Barry Hugman's World Championship Boxing

The weight class, which began as such in 1899, finally gained full recognition when the IBU champion, Georges Carpentier, was matched against Battling Levinsky, who was undoubtedly the top man at the weight in America. Carpentier (171½) had rewon the European title on 19 July 1919 when knocking out Dick Smith (174) inside eight rounds at The Circus, Paris, France, but despite his victory, on 5 February 1920 the IBU stated that although they recognised the weight class as far as they were concerned the world title was vacant. With the promoter, Tex Rickard, looking for a way to build Carpentier into a main-line heavyweight attraction and a worthy opponent for Jack Dempsey he hit upon the idea of reviving the light heavyweight class which, was in fact, the ideal weight division for the Frenchman. Having started out in 1908 as a flyweight Carpentier had moved up the weight scale with aplomb, and as a gamester with a big punch who had beaten many heavyweights he would come to the ring with 83 wins, five draws, ten defeats and one no contest under his belt. A popular fighter who had been an aviator in the French Air Force, winning the Croix de Guerre for gallantry, Carpentier was also a great sportsman. Levinsky, who had put together a record comprising 40 wins, 11 draws and seven defeats, along with 174 no-decision contests since turning pro in 1910, had been claiming the title since beating Jack Dillon on 24 October 1916. Looking at his record, it appears that he more often than not put his so-called title on the line in short no-decision fights or when he was heavier than the opposition.

12 October 1920. Georges Carpentier nd-w co 4 (12) Battling Levinsky

Venue: International League Park, Jersey City, New Jersey, USA. Recognition: World. Referee: Harry Ertle.

Fight Summary: Although a points decision could not be rendered it was advertised as a championship battle, thus giving the 175lbs title international status, with Carpentier (170½) being acknowledged as champion after defeating Levinsky (175) conclusively. The fight itself saw the Frenchman darting around Levinsky, stinging him with smart left leads before dropping him with a sizzling right to the jaw in the second round. Mistakenly given 15 seconds to recover, Levinsky was soon down again. Somehow getting through the third session and making Carpentier miss consistently, eventually a series of rapid-fire head shots dropped Levinsky in a heap to be counted out at 1.07 of the fourth.

11 May 1922. Georges Carpentier w co 1 (20) Ted Kid Lewis

Venue: Olympia, Kensington, London, England. Recognition: World. Referee: Joe Palmer.

Fight Summary: Being no respecter of reputations Lewis (157) immediately went to work on the body, while Carpentier (175), who was soon cut on the mouth, clinched and looked to find a way to keep the English boy at bay. Still Lewis continued to charge in with both hands pumping out, and Carpentier, looking pained, again sought respite by holding on like a limpet. Following flagrant headwork inside the referee tried to part the men physically, but when Lewis stepped back to complain, with his hands at his side, Carpentier drove in a smashing right to the jaw that sent him to the floor to be counted out on the 2.15 mark. For some considerable time afterwards the subject of whether the winning punch had been legal or not in the light of the referee’s instruction to break brought about much discussion.

Carpentier would next defend the title against the wild, hard-hitting Battling Siki, a Senegalese plying his wares in France, who had wins over Rene De Vos, Tom Berry and Harry Reeve (3). In 61 contests, he had 49 wins, three draws and nine defeats since starting out in 1912.

24 September 1922. Battling Siki w co 6 (20) Georges Carpentier

Venue: Buffalo Velodrome, Paris, France. Recognition: World. Referee: Henri Bernstein.

Fight Summary: With a supposedly poor opponent in front of him Carpentier (173½) was expected to win without raising a sweat, and after two rounds of outboxing Siki (174) he dropped his man in the third following a cracking right to the jaw. Getting up at ‘seven’, Siki surprised all in attendance when he immediately went for Carpentier, having the champion down for a short count from a wild swing. Although Carpentier looked weakened he again had Siki down in the fourth, but back came the man from Senegal, throwing all manner of punches. From that moment there was only going to be one winner, even though Carpentier somehow managed to make it through to the end of the fifth. Coming out for the sixth with both eyes almost closed, after Carpentier had been bundled to the floor with obvious damage to his left leg, the fight was halted at 1.10 of the session. Having called for Carpentier’s corner to help their man back to the corner, the referee then announced that he had disqualified Siki for tripping. However, this action caused such uproar among the crowd that the decision was overturned by the judges within the hour on the grounds that the timekeeper had already counted Carpentier out before the contest was stopped.

