Primo Carnera made his second American start at the Chicago Stadium in January of 1930 / Photo © Harry E. Winkler

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By Andrew Fruman

Picking up from where we left off yesterday (Jan 29 - Feb 4, 1910 & 1920), we're moving on to the years 1930, 1940 and 1950 for the week of January 29 - February 4.

In this edition: Primo Carnera makes his second American appearance, middleweight title holder Al Hostak faces Tony Zale, the rematch between Fred Apostoli and Melio Betina, Archie Moore vs Bert Lytell, news of Sugar Ray Robinson, Jake Lamotta, plus plenty more fight reports...

Check out last week's History Corner: January 22 - 28

1930

January 31…

Primo Carnera (269) stopped Elzear Rioux (205 ¾) less than a minute into their scheduled 10 rounder at Chicago Stadium…

The Canadian who appeared frightened when he entered the ring, took his final drive after the opening round was only 47 seconds old. Previous to this he had gone to the mat five times. On two of the occasions he was not even hit and on another went down from a blow which landed on his shoulder.

The punch which terminated the fight was a glancing overhand right cross. It was not a solid punch, but the Canadian went to the mat and stayed there until Referee Dave Barry had tolled off the ten seconds. During the time he was in the ring, Rioux never lade a glove on the Italian. He didn’t even raise his gloves to defend himself. – Walter Eckersall, Chicago Tribune

The evening was not a total loss for the fans as King Tut (137 ¼) and Bruce Flowers (133 ¾) featured on the undercard in a rematch of their fight from earlier in the month.

Tut scored two knockdowns in the 7th round, flooring Flowers with a right cross and moments later with a long left hand. Flowers was on the canvas for 9 counts on both occasions, but managed to survive the round and hang in until the final bell. Tut was the victor at the end of the 10 rounds by "a comfortable margin".

Back to Carnera & Rioux…

The Illinois State Commission initially held up the purses of the two fighters, but ordered Carnera’s money paid in full after a hearing a few days later. While the commission could not find any "tangible" evidence of a fix, they suspended Rioux indefinitely and deducted $1,000 from his $3,000 purse.

"I had an off night." Rioux told members of the commission after appearing somewhat hazy about some previous knockouts which had been handed him.

"My muscles would not respond and I could hardly hold up my hands. I am always nervous before a fight but not quite as much as I was before this one. I didn’t know what it was all about after Carnera hit me the first time." – Chicago Tribune, February 5

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Bronx lightweight Al Singer (134 ¼) won a unanimous decision over Stanislaus Loayza (136 ½) of Chile after 10 hard rounds before a packed house at New York’s Madison Square Garden. James P. Dawson of the New York Times called the bout, "a battle which will take its place alongside the lightweight encounters of local ring history for excitement and stirring moments."

Singer had Loayza on the canvas for a 9 count in the 3rd round, and again in some trouble in the 6th, but the Chilean fought back hard on both occasions. Singer held a comfortable lead heading into the 10th, but was on "verge of collapse" after being staggered several times by "jarring rights" in the thrilling final round.

It was the kind of a fight, a stirring battle, crowded with action and having for its climax a reckless pulse-throbbing recovery in which the lad threatened with defeat rallied with with a single blow almost became the conqueror instead of the conquered. – James P. Dawson

In the show’s semi-final bout which followed the main-event, Harry Ebbets (162 ½) of Freeport "earned the plaudits of the packed arena for one of the gamest exhibitions furnished in a local ring in recent years." Ebbets was down twice and took a beating from Doc Conrad of Newark (166), but made it to the final bell.

February 3…

Bucky Lawless (147) held off a late charge from Young Jack Thompson (146 ½) to claim a majority decision victory at a sold out Convention Hall in Rochester.

Taking the lead as he bounded from his corner in the opening round Lawless kept on top of Thompson with a relentless fire that had the lad from the Pacific Coast baffled and upset. A sniper who constantly waits for the opening that will enable him to pick his man off, Thompson found Lawless almost as hard to hit in the forepart of the slugfest as a bounding rubber ball. Bucky, however, needed all those precious points piled up before the seventh round, for Jack ripped loose with a two-fisted fusillade in the closing rounds that had Lawless rocking like a rowboat in a rough sea. – Syracuse Herald

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Junior-lightweight champion Benny Bass (129 ½) defended his crown by knocking down Panamanian challenger Davey Abad (130) eight times on the way to a 4th round TKO at the St. Louis Coliseum. Abad was knocked down twice in the opening frame, and 6 times in the 4th round, but still protested referee J. Harry Ertle’s decision to stop the bout.

