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April turns out to be a big month as far as WBA title action is concerned, with titles to be contested in four of the eight weight classes. This report covers a total of 58 bouts taking place during the first half of April 1941. Two WBA title bouts are included.

Apr. 4, 1941: The month kicks off with a card at Atlantic City’s Convention Hall. Only one noteworthy bout, and it is the main event, pairing #5 ranked LW contender Wesley Ramey with #12 Lew Jenkins. Jenkins is trying to rebound after a long layoff and his career setback, the loss of the USBA LW title in 1940. Strong start from Jenkins, who moves inside to try to apply more pressure in round three. The unofficial scorecard favors Jenkins at the midway point (by a count of 49-47). Ramey, trailing, tries to pick up the pace and take a more aggressive posture headed into the later rounds. By the end of the eighth round, Ramey’s right eye begins to puff up, a result of the accumulated damage inflicted by Jenkins during the course of the bout. Nonetheless, one of the three judges favors the post-Prime Ramey, but the other two back Jenkins, who walks away with a narrow SD 10 verdict (96-95, 95-96. 96-95), as the early edge barely holds up. Jenkins improves to 23-1-2 (11) with win and moves into the top 10 in the LW rankings, while the loss drops Ramey to 31-11-8 (11).

Apr. 5, 1941: Back to Europe for the next fistic action, at Rome’s Sports Palace. Twin bill title action tops the card, with a pair of EBU title belts on the line as German fighters face Italian challengers in each matchup. In the first of these, Gustav Eder puts the EBU WW title on the line, versus challenger Michele Palermo. One prior meeting, back in 1939 at Berlin, saw Eder walk away as a UD 10 victor. Not much in the way of action until round five, which sees Palermo winning the most of the inside exchanges. The issue remains in doubt, as the unofficial scorer at ringside has it even (58-58) at the midway point of the 12-rounder. In the later rounds, the stamina factor appears to favor Palermo, who emerges on top with a strong round nine. Fighting on fumes, a desperate Eder battles back with a strong attack to take round 11 in convincing fashion. It comes down to the final bell, and it turns out Eder has done enough to retain the title, with a surprisingly solid margin on all three cards for a UD 12 win (118-112, 117-113, 118-112), a decision that is not well received by the Italian fight fans in attendance. Post-bout, Eder pushes his career totals to 37-9-10 (9), while Palermo ends the bout at 28-8-8 (9). In the finale, ex-WBA Champ and #1 HW contender Max Schmeling puts his EBU HW title on the line against the “Ambling Alp,” Italian giant Primo Carnera. Surprisingly, it’s the first meeting of the two, with Carnera setting up the title match with a first round blowout of Schmeling’s countryman, Ludwig Haymann. Cautious approach by Schmeling, who appears content to box on the outside and bide his time, hoping that Carnera will wear himself out or get careless and leave himself open for an effective counterattack. Early round action show an edge for the “Black Uhlan,” and Italian fight fans seem dismayed at a lackluster showing by Carnera, who finally comes to life by landing some good shots near the end of round five. At the midway point, Schmeling holds a points edge (58-56) on the unofficial card. Carnera tries to pick up the pace and force the action in the second half of the bout, but instead it is Schmeling who punishes the Italian challenger, stunning him with a three-punch combo late in round seven, causing some initial puffiness around Carnera’s right eye. In round eight, Schmeling puts Carnera down with a short, clean uppercut. Carnera scrambles back to his feet, but Max then puts him down and out with another big shot. KO 8 for Schmeling, who retains the belt and steps up his campaign for another shot at the WBA title, probably an unrealistic goal at this point, given Germany’s current war footing. Post-bout career marks: Schmeling, 55-6-1 (39); Carnera, 33-14-3 (24).

Apr. 5, 1941: South of the border to Mexico City for the next fistic action, and Mexican fight fans have packed the arena to see their own WBA Champion, Baby Arizmendi, defending his WBA FW title, facing Japan’s Tsuneo Horiguchi, reigning OPBF FW titleholder and currently the #3 ranked contender. It’s a rematch of a title bout from late last year that ended in a draw; Arizmendi has been inactive since then, but Horiguchi managed to add to his credentials with an impressive first round KO over Maurice Holtzer, the reigning EBU FW Champ. Good opening round from Arizmendi, as the Japanese fighter takes awhile to settle in. Round two is a repeat of round one, some solid shots landed by Arizmendi, who is embolden to move inside in round three. Third round, Horiguchi begins to find the range, comfortably landing his shots from the outside. After a close round four, both men are content to mix it up in round five, and the inside exchanges favor Horiguchi. At this point, the unofficial scorer at ringside has it even (48-all). After a close round in round six, Arizmendi seizes control and dominates the action in the seventh. Horiguchi is the aggressor in round eight, but again, the round is relatively even – conventional wisdom is that Horiguchi must do better to take the title. Horiguchi tries to step up the pace in rounds nine and 10, but Arizmendi’s smothering defense prevails. With five rounds remaining, the unofficial scorer now has Arizmendi with a solid lead (97-94), plus there is noticeable swelling around the right eye of the Japanese challenger. Round 11, Horiguchi stuns Arizmendi with a left hook to the head, but the Champ successfully covers up and remains upright the rest of the round. Arizmendi wisely adopts a more defensive posture and is not threatened the rest of the way, as Horiguchi has run low on stamina and, as a result, his punches lack steam. The bout goes to decision and, to the delight of the Mexican crowd, it is a UD 15 for Arizmendi (146-139, 145-140, 146-139). With the win, Arizmendi improves to 43-9-3 (10), and Horiguchi ends the bout at 28-8-1 (16).

