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This report covers fistic action from the second half of May 1943; one WBA title bout is included in this report.

May 15, 1943: To Denver for a solid card at the Mammoth Gardens, topped by a pair of USBA title bouts. In the first co-feature, ex-WBA FW Champ faces Carlos Chavez for the USBA FW title vacated by Harold Hoshino, who recently won the WBA FW belt. (An earlier bout to fill the belt, back in March 1943, ended in a draw, thus a second title bout was arranged.) First meeting of the two and, for Chavez, it is his first title try in his final bout at Pre-Prime. Action is slow to develop, but, after the first few rounds, Wright, the veteran, appears to have the upper hand. Nonetheless, Chavez battles back with a strong round six, landing sufficient leather to cause some initial swelling under the left eye of Wright; however, the unofficial scorer at ringside has Wright in front (58-56). Into the later rounds and Chavez, who is running low on stamina, begins to press the action, although, as a boxer, he lacks the firepower to mount an effective comeback. He leaves himself open for some strong counterpunching by Wright, and thus, by the end of the ninth round, there is puffiness around Chavez’s right eye as a result. Then, in a huge turnaround, Chavez finds the range early in round 10, causing cuts to appear above both of Wright’s eyes. Some excellent cornerwork patches up the cuts and, in round 11, Wright connects with a big hook, and Chavez goes down, arising quickly after taking a count of two. The bout goes to decision, and the UD 12 goes to Wright (118-110, 118-110, 117-111) to runs his career totals to 43-14-4 (15), while Chavez slips to 18-2 (7). In the second co-feature, former WBA BW Champ Manuel Ortiz challenges Tommy Forte for Forte’s USBA BW title. First meeting of the two, and first title defense for Forte, who just won the title in March. After a couple of close opening rounds, Ortiz takes charge and By the midway point of round five, there is noticeable swelling around Forte’s right eye. Some solid boxing puts Ortiz ahead on points (59-55 on the unofficial card) at the halfway point. Into the later rounds, and Forte becomes more and more aggressive, but Ortiz calmly works on the outside, thwarting any Forte’s attempts to turn things around. Thus, the bout goes the full 12, and Ortiz walks away with the USBA title belt, by virtue of a closer-than-expected MD 12 (117-111, 114-114, 117-111), given the surprise of seeing one judge call the fight even, given the huge punches landed advantage enjoyed by Ortiz. Post-bout career marks: Ortiz, 22-4-1 (14); Forte, 27-5-2 (11).

May 21, 1943: Next is a Friday night card in Detroit. Twin bill title action tops a packed card. In the first co-main event, Allen Matthews makes the second defense of his USBA MW title, facing challenger Walter Woods. First meeting of these two, who are both aiming to move up in the MW ranks; Woods, in particular, has been impressive in running up a five-bout winning streak to set up this title bout. A solid opening round by the challenger is cause for concern in Matthews’ corner, and the Champ responds with a strong round in the second, landing sufficient blows to cause some initial swelling to appear under the left eye of Woods. With both men landing some good shots and having some good rounds, at the midway point, the unofficial scorer at ringside sees a close bout, with Matthews clinging to a slim one-point lead (58-57). Near the end of round seven, Matthews rocks Woods with a big uppercut, but the challenger remains upright and manages to cover up to survive to the bell. As the bout enters the second half, the stamina factor favors Matthews. The bout comes to an early end in round 10, after Matthews drops Woods for the first time, then swarms all over a tired, defenseless challenger, until the ref steps in to call a halt. TKO 10 for Matthews, who retains the USBA belt and improves to 36-14-4 (25) overall. The loss leaves Woods at 27-10 (15). In the finale, the NABF WW title is on the line, as recently crowned titleholder, unbeaten hot young WW prospect “Sugar” Ray Robinson, already ranked among the top 10 WWs, makes his first defense versus veteran WW contender Freddie Cochrane. First meeting of the two, and Cochrane, who has won his last six to earn this title shot, is perhaps the toughest test yet for the 18-0 Robinson, who is still two bouts away from Prime career stage. It takes little time for the action to heat up, with Cochrane landing a hook that draws blood, in the form of a deep cut over Robinson’s right eye. This seems to fire Sugar Ray up, as he decks Cochrane with a hard shot and, after Cochrane arises at the count of eight, floors the challenger again with a short, clean combination shortly before the bell. Cochrane arises, but there is not enough time left in the round for Robinson to finish his man. In between rounds, Robinson’s corner works feverishly to close the cut (fortunately, his cut man, Eddie “the Clot” Aliano, is the best in the business). Having done some damage with the two KDs in the opening round, Robinson eases up in round two, hoping that the cut will cease to be a factor. In round three, the cut is re-opened, but Robinson ignores it and connects with a big hook that puts Cochrane on the defensive once again. In round four, with the cut once again closed, Robinson moves inside and lands sufficient blows to cause some puffiness to appear under Cochrane’s left eye. In round six, a clear warning sign as the cut over Robinson’s eye is re-opened for a second time. Once again, the cut is soon closed and, at the midway point, Robinson, by virtue of the two KDs, has a very solid points lead (60-53). Cochrane, already tiring noticeably, moves inside in an effort to target the cut, while Sugar Ray adopts a more defensive posture to protect the eye against further damage. This approach seems to be working and, in round 11, Robinson stuns Cochrane with a big uppercut to punctuate his superiority in the bout. A third KD follows in the final round, enabling Robinson to wrap up a lopsided UD 12 (119-104 on all three cards) to retain the NABF belt. Post-bout career marks: Robinson, 19-0 (13); Cochrane, 31-9-4 (9).