The bout was scheduled as a 10 round no-decision contest. To claim the title Abad would have had to either win by knockout or disqualification.

1940

January 29…

Tony Zale (162) of Gary, Indiana upset NBA world middleweight champion Al Hostak (162) over 10 rounds at the Chicago Stadium before over 11,000 spectators.

Hostak started strong, flooring Zale in the first round with a left to the jaw and had much of the better of the opening two frames. Zale came alive with a swarming attack in the 3rd and a wild fight had broken out by the 5th…

The Seattle fighter, a sharp wicked puncher, displayed rare gameness in the fifth when Zale ripped a gash under his right eye and beat him from one ring post to the other. Then Hostak opened up with a savage attack to have Zale wobbly at the finish of the round. – Associated Press

Zale pulled ahead in the 6th round and controlled the fight the rest of the way with Hostak in full retreat over the final few rounds. In that 6th round, Hostak broke the 4th and 5th fingers on his left hand after landing a punch on Zale’s forehead.

After the bout, Hostak’s promoter Nate Druxman announced that he had signed Zale up to a promotional contract. There had been plenty of talk recently of matching Hostak up with the NYSAC recognized world champion Ceferino Garcia in a unification bout, but Druxman and Garcia’s promoter Mike Jacobs had been unable to come to an agreement.

January 30…

Little Dado (115) and Manuel Ortiz (115 ½) fought a fast paced 10 rounder in Stockton, California. Dado got off to a fast start behind a determined body attack, but Ortiz came on strong late down the stretch landing a number of stinging right hands to slow the Filipino fighter down. Referee Harry Atwood called the contest a draw, although the Oakland Tribune felt Dado had done enough to earn the decision.

Dado is recognized by the California commission and the National Boxing Association as the world champion in the flyweight class, and is ranked #1 by Ring Magazine in the division. The NBA and CSAC announced Dado as the champion in December after former title holder Peter Kane had vacated the title earlier in the year to compete as a bantamweight.

February 1…

Ned Tarleton became the British and Empire featherweight champion for the third time with a 15 round victory over Johnny Cusick at the Liverpool Stadium. The 34 year old Tarleton dropped Cusick for a count of 8 with a right hook in the 6th round, and used "artistry and cunning" to outbox his younger opponent for much of the fight.

February 2…

In a rematch of their gruelling 12 round brawl from a few weeks earlier, Melio Bettina (173) stopped San Francisco’s Fred Apostoli (170 ¾) before over 12,000 fans at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Apostoli’s corner called the scheduled 15 rounder off after their fighter returned to the corner following the 12th session.

Apostoli was half-carried to his corner when the bell ended the twelfth.

His manager, Larrry White, took one look at Apostli and with Trainer Whitey Bimstein, asked the gallant Coast fighter how he felt. Realizing from the mumbled reply that Apostoli was in no condition for further fighting, White signalled to Referee Arthur Donovan that he conceded a knockout victory to Bettina.

...In the dressing room later Dr. John R. Turiga examined Apostoli and recommended that he go to a hospital for observation. Apostoli insisted on walking the short distance to Polyclinic Hospital. - James P. Dawson, New York Times

It had been a wild bloody brawl from the start, with the "relentless though clumsy" Bettina holding a close edge in a bruising first 7 rounds – but from the 8th round on, only "sheer courage" kept Apostoli standing. In each of the last 5 rounds, Apostli removed his mouthpiece which appeared to be bothering him and tossed it to his corner, fighting on without the guard. By the final bell, he was bleeding badly around the mouth. Apostoli was also cut over his left eye, while Bettina suffered a gash by his left eye and on his forehead.

Apostoli was released from the hospital two days later.  His manager wanted him to go to the Mayo Clinic for a thorough examination, but after doctor's at the hospital had given Apostoli the all-clear, the fighter refused the further tests.