The French Federation stripped Siki of the world title on 10 November due to him assaulting Francis Descamps, Carpentier’s manager, a few days earlier. The Federation claimed that they were forced to take that action so as not to allow boxing to be dragged through the mud. Following that, the IBU took similar action against Siki on 12 January 1923, only to rescind the decision on 18th February when naming him among their list of world champions. Siki’s first defence would come against the clever, box-fighting Mike McTigue, who had put 122 contests (55 wins, two draws, nine defeats, two no contests and 54 no-decision affairs) under his belt since starting out in 1914, beating men such as Al Thiel (3), Frank Carbone, Jackie Clark (2), Alex Costica (2), George Robinson, Gus Platts, Buck Crouse (2), Jeff Smith, Young Fisher, Johnny Basham and Harry Reeve. Many of his bouts were of the no-decision variety, but they had helped furnish him with the skills required to operate at the highest level.

17 March 1923. Mike McTigue w pts 20 Battling Siki

Venue: Scala Opera House, Dublin, Ireland. Recognition: GB/IBU/NBA/NY/Lineal. Referee: Jack Smith.

Fight Summary: Siki, the recipient of a ‘dodgy’ decision, should have lost his title recognition on the scales when refusing to weigh in, with McTigue (159lbs) knowing full well he was over the limit. However, the fight went ahead with McTigue content to keep Siki off him by dint of a solid left lead, and apart from the 11th round when the Irishman was cut over the right eye he was in well in command. By the 16th, with Siki extremely tired, McTigue took full advantage when swarming all over the champion, smashing in blow after blow while trying for the knockout. The last three sessions saw McTigue belting Siki all over the ring, and when the referee’s decision in his favour was announced the roof nearly came off.

Following the fight the IBU stripped Siki of his European title, despite continuing to recognise him as the world champion until early 1924 and failing to credit McTigue who was seen as the title holder in America and Britain. The IBU, who made the decision to continue to recognise Siki as the world champion because he had not made 175lbs for McTigue, finally ran out of patience with him after he moved to America having failed to defend their version of the championship. Once that decision had been made on 19 November, the IBU stated that they would not accept an American designated world light heavyweight champion until the leading European representative was given a fair crack at the title.

2 August 1923. Mike McTigue nd-w pts 12 Tommy Loughran

Venue: Playground Baseball Park, West New York, New Jersey, USA. Recognition: NBA/NY/GB/Lineal. Referee: Eddie Dugan.

Fight Summary: In what turned out to be a tame affair McTigue (163½) forced the action almost all of the way, having the best of at least ten rounds, his destructive lefts and rights under the heart being particularly effective. Early on, Loughran (166) appeared content to rely on the left jab and an occasional right cross, but from the fourth onwards he was forced to clinch in order to avoid the knockout that the champion was hell-bent on delivering.

4 October 1923. Mike McTigue drew 10 Young Stribling

Venue: The Auditorium, Columbus, Georgia, USA. Recognition: NBA/NY/GB/Lineal. Referee: Harry Ertle.

Fight Summary: Following the fight, in which Stribling (165lbs) had appeared to win eight of the ten rounds and had battered and knocked McTigue (162lbs) down in the tenth round, it was claimed that the latter was forced at gunpoint to fight on even though he had suffered a broken hand. Another bone of contention came when the imported referee first called a draw before changing it to a win for Stribling when intimidated by the crowd, which included hooded Ku Klux Klansmen. Afterwards, when safely back home, the referee's explanation of events saw the fight remaining on record as a draw.

31 March 1924. Mike McTigue nd-l pts 12 Young Stribling

Venue: 113th Regiment Armoury, Newark, New Jersey, USA. Recognition: NBA/NY/GB/Lineal. Referee: Hank Lewis.

Fight Summary: After their previous fiasco Stribling (165) was looking to set the record straight this time around, but although he decked McTigue (166½) with a terrific right cross to the jaw in the tenth round he was unable to keep the champion down. McTigue had been clearly outpointed in every round according to Nat Fleischer, of The Ring magazine, who went on to say “It was a travesty that the champion was able to keep his title as Stribling had been superior in every aspect”. The general feeling was that champions should only be defending their titles in States where decisions could be given.

In early October McTigue was suspended by the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) for repeatedly ignoring its requests to defend against a legitimate challenger, namely Gene Tunney, having demanded fabulous sums and evaded one issue after another. The Commission stipulated that McTigue, who was thinking of taking on the inexperienced Paul Berlenbach, would have to defend against Tunney first before he could fight in New York again.

29 October 1924. Mike McTigue w rtd 6 (12) Frank Carpenter

Venue: Marieville AC, Providence, Rhode Island, USA. Recognition: NBA/GB/Lineal. Referee: Mike Broderick.