May 22, 1943: The Ullevi Stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden hosts the next fight card, featuring European and British fighers. In the main event, two top 10 Flyweight contenders meet in a non-title affair: CBU Flyweight Champ Teddy Gardner and Istvan Enekes, former EBU Flyweight titleholder. No prior meetings, so the initial rounds of the bout see little in the way of aggressive activity while both boxers circle each other, probing for an opening. After the first five rounds, Gardner has opened up a wide lead in punches landed, and is well ahead on the unofficial card (by a count of 50-47) as well. Into the later rounds, and Enekes is the more aggressive of the two, stepping up the pace and looking for a knockout opportunity. Some good work by Enekes in the later rounds manages to close the gap, and the bout goes the distance, with the nod going to Gardner, who hangs on to take a SD 10 verdict (96-94, 94-96, 96-94). Post-bout records: Gardner, 20-2-1 (10); Enekes, 39-14-2 (12).

May 22, 1943: Next is a huge card at New York’s Yankee Stadium, with a WBA title contest topping the agenda. In a preliminary bout, unbeaten FW prospect Willie “Will o’ the Wisp” Pep faces Sal the “Pride of East Boston” Bartolo in a 10-round, non-title bout. After a slow start by both boxers, and the bout remains close through the first half of the bout, as both men probe for an opening. At the midway mark, Pep holds a narrow lead (48-47) on the unofficial card. In the opening minute of the seventh round, Pep breaks through and drops Bartolo with a solid combination. Bartolo barely manages to beat the count, and he manages to last the round by effective use of the cover up strategy. After the KD, Pep remains in control and goes on to take a fairly close but UD 10 (97-92, 96-94, 96-93) to retain his unblemished, unbeaten record, now 18-0 (13). Bartolo, who gave a good accounting and was in contention for the win until the 7th round KD, ends the bout at 24-5-3 (6). Next on the agenda, serving as the main supporting bout, is a meeting of two former two-time WBA LH Champs: Billy Conn, the “Pittsburgh Kid,” on the comeback trail after losing the WBA title two months previously, to Tiger Jack Fox, facing another two-time ex-Champ, now at the end of his long career, namely, “Slapsie” Maxie Rosenbloom. Their one prior meeting, back in 1939, saw Conn lift the WBA belt from Rosenbloom with a points win. This time around, Conn gets off to a good start and, by the end of round one, there is already a telltale trace of swelling under the left eye of Rosenbloom. By the midway point of the bout, Conn has a comfortable points lead (49-46), according to the unofficial scorer at ringside. Running low on stamina and with the punches landed stats stacked against him, Rosenbloom tries to become more aggressive in the later rounds, but to no avail, as Conn goes on to take a solid UD 10 (97-94 on all three cards). Post-bout career marks: Conn, 30-6-3 (12); Rosenbloom, 54-18-6 (18). Then, in the feature, Conn’s successor as WBA LH Champ, Tiger Jack Fox, takes the ring to defend his WBA LH title against Greek challenger Anton Christoforidis. First meeting of the two and, for Christoforidis, it is his first WBA title shot despite some uneven results in recent years, including a pair of controversial DQ losses. It takes the better part of three rounds for Fox to break down the challenger’s defenses, dropping Christoforidis with a hook, but the Greek challenger arises after dropping to the deck as a delayed reaction to the hook. Just before the bell to end round five, another hook from Fox rocks the challenger. Thus, after the first five, the unofficial card has Fox well ahead on points (by a 49-45 count). Into the middle rounds, and surprisingly, Christoforidis manages to steady himself and even pulls ahead of Fox in the critical punches landed stat. After 10 rounds, however, a check of the unofficial card shows Fox even further ahead (97-92). The two continue to battle into the final few rounds, with a slight edge in stamina in favor of Christoforidis. However, midway through round 12, Fox rocks the challenger with a big right hand and, this time, Fox’s killer instinct kicks in, and he floors Christoforidis with a devastating uppercut. Although Christoforidis manages to regain his footing, he is in no shape to continue, and the ref properly steps in to save him from further punishment. TKO 12 for Fox, lifting his career totals to 57-8-1 (41), while the loss drops Christoforidis to 26-10-2 (13). A peek at the judges’ cards showed Fox well ahead on two of the cards, with a one-point margin on the third. However, for Fox’s next defense, he will hit Post-Prime career stage, so other potential challengers are lining up for a potential title shot.

