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This report includes bouts from the second half of September 1950. One WBA title bout is included in this report.

Sep. 16, 1950: To Europe for the next card, taking place at the Ullevi Stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden. Featured in the main event is an EBU Flyweight title bout, with France’s Maurice Sandeyron making his first title defense. Challenging Sandeyron is former WBF Flyweight Champ, and current GBU and Commonwealth Flyweight titleholder Peter Kane. The two are meeting for the first time. Midway through the second round, a right cross from Sandeyron connects, ripping open a cut over Kane’s left eye. The cut is patched up between rounds, and Kane is able to enjoy some success by working his way inside in the following rounds. By the middle rounds, Kane has built up a solid lead in the punch count stats; at the halfway point, he is up by two (58-56) on the unofficial scorer’s card but, alarmingly, the cut over his eye was reopened in round six. The cut is patched up and, once again, it is reopened in round nine. Meanwhile, Sandeyron has rallied, taking advantage of the situation to pull in front in the punch count stats. Despite the cut being reopened a third time in round 11, Kane throws caution to the wind and goes all out in the final round. He is unable to deliver a telling blow, and the judges are split in their final verdict, with Kane eking out a SD 12 (114-113, 113-114, 115-112) to take the win and the EBU title. Post-bout records: Kane, 45-12-1 (17); Sandeyron, 28-11-4 (5). However, it will take Kane some time for his cut eye to heal and, when he resumes his career, he will be at Post-Prime given that 1951 was his real-life retirement year.

Sep. 16, 1950: The next card, back in the States at Miami, features an attractive HW matchup as unbeaten young pro Rocky Marciano, the “Brockton Blockbuster,” faces his toughest test yet as he faces veteran “Tampa” Tommy Gomez, a former HW titleholder, who is now on the downside of his career. The bout is set for 10, no titles at stake, and it is the first meeting for these two. After a close opening round, Marciano goes to work, dominating the action in round two, landing some good shots but, to Gomez’s credit, he remains upright despite taking a beating. In round three, Marciano moves inside to inflict further damage. Gomez appears to be sucking wind, his arms are flailing, and he is warned for hitting low. Some solid blows from Marciano are sufficient to cause some initial swelling to appear around Gomez’s right eye. Finally, with a half minute remaining in the round, the ref has seen enough, and he halts the bout in order to save Gomez from further punishment. Marciano is declared a TKO 3 victor, and this marks his first win over a creditable top 10 HW contender, lifting him to 17-0 (17) overall. The loss leaves the Post-Prime Gomez at 38-11-1 (35). The win lifts Marciano into the #10 spot in the rankings of HW contenders.

Sep. 22, 1950: Next up is a Friday night card at Pittsburgh. Featured bout is for the USBA FW title, one that has remained dormant for the past two years, with Phil Terranova continuing as the titleholder. The challenger, Jackie “the Austin Atom” Graves, is the same man he defeated to win the title belt back in 1948. In this rematch, which sees Terranova now at Post-Prime career stage, not much happens in the opening two rounds, then the challenger, Graves, moves inside, looking to force the action. However, it is not until round four when the action heats up; first, Terranova connects with a sharp jab that rips open a cut over Graves’ left eye. Undaunted, Graves drops Terranova with a nice combination later in the same round. Terranova recovers after taking an eight count, and the bell sounds before Graves can inflict further damage. At the halfway mark, the unofficial scorer has Graves well ahead on points (59-54). Trailing, Terranova looks for ways to mix things up, but some solid boxing from Graves prevents this, and some noticeable swelling around Terranova’s left eye slows his progress. In the ninth round, the cut over Graves’ eye is reopened, but, again, Graves goes to work, flooring Terranova a second time. This time, Terranova barely beats the count, and he wisely covers up in order to last the round. Early in round 11, Terranova goes down for the third time, courtesy of a Graves cross. Graves is unable to follow up, but the three knockdowns are sufficient to secure the title via a lopsided UD 12 (119-107, 119-107, 118-107). Post-bout records: Graves, 25-5-2 (16); Terranova, 28-14 (11).

