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This report covers a total of 67 bouts taking place during the second half of June 1942, including one WBA title bout, and there were some intereting featured bouts with several titles changing hands.

June 19, 1942: Double feature title bout action tops the agenda at the next “Friday Night Down Under” in Melbourne, Australia; both these bouts are for Commonwealth title belts. In the first co-feature, Jack A. Johnson puts his CBU LH title on the line, facing British challenger Ben Valentine. The two have not met before, and it is Johnson’s first defense of the title he won in 1941, facing a somewhat limited opponent who enters the bout having lost his last two outings. As early as round three, both men must deal with cuts: for Valentine, it’s a gash over his right eye; for Johnson, the cut is under his left eye. Johnson’s accurate punches add to the challenger’s woes; by the end of round four, there is puffiness around the injured right eye of Valentine. By the midway point, Johnson has a lead, but not an overwhelming advantage (58-56, according to the unofficial card). Midway through round eight, Valentine sustains a cut over his other eye and, with both cuts bleeding, the referee takes no chances and calls a halt to the action. The TKO 8 for Johnson lifts his career mark to 19-2 (15). Valentine sinks to 21-13-1 (10) with the loss. Surprisingly, two of the three judges had the bout even at the time of the stoppage. In the second co-main event, it is the CBU BW title that is being contested, with Aussie Mickey Miller (who also holds the OPBF BW title) facing challenger Ritchie Tanner for the belt. This marks the third meeting of these two, with Miller holding the edge with a win and a draw in the prior encounters. Miller wastes little time, drilling a left hook to the body that staggers Tanner in the final minute of the opening stanza. However, Tanner recovers quickly and does surprisingly well, landing sufficient leather to cause some initial swelling around the left eye of the Champion. At the halfway point, the unofficial card has it even (58-58), so Miller still has work to do in order to retain this belt. By round eight, Miller seems more comfortable, and this time it’s a trace of swelling that is noticeable under Tanner’s right eye. The bout comes down to the final few rounds, with Miller assuming the role of the aggressor, seeking a KO victory. Instead, it goes to decision, and Tanner takes the belt via a close SD 12 (115-114 Tanner, 113-116 Miller, 115-114 Tanner) and improves to 18-5-2 (10); the loss leaves Miller at 31-11-2 (18). Huge shift in the BW rankings as a result of this bout as Miller, who had been as high as #3, drops out of the top 10. Interestingly, it is the fifth time the CBU BW belt has changed hands in the last five title defenses, and the third time it has been as a result of a split decision.

June 20, 1942: Next card is at Gothenburg, Sweden. No title bout action, and the main event matches two top 10 WW contenders, as EBU WW Champion Bep Van Klaveren faces Jackie Wilson, a former NABF WW titleholder. The two have met once before, battling to a draw back in 1940. This time around, Wilson gets off to a strong start, dominating much of the early action through the first few rounds. Van Klaveren battles back to win round five and, at the halfway point, the unofficial scorer has it even (47-47). The bout remains close, with Wilson adopting a more aggressive approach as the bout enters the final few rounds. No cuts or KDs as the bout goes the full 10, and and the UD 10 goes the way of the Dutchman, Van Klaveren (99-91, 97-92, 97-92), who impressed the judges with his solid defense and boxing skills, winning the last seven rounds on one card. Post-bout career records: Van Klaveren, 36-14-9 (11); Wilson, 24-4-2 (15).

June 20, 1942: FWs do battle in the feature bout on the next card, held at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Chalky Wright and Battling Battalino, two veteran FWs still highly ranked, face off in a non-title affair. Third meeting of these two, with Wright having won both times previously, most recently back in 1938 for the USBA FW title. In this matchup, the bout remains close through the opening rounds. Despite being at Post-Prime career stage, “Bat” Battalino gives a good accounting but, at the midway point, the unofficial card has Wright well ahead on points (50-46), despite a fairly even bout in terms of the punches landed count. It is not until the later rounds, when Battalino begins to tire, that Wright seems to have a firm grip on the bout. In the end, the bout goes to decision and it’s a fairly one-sided UD 10 for Wright (100-91, 99-91, 99-91) who pushes his career totals to 39-13-4 (15) with the win. The loss drops Battalino 45-17-3 (16).

June 26, 1942: To Panama City for a Friday night card, featuring former WBA BW Champ Panama Al Brown who, despite being on the downside of his long career (dating back to 1922), remains a popular top contender; his opponent is and up-and-comer, recently crowned USBA BW titleholder Manuel Ortiz. Ortiz takes advantage of a slow start by Panama Al, with a strong opening round that leaves Brown looking sluggish, and carrying his hands low as a result. Brown is able to battle back, and, at the halfway point, Ortiz has a narrow lead (48-47) on the unofficial card. In the second half of the bout, the punches landed stats continue to favor Ortiz, who is also the fresher of the two as the bout heads into the later rounds. Brown steps up the pace but is unable to penetrate Ortiz’s very solid defense. The bout goes to decision and, despite one judge (perhaps influenced by the pro-Brown crowd here in Panama) going for the Panamanian ex-Champion, Ortiz takes a SD 10 (95-94 Ortiz, 94-96 Brown, 95-94 Ortiz) – a result that kind of represents a changing of the guard at or near the top of the BW ranks. Post-bout records: Ortiz, 35-13 (17); Alvarez, 39-15-5 (22).