Apr. 11, 1941: Manila’s Rizal Arena is the venue for the next fight card, and only one notable bout is the feature, which matches top Flyweight contender, Little Dado, with visiting Irish fighter Rinty Monaghan. No prior meetings, and Monaghan comes into the bout off a TKO loss to Benny Lynch for the Commonwealth Fly title that snapped a seven-bout winning streak. Dado, the darling of the Filipino crowd, is the reigning OPBF Fly titleholder and current #2 ranked Flyweight contender. Despite the fact that no titles are at stake in this 10-rounder, the fight fans have turned out in large numbers to back the hometown crowd favorite. Despite a slow start, Dado pulls ahead in the middle rounds; the unofficial card has him well ahead (by 49-46) at the midway point. Monaghan attempts to become more aggressive in the second half of the bout, but late in the bout he sustains a cut over his right eye, and Dado is never in serious danger, The bout goes the distance and then, to the shock and dismay of the Filipino fight fans, the MD 10 goes to Monaghan (96-94, 95-95, 96-94) – a huge surprise and a huge upset. In retrospect, Dado appeared to rest on his laurels in the later rounds, three of which (rounds seven through nine) all went the way of Monaghan, putting him ahead of the favored Filipino fighter on the judges’ cards. Post-bout career records: Monaghan, 27-5 (11); Dado, 24-2 (13).

Apr. 12, 1941: Anticipation builds for the next card, at Philadelphia, where another WBA title is on the line. This time, however, not much in the way of a supporting cast of preliminary bouts, so the only notable matchup is the main event – Tony “the Roman Warrior” Canzoneri versus #3 contender Tony Chavez for Canzoneri’s WBA LW title. The two met once before, during Canzoneri’s first reign as WBA LW Champ, and Canzoneri came away with a UD 15 win. This time around, with Canzoneri a step slower after hitting Post-Prime career stage, Chavez’s connections are hoping for a more favorable outcome. After a solid start in the opening round, early in round two, Canzoneri is called for head-butting. Chavez does better in the second round, but then Canzoneri begins to find the range with a precise, probing jab that enables him to stick and move, making an elusive target for the challenger. The good early work pays off, as the unofficial scorer at ringside has Canzoneri well ahead on points (50-46), after five. Chavez responds by taking a more aggressive approach, and in round six, he moves inside, taking the fight to the Champion, with better results. However, bad luck for Chavez early in round seven, as he sustains a cut over his right eye. The cut continues to ooze blood into the following round, hampering Chavez’s chances. However, a minute into round 10, the cut resumes bleeding and, as the initial cause was deemed to be an accidental butt, points are tallied at the end of round nine. This results in a UTD 10 for Canzoneri (87-85, 88-84, 89-83) who runs his career totals to 53-5-4 (17). Chavez slips to 31-10-2 (12) with the loss.

Apr. 12, 1941: To the West Coast for the next card at the Cow Palace in San Francisco. No title bouts, and the main event has #7 ranked BW contender Pete “Cyclone” Sanstol, facing fellow American David Kui Kong Young, with the latter hoping to break into the top 10 with a win. First meeting of the two, and Sanstol is coming off a recent loss to Mickey Miller, while Kui Kong Young is riding a six-bout winning streak and yet to lose since hitting Prime career stage. Action is slow to develop, with Kui Kong Young adopting the role of slugger and aggressor, while Sanstol prefers to box and remain primarily on the outside, in a more passive posture. Kui Kong Young finds the range with some heavy blows in round three, and then follows up with a strong round four, leaving his mark as Sanstol’s left eye begins to puff up as a result. Some good lateral movement from Sanstol limits the ability of Kui Kong Young to penetrate his defenses, and the unofficial scorer has it even (48-all) at the halfway point. Big stamina edge for Kui Kong Young as the bout heads into its latter stages. Confident of victory, Kui Kong Young eases up in the final two rounds, and Sanstol finishes with a flourish in a big round 10, ripping open a cut over the right eye of his opponent. Nonetheless, Kui Kong Young’s early aggressiveness pays off, and he takes a UD 10 win (97-93, 96-94, 97-93) to run his career record to an excellent 21-1-1 (14) with the win. The loss drops Sanstol, in the doldrums after a second tough loss, to 40-16-5 (9).