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This report covers fistic action from the first half of February 1940, encompassing a total of 60 bouts.

Feb. 2, 1940: The month commences with a Friday night card at Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City. The feature matches two veteran FWs, both still ranking among the top five contenders, in a non-title affair as Freddie Miller faces Battling Battalino. Both are now at Post-Prime, and Battalino still has memories of a UD 12 win in their only prior meeting, back in 1932. Battalino starts well and begins piling up an early points lead. In round four, Miller suffers a cut over his right eye. Battalino holds a solid lead (49-46, according to the unofficial scorer) at the midway point. The cut, after being re-opened a couple of times, leads to an early stoppage. TKO 7 for Battalino on the cuts stoppage. Post- bout career records: Battalino, 41-13-2 (15); Miller, 37-12-1 (15).

Feb. 3, 1940: Next card is in Europe at the Sports Palace in Rome, Italy. No EBU or major European fights to report, so the feature matches a couple of boxers from overseas: MWs Ken Overlin and Antonio Fernandez. Overlin boxes well although Fernandez manages to keep the bout reasonably close through the opening three rounds. Then, in rounds four and five, Overlin’ superior skills begin to dominate, and he forges a solid points lead (49-46 on the unofficial card) at the midway point. From this point on, there is noticeable swelling around the right eye of Fernandez, and Overlin coasts to a solid UD 10 win (99-92, 100-91, 97-91) to raise his career record to 36-5-5 (13). The loss leaves Fernandez at 30-13-3 (12).

Feb. 3, 1940: Next fistic action is back in the States at Miami Stadium. On the agenda is a NABF title tilt, preceded by a non-title bout involving two top 10 FWs: Mike Belloise and 22-0 Harold Hoshino. The bout is close through the early rounds, with Hoshino holding a slight lead in terms of punches landed. In round five, Hoshino staggers Belloise with a big uppercut; the unofficial scorer has Hoshino ahead (49-46) at the midway point. More of the same later in the bout, when in round eight another Hoshino uppercut puts Belloise on the deck for the first and only time. Belloise arises, but the by the end of the round he shows signs of wear and tear, with a cut nose and swollen left eye. Another impressive performance by Hoshino, who takes a UD 10 (99-90 on all three cards) to run his record to 23-0 (14), leaving Belloise at 35-9-5 (9) after the loss. Hoshino’s camp is hoping for a title shot before the year is out. In the feature, Tony Shucco makes the first defense of his newly-won NABF LH title, facing challenger Gus Lesnevich in the first meeting of these two. The bout remains close through the early rounds but not much in the way of action until Lesnevich is cut ove his right eye in round six. At the midway point, the unofficial card has Lesnevich ahead by a slim margin (58-57). The cut is reopened in round nine, and the fight appears to be even headed into the final two rounds. After a big round 11, Lesnevich appears to have the upper hand. However, he becomes overly aggressive in round 12, and is called for several low blows. The ref rules the fouling to be blatant, and Shucco is declared the winner via a controversial DQ 12 call. Post-bout career marks: Shucco, 33-12 (11); Lesnevich, 27-4-1 (14). There is a lot of hue and cry over the outcome of this one, so a rematch is ordered in two months’ time.

Feb. 9, 1940: Next up is a Friday night card at Toronto’s Maple Leaf Gardens. Feature bout is for the Commonwealth BW title, and Canadian Horace Gwynne is here to defend that belt versus GBU BW Champ Benny Sharkey. Both men are at Post-Prime for this bout, and Gwynne has prevailed in each of two prior meetings (via UD in 1937 and MD in 1935). Sharkey serves notice when he decks Gwynne with a short, clean uppercut near the end of the opening stanza; Gwynne is saved by the bell. Sharkey continues on the attack and is rewarded with an early points lead (59-54, according to the unofficial card) midway through the bout; however, Gwynne has landed some good shots of his own, enough to cause noticeable swelling to appear around the left eye of Sharkey. Gwynne tries to battle back and become more aggressive in the later stages, but this proves vulnerable as Sharkey lands a big shot to put him down a second time – this time he arises at the count of eight – in round nine. Sharkey goes on to lift the belt, although one judge – probably influenced by the pro-Gwynne crowd – called it a draw. MD 12 for Sharkey (114-114, 113-113, 115-110) who improves to 35-14-2 (19) with the win. Gwynne drops to 24-8-1 (14).

Feb.10, 1940: Next fistic action is back in the UK at the Stadium in Liverpool. The GBU MW title is on the line, with Jock McAvoy making his first defense of that belt in over a year, taking on challenger Arthur “Ginger” Sadd, in Sadd’s first try for a title of any kind. Sadd seems to be ready for the challenge, as he manages to land some heavy leather in the opening frame, causing a trace of swelling to appear around the right eye of McAvoy. Buoyed by this good start, Sadd becomes the aggressor in the early rounds of the bout. In round four, some bad luck though, as Sadd sustains a cut over his left eye. From this point, the bout begins to turn in McAvoy’s favor. He manages to stun Sadd with a big uppercut in the eighth round, and then the cut becomes a bigger issue as the bout wears on, finally resulting in a late stoppage. TKO 11 for McAvoy, who retains the belt. Post-bout career records: McAvoy, 33-14-5 (22); Sadd, 29-14 (18).

Feb. 10, 1940: The Cow Palace in San Francisco is the venue for the next fistic action. No titles, but an important HW bout serves as the main event as Max Baer faces Joe “Bingo” Banovic. Banovic, now a step slower, is in the Post-Prime of his career while Baer is looking for another title shot. Baer looks sharp early, with his punches on target, and yhe lands a devastating uppercut with about 30 seconds left in the opening round that puts Banovic down and out. Impressive one-punch KO power from Baer. The KO 1 result lifts Max’s career record to 30-13 (26); it is his second straight win, bouncing back from a disheartening one round title loss to Joe Louis in 1939. The loss drops the rapidly aging Banovic to 39-17-2 (11).