Fight Summary: The Providence Evening Bulletin carried adverts showing this to be a billed title bout at 175lbs, with Carpenter in the role of challenger. The paper went on to report that the latter would strive hard to gain the honours. However, it was soon clear that the Freeport man had no right to be in the same ring as McTigue, who did very much as he pleased with him, especially at close quarters. After taking some heavy jolts from the champion’s educated fists Carpenter decided to call it a day at the end of the sixth round.

26 December 1924. Mike McTigue nd-w rsc 4 (10) Italian Jimmy King

Venue: City Auditorium, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Recognition: NBA/GB/Lineal. Referee: Jake Abel.

Fight Summary: Billed as a budding young puncher, King (162) was no match for the experienced champion who felt his way around in the first session before letting the punches go in the second, sending in left jabs, right crosses and wicked blows to the ribs. Down twice for counts of 'nine' in the third, hooks and uppercuts doing the damage, King was again at the mercy of McTigue (162) in the fourth as the slaughter continued. He was eventually rescued by the referee on the 1.26 mark after being dropped from a barrage of hooks. With McTigue well inside 175lbs, the Atlanta Constitution reported that the champion was not figuring on losing this one. The paper went on to say that it was common practice for a champion to protect his title by contractually agreeing in advance that if both men were standing at the final bell a draw would be announced.

7 January 1925. Mike McTigue nd-l pts 12 Mickey Walker

Venue: 113th Regiment Armoury, Newark, NJ, USA. Recognition: NBA/GB/Lineal. Referee: Hank Lewis.

Fight Summary: After hurting both hands early in the fight, McTigue (160), who outweighed the challenger by a whopping 11¼lbs, was content to assume a defensive role in order to hold on to his title recognition. Although Walker (149¾) carried off at least eight of the 12 rounds, despite shaking McTigue up on a number of occasions, he ultimately had to be satisfied with the newspaper verdict.

McTigue was reinstated as champion by the NYSAC on 7 April. With Gene Tunney seemingly preparing for an assault on the heavyweights, McTigue’s first defence in the Empire State would be against Paul Berlenbach. Known as ‘Paralysing Paul’ due to his tremendous punching power, Berlenbach was an open, walk-in fighter who had got his opportunity to challenge for the title after beating the former champion, Battling Siki (w rsc 10 at Madison Square Garden, Manhattan, NYC, New York on 13 March), in what was an eliminating contest. An interesting character who had become deaf-mute when contracting scarlet fever as a youngster, Berlenbach had also been a double Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) champion wrestler before turning to boxing. In a record comprising 28 contests, Berlenbach had put together 24 wins, two draws and one loss as well as participating in a no-decision affair. 

30 May 1925. Paul Berlenbach w pts 15 Mike McTigue

Venue: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NYC, New York, USA. Recognition: NBA/NY/GB/Lineal. Referee: Ed Purdy.

Fight Summary: Defending for only the third time in a decision fight, McTigue (170½) disappointed against the crude Berlenbach (170½) when allowing the ex-wrestler too much room. Despite hurting Berlenbach with trip-hammer rights to the jaw in the sixth and seventh rounds McTigue was strangely lethargic, while his opponent, with just 27 contests under his belt, came through strongly to land the unanimous decision. From round three through to the fifth McTigue boxed cannily as Berlenbach threatened with heavy blows from both hands, but from the eighth onwards he was unable to muster an offensive, spending much of his time avoiding punches coming his way. The ex-champion finished with a badly cut left eye and the knowledge that he could have done better.

13 July 1925. Paul Berlenbach nd-nc 9 (12) Tony Marullo

Venue: Dreamland Park, Newark, New Jersey, USA. Recognition: NBA/NY/GB/Lineal. Referee: Harry Lewis.

Fight Summary: Advertised for the championship with no decision to be given if the fighters were still there at the final bell, both men were thrown out of the ring after 53 seconds of the ninth had elapsed. They had been warned several times by the referee that this was a title fight and should be treated as such. The Chief Deputy Boxing Commissioner had also twice spoken to the third man about it but to no avail. That Marullo (166½) was just about leading on points did not count for much, especially as he was unable to take advantage of the crude, lumbering champion constantly falling about on the ropes in front of him. The official line was that Berlenbach (173½) was carrying his rival. Although Berlenbach pointed out that he had broken his right hand in the fourth round he was told in no uncertain terms that there had been nothing going on even prior to that.

11 September 1925. Paul Berlenbach w rsc 11 (15) Jimmy Slattery

Venue: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NYC, New York, USA. Recognition: NBA/NY/GB/Lineal. Referee: Patsy Haley.