Sep. 23, 1950: Next card takes place at New York City’s Madison Square Garden. It’s a double feature main event, the first of which is a non-title bout matching two MW contenders: Tony Janiro and Rocky Castellani. The two have not met before and, with only five knockouts between them, no much action takes place in the opening few rounds. Early in the third round, Castellani lands a punch that causes Janiro to slip to the canvas; it is not ruled a knockdown, but Janiro elects to cover up to avert further difficulty. In the middle rounds, the smooth boxing Janiro pulls ahead in the punches landed count. At the halfway point, after a big round five for Castellani, the unofficial scorer at ringside has the bout as even (48-48), and Janiro is showing the effects with a rapidly swelling left eye. In the sixth round, more bad news for Janiro as a penetrating jab from Castellani opens a cut on the bridge of his nose, causing blood to spurt forth. The cut is in a bad spot and, despite the best efforts of his corner to patch it up, it is easily reopened and leads to a late stoppage with just one round remaining. Therefore, Castellani is declared a TKO 9 victor on the cuts stoppage, improving to 24-6-2 (4) overall. Tough loss for Janiro, now 24-7-3 (2), particularly given that all three judges had the bout scored as even after the first eight rounds were in the books. The second co-main event sees Ezzard Charles making his first defense of the NABF HW title he won earlier in the year. Challenging Charles is Bernie Reynolds. First meeting of the two and first title bout for Reynolds, who has fashioned an impressive nine bout winning streak, albeit mostly against lower ranked guys in the HW division. After a solid opening round, Charles is surprised by Reynolds, who corners him and connects with an uppercut that sends Charles tumbling to the deck late in round two. Charles recovers and regains his footing at the count of five, and he covers up even though the round was almost over. By the end of round three, Charles has recovered and is back in command, building a solid lead in the punch count stats. At the halfway point, Charles has a narrow lead (57-56) on the unofficial scorer’s card. By the end of the ninth round, Charles’ accurate punching has caused a welt to appear under Reynolds’ left eye. Despite running low on stamina, Reynolds continues battling right until the final round, when he is able to cause Charles’ knees to buckle with a hard hook. Charles is fortunate to remain upright, and he covers up to last the round. The bout goes to the judges, and Charles takes a UD 12 (116-111) over a game challenge from Reynolds. Post-bout career marks: Charles, 33-6 (24); Reynolds, 23-3 (14).

Sep. 29, 1950: A pair of title bouts, both with Cuban fighters in the challenger role, heading a Friday night card at Havana’s Gran Stadium. With the second co-feature being a WBA title clash, first up Cuban slugger Nino Valdes has an opportunity to annex the LABF HW title bout, as he is a putative favorite versus Cesar Brion of Argentina, who will be making his second defense of the LABF title belt. The two have not met before, and the action picks up in the opening round, as Brion lands a sharp blow that opens a cut under Valdes’ right eye. After a strong start by Brion, the two take turns trying their luck on the inside in rounds three and four, with Valdes holding his own but, after four rounds of non-stop action, the big Cuban shows signs of fatigue as early as round five of a bout scheduled to go 12. At the halfway point, the unofficial scorer’s card has Valdes with a narrow one-point advantage (58-57). As the bout reaches the latter stages, both fighters appear tired, having expended so much energy in the earlier rounds. With both fighters swinging away in round 10, Brion connects with a wicked hook to the head that forces Valdes to cover up. Despite Valdes’ best effort, he cannot fend off Brion, who scores two knockdowns, with Valdes able to pick himself off the canvas both times. However, the bout goes in the books as a 10-8 round for Brion; furthermore, a second cut appears, this over Valdes’ left eye. In the final round, Valdes goes all-out for the win, connecting with a big uppercut but Brion, who appears to be ahead on points, wisely covers up. The bout, an exciting one, goes to decision, and Brion retains the title via a UD 12 (115-111, 115-112, 114-113), to run his career record to 20-3-1 (8). Disappointing loss for Valdes, now 24-12-1 (19), who fell short in his first title try. After this, the ring is cleared for a WBA WW title bout, with Jimmy Sherrer facing the #1 contender, “the Cuban Hawk,” Kid Gavilan. Sherrer is making his second defense of the belt he won from all-time great Henry Armstrong, and the challenger, Gavilan, enters the bout on a three-bout winning streak. If is the first meeting of the two, and thus, there is a long feeling out process before much in the way action develops. Slight edge in the punch count stats for Sherrer, but Gavilan manages to keep the bout close through the early rounds. Some solid boxing by Sherrer puts him in front at the one-third mark (by a count of 49-46), this according to the unofficial scorer’s card. In the middle rounds, some accurate punching by Gavilan causes some minor swelling to appear under the left eye of the champion. Gavilan is able to close the gap in the punch count stats but, at the two-thirds mark of the contest (10 rounds), Sherrer maintains a slim points lead (96-95) on the unofficial card. Utilizing a slight edge in the stamina factor, Gavilan continues to be the more active of the two as the bout enters its final stages. With Sherrer content to remain on the outside, Gavilan mixes an outside and inside attack. The bout remains close until the final few rounds, with Gavilan ramping up the pace and gambling for a late knockdown or knockout. Sherrer, for his part, remains impervious and shows some solid defensive skills to thwart Gavilan’s best efforts. As a result, Sherrer is able to retain the title, via a UD 15 (147-138, 146-139, 147-138) by a much wider margin than the punch count stats would have indicated. Post-bout career marks: Sherrer, 28-4 (14); Gavilan, 25-5-2 (6). Tough night for the Cuban fight fans; although the Cuban challengers acquitted themselves well, both titles remained with the current holders.