1950

January 30...

Johnny Greco (146) retained his Canadian welterweight title before 6,000 fans at the Montreal Forum in a bloody battle with St. Catherines, Ontario’s Fitzie Pruden (144 ¾). Pruden entered the bout with his right eye already swollen, and by the 4th round it had closed completely. Adding to the New York based fighters problems was a cut suffered over the same eye in the second round. Greco was also far from unscathed, having suffered a nasty gash over his left eye in the 3rd round.

In the eighth, blood was pouring down Pruden’s face and body and Greco was well smeared too, both from Pruden’s blood and his own. The fight was stopped at 1:45 of the ninth.

...Both fighters were barely recognizable at the end. - Canadian Press

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Argentinean lightweight Guillermo Giminez (134 ½) scored a shockingly one sided stoppage victory over #1 rated lightweight contender Maxie "Little Duke" Docusen (136) at the Coliseum Arena in New Orleans.

The bout was stopped at the 2:49 mark of the 9th round when Docusen’s manager Bonnie Geigerman jumped into the ring to save his fighter. The New Orleans Filipino entered as a 10 to 1 favorite, but was hammered over the 9 rounds by Giminez.

It was a bad night all around for the Docusen brothers, as older brother Bernard "Big Duke" Docusen also suffered an upset defeat. Fighting at the Philadelphia Arena, Bernard lost a majority decision to local fighter Otis Graham. Graham, a 14 to 5 underdog, rallied strongly over the late rounds after staggering Docusen with a left hook in the 7th.

January 31…

Archie Moore (174) scored a unanimous decision over Bert Lytell (165) over 10 rounds at the Sports Arena in Toledo.  Despite the big weight advantage, Moore found the crafty southpaw a difficult puzzle to solve, only managing to gain an upper hand late in bout by boring in aggressively and forcing Lytell to the ropes.

The officials scores were 5-3 (2 even), 7-2 (1) and 6-3 (1).  The Toledo Blade had Moore in front by a 5-3 (2) score.

It was a close fight all the way with only a hair margin dividing any of the rounds.  Both battlers, past masters at the art of defense, had a hard time breaking through.  Neither was able to land more than a few solid punches that weren't caught on the gloves, arms, or shoulders...  - Lou Klewer, Toledo Blade

Before the bout Lytell said he could make the 160 pound limit with no problem and was hoping to land a title bout with Jake LaMotta...

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Jake LaMotta submitted a signed contract to the International Boxing Club for the defense of his middleweight crown to take place in June. Six fighters are being considered for the opportunity; Ray Robinson, Rocky Graziano, Steve Belloise, Robert Villemain, Laurent Dauthuille and Dave Sands.

LaMotta had until February 1st to sign for a championship bout, or the title would have been declared vacant. The National Boxing Association and NYSAC both prefer title holders defend their crown every 6 months, and LaMotta’s grace period had expired in January.

February 2…

World welterweight champion Sugar Ray Robinson announced that he would defend his title at Madison Square Garden this coming June. As with the case of LaMotta, the 6 month allowance between title defences had expired for Robinson, who last defended his crown in July against Kid Gavilan.

Since stopping Steve Belloise in a bout billed as middleweight title eliminator in August, Robinson has been in regular action against routine opposition in over the limit non-title bouts. The most recent of these was a 4th round stoppage victory on January 30 in New Haven, Connecticut over a completely outclassed George LaRover.

The names that have been mentioned as potential opponents for Robinson include previous title challenger Gavilan, as well as Billy Graham, Charley Fusari, George Costner and lightweight champion, Ike Williams.

February 3...

Charley Burley (162) knocked out  Chuck Higgins (166) in just 77 seconds at the Aragon Gardens in Pittsburgh.  A left hook upstairs, followed by another hook to the body put Higgins down for the 10 count.  Other than a few exhibition bouts, it was the 32 year old Burley's first ring action in over 6 months and just the 4th official bout for the once feared middleweight in the past 2 years.

Check back in next week for more of The Boxing Bulletin's History Corner as we move on to the week of February 5 to February 11.

e-mail Andrew Fruman