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Continuing with the second half of February 1943, and three WBA title bouts are included in this series of reports.

Feb. 19, 1943: Next up, it’s time for Friday Night fights “Down Under,” this time at Sydney Stadium. Featured bout is the main event, for the OPBF BW title, with Aussie Mickey Miller, who won the belt in June 1941, making his first defense against the man he defeated for the title, Filipino Pablo Dano. That prior encounter ended in a cuts stoppage and a TKO win for Miller. In this rematch, it is a tight, defensive struggle which tends to favor Dano, the boxer. At the midway point, it is a nice points lead for Dano (59-55), according to the unofficial scorer at ringside. Miller starts to press the action on the inside, but in round seven, a hard shot from Dano rips open a cut over his left eye. The cut over Miller’s eye is reopened in round 10 and Dano, coasting to victory, is content to stay outside, adopting a very passive but cautious posture. The bout goes the distance and, to the dismay of the Aussie fight fans, Dano is able to regain the title, taking a MD 12 (116-112, 114-114, 117-111), with one judge displaying a clear bias in favorite of the hometown fighter. Post-bout career records: Dano, 42-17-6 (18); Miller, 32-12-2 (19).

Feb. 20, 1943: Next card is at the Olympia in London. Two regional title bouts top the card. In the first of these, Dave Crowley faces a familiar foe, Frank Parkes, for Crowley’ GBU FW title. The two have met twice before, both times with this same GBU FW belt at stake, each winning once. This time around, the bout remains close, until Crowley takes charge with a big round in round four. In round five, a Crowley hook sends Parkes tumbling to the canvas. Parkes arises and manages to last the round, but he returns to his corner sporting a rapidly swelling left eye. At the midway point, the unofficial scorer has Crowley well ahead (by a count of 59-54). Into the later rounds, and Parkes becomes more and more aggressive, but some solid defense from Crowley prevents the challenger from making much progress. Not much happens in the final few rounds as Crowley grinds his way to a UD 12 (116-111, 114-113, 117-110) to retain the belt. The win lifts Crowley to a career total of 35-25-1 (14); the loss drops Parkes to 26-12-1 (14). In the second main event, BWs do battle as Johnny King faces Ritchie “Kid” Tanner for Tanner’s Commonwealth BW title; King’s EBU and GBU titles are not at stake in this encounter. The two met once before, in early 1942, with King coming out on top with a 9th round KO. This time around, Tanner looks sharp early, winning a huge round two, signaling a tough match for King. In round four, King begins to show the effects, as a trace of swelling appears under his left eye. In spite of this, the unofficial card has King in front (by a count of 58-56) at the halfway point. Both fighters begin to show signs of fatigue as early as round eight. Then, in round nine, a King hook finds the range, and Tanner goes down, arising only after taking an six count. The bout goes the rest of the way without incident, and King takes the title via a close SD 12 (114-113, 113-114, 115-112), adding the CBU BW title to his EBU and GBU belts; this is the sixth time the CBU BW belt has changed hands in as many title bouts. Post-bout career marks: 66-9-2 (22) for King; 18-6-2 (10) for Tanner.

