simon, who pulls away in the second half of the bout (scores are 99-92, 99-93, 98-94). With the win, Simon improves to 29-5-1 (21); the loss drops Martin to 28-10-3 (17). Simon, now #5 ranked HW and winner of his last three, is campaigning for a shot at Joe Louis’ WBA HW title. In the finale, the GBU MW title is at stake as the “Rochdale Thunderbolt,” Jock McAvoy, the man who has held the title for over a decade (since 1930, in fact), makes his 12th title defense against a familiar foe, Jack “Cast Iron” Casey. The two have met four times previously, with McAvoy winning all but one, their first back in 1929 when both were at Pre-Prime, which ended in a draw. Since then McAvoy has become the British MW to beat, but his long reign may soon be coming to an end. For this bout, he remains the favorite as Casey has already hit Post-Prime while Casey has a few more bouts to go before experiencing any decline. Great opening round for McAvoy, who manages to land sufficient leather to cause a trace of swelling to appear under Casey’s left eye. McAvoy continues to dish out punishment, dropping Casey for a three-count near the end of round three. More trouble for Casey in round four, as McAvoy rips open a cut over his right eye. In round five, Casey connects with his best punch of the fight, a hard uppercut, and McAvoy wisely covers up and retreats to the corner to avoid further trouble. Huge points lead (59-54) for McAvoy at the midway point, according to the unofficial scorecard. Into the later rounds, and the desperate challenger tries to become more offensive, but in round nine the mismatch comes to an end, after two more KDs from McAvoy, Casey is counted out. KO 9 for McAvoy. Post-bout career marks: McAvoy, 37-17-5 (25); Casey, 37-18-5 (22).

Apr. 25, 1942: Wrapping up the month’s action is an exciting card at New York’s Polo Grounds, featuring both WBA and an NABF title action. Popular unbeaten FW prospect Willie Pep is on the undercard, and he impresses with another fine outing, putting on a boxing exhibition before finishing off a game and veteran TC opponent with a 9th round KO to run his record to a perfect 11-0 (9). In the co-feature, NABF LH Champion Tiger Jack Fox, seeking to re-establish his credentials for another run at the WBA LH title, defends versus Nate Bolden. The two have not met before, and it is Bolden’s second try for a regional title after falling short versus Melio Bettina for the USBA LH belt last year. Fox, the prohibitive favorite, goes to work right away, unleashing a punishing attack that results in some initial swelling appearing around the right eye of Bolden as early as round two. Tiger Jack continues to pound away, piling up points; at the halfway point, the unofficial scorer has him well ahead (59-55) while Bolden’s eye continues to get worse. In the later rounds, Fox begins to ease up some, but Bolden simply lacks the firepower to mount a comeback. The end comes early, late in the 9th round, when Bolden’s eye is nearly swollen shut and the ref decides to call a halt. Impressive TKO 9 win for Fox. Post-bout career records: Fox, 53-7-1 (38); Bolden, 22-4-1 (12). In the finale, it is another appearance by the popular HW king, Joe Louis, who makes the 13th defense of his WBA HW title, and his opponent, Brit Tommy Farr, the current GBU HW titleholder is someone he has faced before, back in 1938, where he knocked out Farr in round five prior to his only career setback, losing the title to Max Schmeling. This time, with Louis still in Prime condition, the “Brown Bomber” is heavily favored to add another inside the distance win to his resume, particularly given that Farr has lapsed into post-Prime career stage. This time, Joe wastes little time, flooring Farr late in the opening round. Farr scrambles to his feet and survives the opening stanza without further damage. After another big round for Louis in round two, a cut appears over the left eye of Farr early in round three. Because the cut is ruled the result of an unintentional butt, when the bout is halted later in the same round, it is ruled a technical draw. Tough luck for Louis, who seemed almost assured of another win, and the result will go down as a slight blemish on his career record (just as his one career loss to Schmeling was also an artificial technical decision due to a butt cut stoppage). At any rate, Louis retains the belt and his post-bout career record is an excellent 38-1-1 (36). For Farr, he ends the bout at 50-6-4 (16), and the initial impression is that his connections have no desire to put him in the rings for a third time with the “Brown Bomber.” At any rate, this concludes the fistic action for the month of April 1942 on kind of a sour note.