Sep. 30, 1950: The month wraps with a solid card at London’s venerable Harringay Arena. A pair of regional titles are at stake, and the main supporting bout matches two top five Flyweights in a non-title clash. Taking to the ring are current NABF and USBA Flyweight Champ Dado Marino and former WBA Flyweight Champ Jackie Paterson. Marino is out to avenge a pair of losses to Paterson in their only prior encounters. Paterson, a slugger, looks sharp early and is able to build an early edge over Marino, a boxer, in the punches landed stats. At the halfway point, Paterson has forged a solid lead (49-46) on the unofficial scorer’s card. In the second half of the bout, Paterson enjoys a huge advantage in terms of the stamina factor, and, despite Marino’s best efforts, the situation remains unchanged, and Paterson grinds out a UD 10 win (96-94, 97-93, 98-92) in a bout that did not feel that close. Post-bout career marks: 37-11-2 (21) for Paterson; 38-12-1 (14) for Marino. In the first of the co-main events, the GBU LW title is at stake, with Harry Hughes making his third defense versus challenger Frank “Golden Boy” Johnson. The two are meeting for the first time, and Johnson is still at Pre-Prime in this his 20th pro bout, one short of hitting the Prime career stage. Neither fighter is reticent to mix it up on the inside, and, in the opening stanza, a Hughes cross connects, drawing blood as cut appears under Johnson’s left eye. As the early rounds conclude, Hughes has been able to compile and early lead in the punch count stats. At the midway point, a peek at the unofficial scorer’s card reveals that Hughes is up by two (58-56). In round eight, a sharp punch from Hughes rips open a second cut, this one under Johnson’s other eye. As the rounds tick off, both fighters appear exhausted from their exertions in the earlier rounds. The cut continues to ooze blood in the ensuing rounds, as Johnson makes a gallant effort to change the momentum of the fight. The cut, which is finally patched up, is reopened in round 11, and Johnson is unable to mount a rally, so the UD 12 goes to Hughes (judges’ scores are 118-112, 116-112, 115-113), so Hughes retains the GBU title and runs his career record to 23-7-1 (9), compared to 17-3 (14) post-fight for the losing challenger. Then, in the finale, Bruce Woodcock, holder of the EBU, GBU and Commonwealth HW titles, is on hand to defend the former (EBU HW title belt) versus Joe Weiden, whom he bested in a title matchup earlier in 1950. In fact, in three prior meetings, Woodcock has won twice, Weiden once. This time, the bout is a close one, with little to choose between the two through the opening few rounds. In round five, Weiden doubles up on his jab, and he manages to open a cut over Weiden’s right eye. Some good cornerwork is able to patch up the cut in between rounds and, at the halfway point, the unofficial scorer has the bout scored as even (58-58). Into the second half of the bout, and Weiden has a narrow edge both in stamina and in punches landed. B y round eight, Woodcock, urged on by the British fight fans in attendance, as reasserted control, and Weiden has to deal with the effects of a rapidly swelling right eye. In round 10, the momentum swings back in Weiden’s favor, as the cut over Woodcock’s eye is reopened. Midway through round 11, Weiden connects with a big left, and Woodcock is forced to resort to the cover up strategy as a result. The issue remains in doubt until the final round, which is won by Weiden but, in the end, is only good enough to secure a draw (114-114, 113-115 Weiden, 115-113 Woodcock), although it certainly goes down as a pyrrhic victory for the challenger who had all the momentum at the end in a bout on Woodcock’s home turf. This result leaves the post-Prime Woodcock to 33-6-1 (27). Weiden’s post-bout record is a still impressive 23-3-1 (10). Could a fifth meeting of these two be in the offing?