The Boxing Bulletin History Corner: February 12 - 18, 1930, 1940 &1950

By Andrew Fruman

Picking up from where we left off on Tuesday (February 12 - 18, 1910 & 1920), we're moving on to the years 1930, 1940 and 1950 for the week of February 12 to 18.

In this edition...

• Mickey Walker vs Leo Lomski - Detroit, February 14, 1930
• Maxie Rosenbloom vs Ace Hudkins - New York, February 14, 1930
• Mushy Callahan vs Jack "Kid" Berg, junior-welterweight title - London, February 18, 1930
• Charley Burley vs Nate Bolden & Georgie Abrams vs Billy Soose - Pittsburgh, February 12, 1940
• Enrique Bolanos vs Art Aragon - Los Angeles, February 14, 1950
• Ike Williams vs "Sonny Boy" West - New York, February 17, 1950
• Plus plenty more news and fight reports...

1930

February 14…

Crafty middleweight Gorilla Jones of Akron, Ohio won a 10 round decision over hometown fighter Wesley Ketchell at San Francisco’s Dreamland Rink. According to the wire report, Jones had the big punching Ketchell on the canvas three times in the first five rounds, before taking it easy over the second half of the bout.

* * * *

Middleweight champion Mickey Walker (163 ½) battered Leo Lomski (173 ¼) over 10 mostly one sided rounds before a record breaking crowd of over 17,000 spectators at the Detroit Olympia.

Mixing his attack up to the head and body, the Toy Bulldog teed off repeatedly with hard right hands and left hooks, opening up old wounds over both Lomski’s eyes. Despite being the smaller man, Walker’s pressure had the light-heavyweight contender boxing in retreat by the sixth round and towards the end there was some question whether Lomski would last the distance.

* * * *

Before 18,000 spectators at New York’s Madison Square Garden, Harlem’s Maxie Rosenbloom (165, pictured left Harry E. Winkler) scored a lopsided unanimous decision over Ace Hudkins (172). The bigger man had the edge in the opening round thanks an effective body attack, but from then on it was all Slapsie Maxie…

Through nine of the ten rounds Rosenbloom pelted and pegged at his rival with both hands in a rapid-fire assault of jabs, hooks, swings and crosses, which completely befuddled Hudkins and made the Nebraskan appear like a novice.

– James P. Dawson, New York Times

Rosenbloom has been offered a title fight with the recently crowned 175lb champion Jimmy Slattery for either March 17 or April 7 in Buffalo, but is reportedly not happy about contesting the match in Slattery’s hometown.

February 17…

Primo Carnera (284) continued his American tour against nondescript opposition with a second round stoppage of John "Man Mountain" Erickson (227) at the Coliseum in Oklahoma City…

The Chicago Swede, still willing to trade blows with Carnera opened the second round by sending a nice right to Carnera’s jaw. That infuriated Primo and he swung into action. With that blow the big Swede was through. Primo rushed him madly across the ring and draped his 227 pounds across the ropes for a count of eight.

Erickson arose and the performance was repeated. This time Erickson remained sprawled across the middle rope for the count of nine and he had hardly gotten up before Carnera, with lightning-like rapidity, shot a left hook followed by a right cross, both to the jaw, and the fight was over.

– Associated Press

Three days earlier in Memphis, Carnera had knocked out Jim Sigman 95 seconds into the opening round of a scheduled eight. The knockout loss was par for the course for Sigman, who had failed to make it past the second round in his three previous contests.

February 18…

Englishman Jack "Kid" Berg (137 ¼) claimed the world’s junior-welterweight title at London’s sold-out Albert Hall, with a 10th round stoppage of Chicago’s Mushy Callahan (137 ¾).

The all-action Berg set a fast pace from the start, and by the time Callahan’s seconds had thrown in the towel, the visiting fighter had taken "a terrific beating". It was the second meeting between the two with Berg winning a 10 round decision almost 7 months earlier.

According to Callahan’s former Manager Teddy Hayes, the now-former champion received only $5,000 for the fight. The fighter had reportedly turned down over $30,000 to meet Tony Canzoneri the previous summer.

1940

February 12…

Pittsburgh’s Jackie Wilson (129) scored a unanimous decision against Frankie Covelli (128 ½) of Brooklyn over 10 rounds at the Marigold Gardens in Chicago. Entering the bout as the National Boxing Association’s 5th ranked featherweight contender, the lanky Wilson used a steady left jab to pile up the points.

* * * *

In a battle of middleweight contenders at Duquesne Gardens in Pittsburgh, Georgie Abrams (161) recovered from a rough opening round that included a trip to the canvas, to take a hard fought 10 round decision from Billy Soose (155). Abrams scored a knockdown of his own in the fourth, dropping Soose with a straight right, and forced the fighting throughout to earn the decision. Soose did himself no favors on the scorecards, twice losing rounds due to low blows.

Local welterweight contender Charley Burley (155) also featured on the card, taking a one sided 10 round decision from middleweight Nate Bolden (156). Bolden fought a spoiler type fight, rarely opening up while looking to hold in close. He emerged unscathed against the dangerous Burley, but the crowd didn’t enjoy the bout.

* * * *

Michigan State Athletic Commissioner John J. Hettche suspended bantamweights, Kayo Morgan and Benny Goldberg indefinitely and fined each $250 for their poor showing in a Detroit main-event two days earlier. Hettche called the lethargic contest "one of the worst things I have ever seen."

Morgan and Goldberg had been feuding for almost a year leading up the bout, and local interest was high with over 4,000 spectators turning up for the "grudge" match. By the time referee Sam Hennessy stopped the bout in the sixth round declaring it a no-contest, the crowd was in a hostile mood. Many angry spectators demanded their money back on the spot, and local police needed nightsticks to quell the disappointed throng.

