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

By Andrew Fruman

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

In this edition...

• Tony Canzoneri vs Stanislaus Loayza - New York, March 14, 1930
• Milt Aron vs Bep Van Klaveren & Fritzie Zivic vs Johnny Barbara - Chicago, March 14, 1940
• John L. Davis vs Giuseppe Colasanti - Oakland, March 15, 1950
• Willie Pep vs Ray Famechon - World Bantamweight Title, New York, March 17, 1950
• Plus plenty more fight reports and pugilistic news of the times...

1930

March 13…

At Pompton Lakes, New Jersey, Johnny Paycheck started serious training for his heavyweight title shot against Joe Louis. Along with his trainer Harry Jacobs, the massive long shot is working with former lightweight king Benny Leonard (pictured on the right with Paycheck, Antiquities of the Prize Ring) in preparations for the March 29 bout.

Leonard told the United Press that Paycheck has all the right attributes to pull the upset…

Paycheck is a beautiful boxer who moves about like a phantom. He uses his noodle every second he’s in the ring. He can punch, too. Few people – particularly in the east – realize that. He has a fine straight right and a great left hook to the body.

- Benny Leonard

March 14…

Thanks to a strong finish over the final two rounds, Belgian middleweight Rene DeVos (159) won a unanimous decision over Texan Clyde Chastain (157 ½) at the Chicago Stadium. Until DeVos (pictured, Antiquities of the Prize Ring) opened up in the ninth and tenth rounds, the bout had been a very dreary affair with referee Dave Barry frequently urging the fighters to show more action.

The late round push from DeVos entitled him to the decision in the eyes of The Chicago Tribune, but the spectators that been howling for more action weren’t impressed and booed the verdict.

Following the DeVos/Chastain bout, which had been billed as the main-event, local fighter Paul Pantaleo and Ernie Schaaf of Boston gave the fans their money’s worth, with a spirited 10 rounder. The heavyweights traded leather all the way and the decision was a draw.

*   *   *   *

Former featherweight champion Tony Canzoneri (131) outclassed Chilean Stanislaus Loayza (135 ½) over 10 one sided rounds at New York’s Madison Square Garden. The lightweights had met several months earlier in Chicago, in what had been a far more competitive battle.

Canzoneri (pictured, Antiquities of the Prize Ring) used brilliant footwork, and a sharp left hand to keep the big punching Loayza at a distance, while finding the mark with cracking right hands when the Chilean did get close.

Calling on every trick at his command Canzoneri won nine of ten rounds, losing but the fourth in an exhibition of boxing’s highest standard which thrilled the half-filled Garden…

He did about everything to Loayza but knock him out, and he failed in this only because the Chilean is about the most difficult target in the lightweight ranks, which his crouching, weaving, shuffling style.

– James P. Dawson, New York Times

Loayza had successfully bullied the New York fan favorite around the ring in the fourth round, but by the following session Canzoneri had the made the necessary adjustments to retain control.

Edward J. Neil of the Associated Press reported that most ringsiders gave Canzoneri every round, and the fan favourite was "once more the grand performer."

However, the opinion that Cazoneri was as good as ever was not unanimous…

The former world’s featherweight champion won six of the 10 rounds and earned a draw in two more, but showed none of the class of his younger days. Loayza appeared to have slipped back even further than his opponent. Both tried to make a sensational scrap but they stumbled around like second raters and failed to furnish a single thrill.

– United Press

According to the UP, Canzoneri was "washed up" as a title contender and the field of contenders to Sammy Mandell’s crown had been narrowed to Jack "Kid" Berg and Al Singer.

March 16…

In Lake Worth, Florida, the local boxing commission reversed a draw verdict handed out two nights earlier by referee Billy Roche, and made Indianapolis fighter Roy Wallace a winner over New Yorker Yale Okun. According to the Associated Press, the consensus amongst the ringside press had Wallace winning seven rounds to two, with one even.

March 17…

At the St. Nicholas Arena in New York Lightweight contender Al Singer (135) knocked out veteran Eddie Wagner (136) of Philadelphia in the third round of a bout that had spectators loudly jeering the action…

After a speedy first round in which Singer outpointed his rival, Wagner started hitting the floor on the slightest provocation and it appeared to many observers at times without any provocation at all.

– James P. Dawson, New York Times

The crowd started leaving the arena and loudly making their displeasure known at the end of the second session, a round in which Singer (pictured, Antiquities of the Prize Ring) dropped Wagner twice for nine counts. Wagner was sent to the canvas four more times in the third round, staying down for the full count after being dropped by a right to the jaw.