Feb. 20, 1943: Next up is a packed card at Detroit, featuring none other than WBA HW kingpin Joe Louis in another title defense. But, in a notable co-feature, two veterans of the ring wars who have never met before – “Roman Warrior” Tony Canzoneri and “Pride of the Ghetto” Barney Ross – face off in a non-title affair, at Ross’ favorite weight: Welterweight. Although both men are well past their Prime, it should prove to be an interesting and entertaining encounter. It’s a cautious start by both men with Ross (who prevailed in both their real-life encounters, but by a narrow margin) seeming to have the better of it in the early going. Ross holds a solid lead in the punches landed stat and a narrow points lead (48-47), according to the unofficial scorer at ringside, after the first five rounds are in the books. The complexion of the bout changes in round six, when Ross sustains a cut over his right eye. Canzoneri steps up the pressure, targeting the cut, which is reopened early in round eight. The bout remains close into the later rounds, with Canzoneri as the aggressor, and with Ross holding a slight edge in terms of stamina, although both men appear tired in the final few rounds. The bout goes the full ten and Ross comes away the winner, via a SD 10 (95-96, 96-95, 97-93). Post-bout career marks: Ross, 38-15-4 (11); Canzoneri, 54-9-4 (17). Next up is the main event, with Joe Louis making the 12th defense of the WBA HW title, facing #3 ranked Roscoe Toles whom he bested once before, back in 1941. Toles is on the receiving end of a Louis cross midway through the opening round, forcing him to cover up to avoid further damage. However, Louis, with a hurt opponent in front of him, continues to fire away, eventually forcing Toles into submission as the ref calls a halt with less than 20 seconds remaining. Another impressive TKO 1 win for Louis, his second first round stoppage in succession, and his 17th stoppage win in his last 18 bouts, running his record to 42-1-1 (40) overall; the loss drops Toles to 36-11-3 (6).

Feb. 26, 1943: Next is a Friday night card at San Juan, Puerto Rico’s Escobar Stadium. In the featured bout, the LABF MW title is on the line, as Puerto Rico’s own, Jose Basora, defends the title he won a year ago, facing a former LABF MW Champ, Kid Tunero, in his first defense. First meeting of these two; after a few down years, Tunero got his career back on track with wins over some talented MWs, such as Jupp Besselmann, Edouard Tenet, and ex-WBA Champ Freddie Steele. This title bout sees a long feeling out process; the action picks up midway through the third round, when Basora delivers a stinging uppercut that forces the challenger to cover up in order to last the round. In the fifth round, suddenly, the bout comes to an early end as Tunero walks into a Basora uppercut and goes down for the count. KO 5 for Basora, who retains his title, improving his career record to 20-2 (16). Tunero ends the bout at 36-17-5 (10).

Feb. 27, 1943: Next is a big card at New York’s Madison Square Garden, with a WBA title tilt topping the agenda, amply supported by a USBA title clash. First up, in a supporting bout, two top LW prospects do battle as Ike Williams faces Beau Jack. Not much in the way of action until, late in the third round, when Williams decks Jack for a five count. In subsequent rounds, Jack steadies himself and gradually works his way into the bout. At the halfway point, Williams has a nice lead (49-45) on the unofficial card, but the punches landed count is much closer. Jack battles back, moving inside and doing some damage with a strong round seven, causing some initial swelling to appear around the left eye of Williams. In round eight, Jack connects with a three-punch combo that convinces Williams to cover up – another strong round for Beau Jack. The bout goes to the final bell with the issue in doubt, and, despite Jack winning the last four rounds, the UD 10 goes to Williams (95-94, 95-94, 96-93), with both fighters showing plenty of promise for future success. Post-bout career marks: Williams, 18-0 (16); Jack, 17-2 (14). The co-feature has Melio Bettina facing Tony Shucco for Bettina’s USBA LH title. This is a rematch of their 1942 encounter, also for the USBA LH belt, that ended in a draw. Another close bout this time around, with Bettina being the aggressor and, at the midway point, it’s a one point edge (58-57) for the challenger, Shucco, at least on the unofficial card. In the second half of the bout, Bettina continues to press forward, eager to mix it up with Shucco, who seems to get stronger as the bout wears on. Bettina, tiring badly but still hoping to keep his title, continues to swing away until the final bell. No cuts or knockdowns and, to the surprise of many and the dismay of Shucco and his supporters, who thought the challenger had done enough to win the bout, it ends in a majority draw (114-114, 113-115 Shucco, 114-114) – duplicating their earlier result. The result leaves Bettina, still in possession of the belt, at 28-5-6 (11); Shucco is now 37-16-3 (13). In the main event, “Homicide Hank” Henry Armstrong, now focusing on the WW division, makes his eighth defense of the WBA WW title he has held since 1939; his opponent is Marty Servo, who has won his last four to set up this, his first title shot. To the surprise of many, Servo appears to be holding his own through a couple of close opening rounds. In round five, Armstong begins to assert himself, dominating the action and ripping open a gash over the right eye of the challenger. After the first five rounds, the unofficial card has Armstrong in front (by a count of 49-45). Into the middle rounds, and Armstrong is able to reopen the cut in round seven; the cut continues to ooze blood, and Armstrong continues to work inside, with the cut an inviting target. By the end of round eight, Servo’s right eye is beginning to puff up as well, no doubt the result of the repeated impact from Armstrong’s blows which have been landing with some regularity. Late in round nine, a big hook from Armstrong leaves Servo reeling, but the challenger covers up to last the round. At this point, two-thirds of the way through the bout, the unofficial scorer has Armstrong well ahead (99-91), having won all five of the middle rounds. Into the later rounds, with Servo tiring badly, Armstrong continues to dominate, finally putting Servo on the deck with another picture perfect hook in round 12; Servo takes a seven count before resuming, covering up once again. The end comes in round 13, after Armstrong reopens the cut a second time, and this time, the ref steps in to call a halt. TKO 13 for Armstrong, running his career totals to 41-6-3 (34); for Servo, it is just the third loss of his career, leaving him at 23-3 (9).