June 27, 1942: Two Commonwealth title bouts top the next card at London’s Harringay Arena. In the first co-feature, the CBU Flyweight title is contested, with Jackie Paterson challenging titleholder Teddy Gardner for the belt. Two prior meetings yielded a win and a draw for Paterson, and both men are still at pre-Prime career stage (each one bout away from Prime), plus this is the first time Paterson has been tested in the pressure cooker of a a title fight arena. Paterson is the more aggressive of the two, with Gardner taking a more measured approach in the bout’s opening few rounds. At the midway point of the bout, the unofficial scorer has the challenger in front (59-56). Into the later rounds, and Gardner, feeling the title possibly slipping away, tries to press the action and become more aggressive. Paterson has a slight stamina edge, and responds with some hard hitting of his own, taking an action-packed ninth round. Gardner finally breaks through in round 11, landing some good shots, forcing Paterson to cover up, while ripping open a cut over the right eye of the challenger as well as causing some puffiness around the left eye as well. Then, another strong blow puts Paterson on the deck in the 12th and final round. The late KD is enough to enable Gardner to retain the belt, via a MD 12 (114-113, 114-114, 114-113), thus improving his career mark to 18-1-1 (10). The loss drops Paterson to 16-3-1 (13). Could a rematch be in the offing? Anyway, the card fistic festivities conclude with a HW bout, with the “British Brown Bomber,” Tommy Martin, winless in 1942, putting his Commonwealth HW title on the line against South African Ben Foord, who suffered a first round KO loss in their one prior meeting, back in 1935, when both were at Pre-Prime career stage. This time Foord does somewhat better, despite some initial swelling around his left eye that becomes visible as early as round two. With both men now at Post-Prime, the action is somewhat sluggish, but Martin is able to command a slight points edge (58-56) on the unofficial card) at the halfway point. Late in round nine, Martin puts Foord on the canvas, landing a big shot, but the South African challenger is saved by the bell. By the end of round 10, Foord is battling a rapidly swelling left eye. The bout goes to decision, and all three judges agree; it’s a solid UD 12 win for Martin (117-110 on all three cards). Post-bout career records: Martin, 29-10-3 (17); Foord, 26-12-2 (12).

June 27, 1942: The month wraps with a fine card at New York City’s Polo Grounds. A WBA title bout headlines the agenda, but the undercard includes several top young prospects, such as Joey Maxim, Jake LaMotta and Ike Williams, all of whom make quick work of their TC opponents. Later in the evening, 11-0 Willie Pep faces another young FW prospect, Frankie Donato. Pep dominates from the opening bell, putting on a boxing exhibition that results in his winning almost every round until the ref steps in to save Donato from further punishment with just seconds remaining in round nine. The TKO 9 result lifts Pep to an impressive 12-0 (10) overall, and there is talk of a step up in level of opposition although Pep has been brought along nicely thus far. The main support for the WBA title clash is for the USBA MW title, with George Abrams in his first title defense against Allen Matthews, a two-time loser in prior MW title tilts (once for the NABF title and once before for the USBA belt). The two have not met previously, and there is a long feeling-out process. Matthews, the more aggressive of the two, begins to make inroads after the first few rounds and, at the midway point, he has a solid points lead (59-55) on the unofficial card. As the bruising bout continues into the later round, both men develop puffiness around their respective right eyes. In the waning seconds of round 11, an overhand right from Matthews finds its target and Abrams drops to the canvas, only to be saved by the bell. The bout goes the rest of the way without incident, and Matthews is able to lift the belt via a UD 12 (119-108, 119-110, 117-111) and improve his career totals to 34-12-4 (24), compared to a 21-5-2 (10) post-bout mark for Abrams. Then, in the main event, also in the MW division, the “Man of Steel,” Tony Zale, makes his fifth defense of the WBA MW title won in 1940 and his opponent is a former titleholder, Holman Williams, who held the crown in 1937 and 1938. Their one prior meeting took place in 1938 when Williams, coming off the WBA title loss, was matched with Zale for the vacant NABF MW title, and Zale prevailed on a cuts stoppage. In this WBA title clash, some solid boxing from Williams in the opening couple of rounds causes a mouse to form under the left eye of the Champion. Then, in round three, Zale suffers a cut lip. Zale eases off a bit and does better and, after five rounds, it’s only a one-point difference (48-47 in favor of Williams) on the unofficial card. In the middle rounds, Williams continues to fire away, targeting the cut and inflicting more damage to the swollen eye. Zale, however, matches Williams in terms of stamina despite trailing in terms of punches landed. However, the slick boxing Williams manages to continue impressing the judges, and the unofficial scorer has him even further ahead (by a count of 98-94), after 10 rounds. Into the final few rounds, both men begin to tire, but, fortunately for Zale, the cut on his lip has not reopened. However, late in round 12, a new cut appears, over the left eye of the Champion. Again, the cut is brought under control and Zale, feeling the title possibly slipping away, ramps up the pressure, going all out for the KO in the final two rounds. In the end, the bout goes to decision and the title goes to Williams, via a very close UD 15 (144-143, 147-141, 144-143), with Williams winning the final round on all three cards to clinch the win. Post-bout records: Williams, 38-8 (20); Zale, 33-3 (20). No immediate plans for a rematch, as Williams has indicated a desire to remain an active Champion, while Zale will need time to heal his wounds at the hands of the challenger.