* * * *

Tiger Jack Fox (185) dominated local heavyweight Arcade "Windmill" Pearce (188) at McCullough’s Arena in Salt Lake City…

The Spokane negro’s bobbing and weaving style was more than Pearce could fathom, although the Utah fighter tried persistently for an opening during the first five rounds and then held on gamely for two heats more after Fox began to lay in heavily.

A left to the side of the face put Pearce to the canvas in the eighth and although he managed to stagger to his feet at the count of seven and flung one last wild haymaker, he was too groggy to continue and his handlers threw in the towel.

– Associated Press

February 16…

Light-heavyweight Dave Clark was forced to retire after it was revealed he had a detached retina of the right eye.  Less than a year earlier, the skilled Detroit fighter had been scheduled to challenge for the title against then champion John Henry Lewis, only for Lewis to pull out with his own career ending eye injury.  Clark had won the 1935 United States Amateur Athletic Union title as a middleweight and was the fifth ranked contender for Billy Conn's 175lb title.

February 17...

Current odds have Henry Armstrong as a 2 to 1 underdog in his bid to defeat Ceferino Garcia and become a four division champion. Many fight fans are of the opinion Armstrong has slowed up under the grind of his schedule, and Garcia won’t be facing the same punching whirlwind as he did two years earlier when Armstrong defended his welterweight title with a 15 round victory over the big punching Filipino.

There is also the belief Garcia has become a better fighter…

At 32, when most fighters are finished, Garcia seems to have finally reached his peak. Few middleweights ever hit with more power than he did in flattening Walter Woods, Fred Apostoli and Glen Lee.

His best weapon is his bolo punch, a super-right-hand uppercut that needs to land but once to register a kayo. He has been throwing this punch with wicked results in his training at the Hollywood Legion Stadium and the majority of critics believe it will be too much for Armstrong.

– Henry McLemore, United Press

Armstrong is currently weighing in between 139 and 140, while Garcia came in at 155 after his latest work-out. California law prohibits a difference of more than 12 pounds, which means the middleweight champ might have to lose a little more weight in order for the bout to go ahead.

1950

February 14…

In a battle of local lightweights, Golden Boy Art Aragon (135) stopped Enrique Bolanos (135) at 1:46 of the 12th and final round at the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles.

Aragon built up a solid lead, winning the first six rounds before fatigue started setting in and was looking like a tired fighter before finding his second wind in the eleventh…

Moving flatfooted he worked his way inside and then bang, he put over a crushing right to the chin. Glassy-eyed Bolanos hit the canvas. He barely made it to his feet at nine. When the action was resumed Aragon stalked his foe; Seconds before the bell, he slammed home another right and Bolanos flopped a second time. He probably would have been counted out had not the bell saved him at eight.

In the final heat, he had the onetime Mexico City bellhop set up for the kill. Then Art took pity pulled his punches and jabbed his helpless foe in the face with light lefts.

With blood dripping from cuts over both eyes, Bolanos gave up the ghost. He ran from Aragaon much as to say, "I’ve had enough." At this point Referee Frankie Van wisely stepped in and stopped the battered Bolanos from further punishment.

– Cal Whorton, Los Angeles Times

At the time of the stoppage, Aragon held a lead of 4, 11 and 9 points on the scorecards. Cal Whorton had Aragon up by 9. According to Whorton, Bolanos did not look like the same fighter from earlier in his career, assessing the former world title challenger as "slow afoot, slow to punch and his reflexes left much to be desired."

February 15…

Hometown fighter Johnny Gonsalves (140) turned in the best outing of his young career, climbing off the deck from a third round knockdown to beat lightweight contender Tommy Campbell (138 ½) of Los Angeles at the Auditorium in Oakland.

The 19 year old Gonsalves had won an unpopular decision over Campbell two months earlier in a fight that had the visiting man’s manager threatening never to return to Oakland. This time Gonsalves earned the win, keeping Campbell on the defensive throughout the 10 rounder with a persistent left jab and sharp left hook. It was a confident performance from the youngster, who also mixed in more right hands than he normally throws.

The knockdown came from a short left hook, a punch Campbell kept looking to counter with. He found the mark with several of these, but other than the knockdown, Gonsalves not only took the hooks well but fought back aggressively each time he was tagged, continuously taking the play away from his more experienced rival.

As has been said right along, Johnny has a tremendous amount of natural ability. When he takes advantage of his boxing skills, punches a little harder and discards his grabbing habits, not only is he a greatly improved fighter his status with the fans improves.

– Jack Gallagher, Oakland Tribune

Gonsalves won by margins of 1, 2 and 3 points on the scorecards. The Oakland Tribune which had Gonsalves losing the first match with Campbell, had the local fighter up by 3 this time around.

February 17…

At New York’s Madison Square Garden, Alfred "Sonny Boy" West (138) made a solid showing as a late replacement against lightweight champion Ike Williams (141), before eventually losing by knock out in the eighth round of a scheduled ten. The top ten rated twenty year old from Washington DC took the bout on only 48 hours notice after Ike’s original opponent Bernard Docusen pulled out with an illness.

That he survived seven full rounds against the lightweight champion is a testimonial to West’s fearlessness. But he did more. He made a monkey of Williams in a flashy exhibition of skill in the first round and even though harassed by a stalking titleholder bent on his destruction in every round thereafter, there were moments when Sonny Boy made Williams look decidedly awkward.

– James P. Dawson, New York Times

Williams knocked West down late in the seventh with a two handed barrage, and finished the youngster with a right hand 43 seconds into the eighth.

Check back in next week for more of The Boxing Bulletin's History Corner as we move on to the week of February 19 to February 25.

e-mail Andrew Fruman