Feb. 27, 1943: To the West Coast, where the month’s action wraps up with another big card, this at Los Angeles’ Olympic Auditorium. A WBA title clash tops the agenda, but first up, two LH contenders challenge in the main support, as Eddie Booker faces Greece’s Anton Christoforidis in a 10-round, non-title affair. First meeting of the two, After five extremely close rounds, the unofficial scorer at ringside has Booker with a narrow one-point advantage (48-47). Into the second half of the bout, and it is Booker who is the aggressor, working his way inside and pressing the action. With Booker going on the offensive, Christoforidis is content to stay on the outside, taking advantage of a stamina advantage. No surprises as the bout remains close and goes to decision, with both fighters unmarked. To no surprise, the end result is a majority draw (96-94 Booker, 95-95, 95-95), leaving Christoforidis a bit disappointed, as he was hoping for a win to boost his position in the LH rankings. In any event, Booker ends the bout at 28-3-2 (15), while Christoforidis’ post-bout record is 26-9-2 (13). Finally, it is time for the main event, which sees Everett Rightmire making the second defense of the WBA FW title, facing Harold “Homicide Hal” Hoshino, the current USBA FW titleholder. It is a rematch of a 1940 encounter between these same two FWs that saw Hoshino emerge victorious, taking the USBA FW title away from Rightmire via a seventh round knockout. Hoshino assumes the role of aggressor, and near the end of round two he manages to break down Rightmire’s defenses, landing a barrage of punches that put the Champ on the deck. After taking an eight count, Rightmire is able to resume and wisely elects to cover up to last the round. Rightmire steadies himself, and is able to respond with some excellent boxing in the following couple of rounds. After the first five, the unofficial scorer at ringside has Hoshino with a slim one-point lead (48-47). Rightmire continues with some solid boxing through the middle rounds, compiling a large lead in the punches landed stats, and also causing some initial puffiness to appear under Hoshino’s right eye. After ten rounds, the unofficial card has Rightmire pulling even (95-95). Hoshino battles back, putting in a strong performance in round 11, seeking to become also causing some initial swelling around the left eye of the Champ. The results hang in the balance until the final few rounds, with Hoshino continuing with the more aggressive approach in an effort to dethrone the Champion. The bout goes the full 15 and the nod goes to Hoshino, taking a SD 15 (145-140, 142-143, 144-141) to lift the title. Post-bout records: Hoshino, 30-3-2 (16); Rightmire, 34-13-3 (14). Interestingly, this makes three successive WBA FW title bouts decided by split dukes.