Perhaps Wagner, a fighter well past his prime, just showed up for the payday and didn’t give his best, but the opening knockdown in the second round was reportedly a left that landed high on the head - an area that can throw a fighter’s equilibrium off even if the punch doesn’t connect flush.

* * * *

In St. Paul, middleweight contender Gorilla Jones (156) won the newspaper decision over local middleweight Jock Malone (157).

Managing to avoid Jones’ right hand, Malone was competitive in the early going, but was no match for the Akron fighter as the bout wore on. The United Press reported that from the fourth round until the end, Jones’ gloves "thudded against his jaw and body with increasing regularity."

It was the second win of the week for Jones (pictured, Antiquities of the Prize Ring). Three days earlier, he stopped Mayer Grace in Akron.

* * * *

World middleweight champion Mickey Walker made quick work of Jimmy Mahoney at the White City Arena in Chicago…

About 3,500 fans paid $7,000 to see Mickey flatten his opponent with a left hook to the jaw after the second round was one minute and seven seconds old.

– Chicago Tribune

It was the third time Mahoney had been down in the round, with a left hook and a right cross doing the damage on those prior occasions.

* * * *

On the strength of a "rapier-like" left jab, Tommy Loughran (190) defeated Jack Renault (210) over the ten round route at the Arena in Philadelphia. The venue was packed as the bout marked the first time Loughran (pictured, Antiquities of the Prize Ring) had fought in his hometown in almost two years.

Monday night, the fans saw a bigger if not better Loughran. His added poundage slowed him up a bit, but he was still too fast and too clever for the Canadian veteran.

– Associated Press

1940

March 14…

Two top rated welterweights featured at the Coliseum in Chicago with Milt Aron (pictured, Antiquities of the Prize Ring) and Fritzie Zivic both scoring wins.

Aron (150 ½) won a unanimous decision over European middleweight champion Bep Van Klaveren (152 ½), winning by one point in the opinion of the two judges, and 6 points on Referee Tommy Thomas’ scorecard. The Chicago Tribune had the rangy Aron a comfortable winner over his stocky opponent, but reported that the decision was not popular with the crowd.

With the victory, Aron maintained his hold of the National Boxing Association’s #1 contender ranking to Henry Armstrong’s title. Aron earned the top spot with a come from behind victory over Zivic back in December.

In the semi-final bout, Zivic (147) received a scare from local fighter Johnny Barbara (151 ¾). The former golden gloves finalist sent the Pittsburgh fighter to the canvas for a 5 count in the third round with a right hand, and scored another knockdown the following round with a left to the chin.

Zivic came back strong, scoring a knockdown in the sixth round and controlling the second half of the bout to earn the unanimous decision. Going into the bout, Barbara had reportedly been showing a good deal of improvement and the Chicago Tribune had predicted he had the chance to spring the surprise.

Up and coming heavyweight Lem Franklin was also on the show, scoring a one sided fifth round stoppage of Philadelphia fighter Willie Reddish. As an amateur, Franklin was the 1937 international Golden Gloves champion.

March 18…

At the Marigold Gardens in Chicago, Jimmy Bivins (158) pulled away over the last three rounds to win his second straight bout over Detroit fighter Joe Sutka (158). With the victory the promising 20 year old from Cleveland moved his record to a perfect 4-0.

1950

March 14…

Top 10 rated bantamweight Reuben Smith (122) , came on strong down the stretch to win a ten round decision from Jackie McCoy (125 ½) in a battle of local fighters at the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles.

McCoy got off to a good start thanks to a sharp left jab, but by the fifth round had slowed down under a non-stop two handed attack from Smith…

As the fracas continued Smith carried a steady stream of leather to McCoy. The latter fought back but seemed to lose some of his steam after each inning.

McCoy made a belated stab for the duke in the ninth when he put all he had into a swarm of punches aimed at Smith’s head and body. In the wild exchange Reuben caught two solid left hooks to the chops. The blows, though, didn’t seem to faze the game Los Angeles Negro, who fought back without skipping a beat.

Both boys slugged it out in the final canto with Smith’s harder blows earning him the round

– Cal Whorton, Los Angeles Times

The judges both had Smith up by 4 points, while referee Mushy Callahan had Smith a 5 point winner. The Times had Smith just edging the bout by a single point.

March 15…

Fresh off a hard fought 10 round split decision loss to lightweight champion Ike Williams two weeks earlier, highly rated contender John L. Davis (135) was given a tougher than expected go by Italian Giuseppe Colasanti (135) at the Auditorium in Oakland.