May 28, 1943: Twin bill title bout action highlights a Friday night card at the Rizal Arena in Manila. In the first of these co-main events, Little Dado defends the OPBF Flyweight title against challenger Small Montana, an ex-OPBF Fly Champ. In two prior bouts, each has won once, but Montana’s 1941 win was in an abbreviated bout due to a cuts stoppage. For this bout, both boxers have slipped to Post-Prime career stage, and Dado appears to have the upper hand through the early going. By the end of round four, there is a mouse under the left eye of the challenger. The unofficial card favors Dado at the midway point, but only by a narrow one-point margin (58-57). Late in round nine, a sharp blow from Dado causes a trickle of blood to appear on Montana’s lip. The bout is headed to decision when, in the final round, a Montana hook to the head sends Dado reeling. Shaken, the Champ recovers and manages to resume after taking an eight-count. Turns out the late KD only solidified the position of the challenger, and the end result is a UD 12 for Montana (116-112, 116-112, 115-113). Post-bout records: Montana, 28-15-5 (10); Dado, 29-5-1 (13). The second title matchup, for the OPBF FW title, is another rematch, as Aussie Eddie Miller defends the belt against ex-Champ Tsuneo Horiguchi of Japan. This is the third meeting of these two, with each having won once. Horiguchi wastes little time, nailing Miller with a hard left in the opening round, causing the Champ to cover up. Miller recovers quickly, and in round three he turns the tables on Horiguchi, staggering the challenger with a huge uppercut. By the end of the round, there is a trace of swelling under the right eye of Horiguchi. Close bout, and the unofficial scorer at ringside calls it even (57-57) at the halfway point. Early in round eight, a Miller hook sends Horiguchi to the canvas. After a taking a six count, Horiguchi regains his footing and covers up to last the round. Recovered, Horiguchi bounces back with a strong round nine and, as a result, there is puffiness appearing under Miller’s left eye. The bout is heading toward conclusion when, late in round 11, Horiguchi drops Miller with a big shot, and Miller regains his footing as the count reaches four. Horiguchi knocks Miller down a second time in the final round, but Miller scrambles to his feet, and the bout goes the distance. Winner is the challenger, Horiguchi, by UD 12 (116-109, 116-109, 117-108), who regains the title he held for five years, from 1937-1942. Post-bout career records: Horiguchi, 33-10-1 (17); Miller, 21-8-1 (9).

May 29, 1943: The month wraps with a nice card at London’s Earls Court. The main event is a contest for the GBU MW title, which has been held by one fighter for the longest consecutive amount of time – 12 ½ years – than any other title. Long-time Champ Jock McAvoy makes his 13th defense against a familiar foe, Jack “Cast Iron” Casey. The two have met no fewer than five times previously, with McAvoy prevailing four times, with the other match ending in a draw. Both men, who are in their mid-30s and have been around for awhile, are at Post-Prime career stage. In this, their sixth encounter, McAvoy gets off to a strong start, and, in the opening round, he manages to open a cut in the form of a split lip that the challenger’s corner has to deal with between rounds. After the second round, the cut is under control but now there is puffiness around Casey’s left eye. The punches landed stats indicate a reasonably close bout, with a slight edge for McAvoy, who also has a narrow lead (58-56) on the unofficial card after the first six rounds are in the books. By round seven, Casey has managed to land enough blows to cause some initial swelling to appear under the left eye of McAvoy. In round eight, however, it is McAvoy who breaks through, landing a perfect hook that drops Casey to the canvas. The challenger scrambles back to his feet, covering up to last the round, but the damage has been done. More action in round nine, and an aggressive Casey manages to work his way inside and sees a nasty cut open over McAvoy’s partially closed left eye. After another round of indecisive action, the cut is reopened in round 11, and this time, there is an immediate stoppage. However, since the cut is ruled the result of an accidental clash of heads and not a punch, the scorecards are consulted and McAvoy, aided by the KD in round eight, takes a close but UTD 11 (96-93 on all three cards) to keep the belt. McAvoy improves to 38-18-6 (25) with the win. Casey dips to 37-20-5 (22) with the loss.