Colasanti, a willing but cautious worker, spent the whole 10 rounds backing away from the hard punching Oaklander. Beppe stopped long enough to throw punches from time to time but they had little effect on the iron-jawed Davis.

John took dozens of left hooks and right crosses from Beppe but never once did he stop moving forward. When Beppe was unable to avoid Davis’ blows any other way, he went into a low crouch that somewhat befuddled Davis. And at times John L. actually had to go into a dog trot to catch up with his short opponent.

– Jack Gallagher, Oakland Tribune

Nearly dropped in the final frame, Colosanti looked in rough shape at the final bell, with cuts over both eyes and around the nose. The Oakland Tribune had Davis (pictured, Antiquities of the Prize Ring) ahead by a substantial margin.

Davis is scheduled to return to action on April 5 for an American Legion benefit show in Oakland against former lightweight champion, Sammy Angott.

* * * *

The Veterans Administration in Washington turned down a pension application from a destitute Oscar "Battling" Nelson…

Nelson’s application said he served in the Army from May to September, 1898. The VA spokesman said the Army checked all available records of both the regular Army and all volunteer units without avail and that the South Dakota adjutant general’s office had made a vain hunt.

– Associated Press

The 67 year old Nelson had been let go a week earlier from a temporary job as a post-office clerk in Chicago that had been paying him $22 a week.

March 16…

At the Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, local light-heavyweight Dave Whitlock (176 ½) won a ten round unanimous decision over highly touted Rex Layne (183). It was the first pro defeat for the 21 year old Layne (pictured, Antiquities of the Prize Ring) after opening up his career with seventeen straight wins, including a victory over Whitlock in his most recent outing.

Layne rated as one of the country’s outstanding young heavyweight prospects, lacks the experience to go against top-notchers at this stage of the game. Although he looks a like a diamond in the rough, Rex still has plenty to learn.

– Jack Gallagher, Oakland Tribune

Whitlock came close to recording the stoppage near the end, as an exhausted Layne struggled to stay on his feet over the final two sessions.

March 17…

At Madison Square Garden in New York, Willie Pep (124 ¾) defended his featherweight title with a unanimous decision over Ray Famechon (125) of France. The scores were 12-3, 9-3-3 and 11-3-1 for the Hartford fighter, but loud jeers greeted the action in almost every round as the restless crowd were far from impressed with the Pep’s manner of fighting.

Rarely opening up with a right hand, Pep used his legs and a steady left jab to deal with his awkward opponent’s constant pressure. The champion also clinched frequently and spun Famechon around when the French fighter did manage to get inside, tactics that didn’t endear Pep to the crowd.

Despite the less than crowd pleasing exhibition and thunderous boos that greeted the decision, the official scores were not in question as it was a clear victory for the title holder…

Pep suffered a slightly gashed right brow in the 11th round, but was in trouble at no time during the dull, uninteresting spectacle. Although Pep used back-pedalling, side-stepping, and spinning tactics throughout the fight, it was he who landed nearly all of the punches.

– Jack Cuddy, United Press

In one of the bouts few highlights, Pep nearly scored a knockdown with a left hook that caught the challenger flush on the chin in the sixth round. Famechon staggered backward towards the ropes, but didn’t go down…

Pep was so confident that the punch had knocked his rival down that he turned his back and went to a neutral corner to await a count. There was none forthcoming, however, and in a few seconds the surprised Pep found himself a target for an avalanche of Famechon blows.

– Joseph C. Nichols, New York Times

It was Pep  that was on the canvas a couple rounds later, but not from any legal blow, as Famechon wrestled him down during one of the bouts many untidy moments (pictured, Antiquities of the Prize Ring). Pep was also shoved almost through the ropes at one stage in the eleventh, and was himself warned by referee Ruby Goldstein in the thirteenth round for spinning and using the heel of his glove.

Famechon, who was performing in this country for the first time, showed himself a game, willing warrior, with plenty of strength and in the finest of condition. But those were the only things in his favour…

His boxing was decidedly on the crude side, and his knowledge of infighting was so limited that he permitted himself to get into the most grotesque poses when he tried to match the wily Willie in the close-quarter exchange of holds.

– Joseph C. Nichols

After the bout, Pep said he was ready to defend his title against any challenger, including his notable rival, Sandy Saddler. According to Pep’s manager Lou Viscusi, Saddler has been offered $25,000 (to Pep’s $100,000) for a third meeting, but has been holding out for twice that.

For defeating Famechon, Pep received 40% of the net gate, which worked out to $21,250. The challenger settled for 10%.

For more great boxing photos of the past, make sure to visit Antiquities of the Prize Ring.

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

e-mail Andrew Fruman