Fight Summary: Never having gone more than ten rounds previously and having been stopped in the third round by Dave Shade three fights earlier was not the best preparation for the 21-year-old Slattery (161½), despite him being a skilful fighter with a good knockout ratio. However, for nine rounds the young challenger drifted around the ring, hands by his side, seemingly boxing his way to victory against the hard-hitting but sluggish Berlenbach (172), who up until that time had not had much success. Then it happened. In the tenth, Slattery, chinned by a series of heavy lefts, was put down for 'eight' and twice for 'nine' before being saved by the bell. Although coming out for the 11th it was obvious to all that Slattery was a beaten fighter, and after being smashed to the canvas on three more occasions for counts of 'nine' the referee rescued him with 92 seconds of the session remaining.

11 December 1925. Paul Berlenbach w pts 15 Jack Delaney

Venue: Madison Square Garden, Manhattan, NYC, New York, USA. Recognition: NBA/NY/GB/Lineal. Referee: Ed Purdy.

Fight Summary: Having already beaten Berlenbach (173½) inside four rounds, Delaney (166) made a solid start before dropping his former victim in the fourth following a crashing right-hand to the jaw. Up at ‘three’, Berlenbach fell over again, obviously dazed, before taking an ‘eight’ count. Strangely, Delaney let the beaten champion off the hook as he failed to go in to finish the job, and from the eighth onwards Berlenbach steadily gained ground to win the majority decision.

10 June 1926. Paul Berlenbach w pts 15 Young Stribling

Venue: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NYC, New York, USA. Recognition: NBA/NY/GB/Lineal. Referee: Jim Crowley.

Fight Summary: A disappointing fight saw a listless Berlenbach (174½) hold on to his championship status by a unanimous decision. This was mainly because Stribling (171) did not wish to mix it at close quarters and made very little effort to, being content to escape unscathed. Before the final bell Stribling’s father pleaded with his son to give it one last go, but even that could not goad him into action.

Even though they had failed to recognise a world light heavyweight champion since stripping Battling Siki, the members of the IBU voted at their conference in July to accept the winner of the forthcoming Berlenbach v Jack Delaney contest as the supreme title holder. Despite losing to Berlenbach in his previous attempt to win the title, following wins over Mike McTigue (w rsc 4 at Madison Square Garden on 15 March 1926) and Maxie Rosenbloom (w pts 10 at The Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on 22 March 1926), Delaney quickly earned himself a return. With 73 fights on the clock, comprising 60 wins, two draws, seven defeats, two no-decisions and two no contests, the sharp-shooting Delaney had also posted victories over George Robinson (2), Steve Choynski, Frank Carbone, Jack McCarron, Lou Bogash, Augie Ratner, Jackie Clark (2), Tommy Loughran, Frank Moody, Tiger Flowers and Johnny Risko.

16 July 1926. Jack Delaney w pts 15 Paul Berlenbach

Venue: Ebbets Field, Brooklyn, NYC, New York, USA. Recognition: World. Referee: Jim Crowley.

Fight Summary: Fighting with a broken left thumb from the second round onwards, Delaney (166½) gained ample revenge for his earlier defeat at the hands of Berlenbach (174½) when being awarded the unanimous decision at the end of a hard-fought contest. Up to the 11th there had been little to choose between them, especially after the challenger had lost the previous four sessions, but from thereon in it was all Delaney as he outscored and outpunched the champion to walk off with the title. In the 13th round it looked as though Berlenbach would be stopped as Delaney cut loose, ripping in vicious uppercuts to the head and solid lefts to head and body, but he kept in the contest by holding on for all he was worth. Although dazed and staggered at times, Berlenbach, by now cut on the left eye, somehow kept going despite taking a constant battering, being almost out on his feet at the final bell.

10 December 1926. Jack Delaney w rsc 3 (15) Jamaica Kid

Venue: State Armoury, Waterbury, Connecticut, USA. Recognition: World. Referee: Young McAuliffe.

Fight Summary: Having initially weighed in at 180lbs the Jamaica Kid (175) was given nearly three hours to take off five pounds before making the weight, but then failed to land a punch of any significance before being floored six times in the third and stopped at 1.13 of the session. Delaney (172½), on top all the way against the crude Kid, showed himself to be fast on his feet, fast with his hands and deadly accurate with left hooks and solid rights to both head and body.

Although the Ring Record Book shows Delaney as having relinquished the title in June 1927, the 9 August edition of Boxing (normally three weeks out of date) reported that Delaney would be relinquishing the championship sometime during the following week in order to fight the Spanish heavyweight, Paulino Uzcudun. Finally, on 10 August, Delaney confirmed that he was relinquishing the title forthwith in a letter to the NYSAC. Further to Delaney moving on, when Tommy Loughran, who had won the NYSAC version of the title when outscoring Mike McTigue on on 7 October 1927, was matched against Jimmy Slattery, the NBA title holder, the world title would also be on the line. Prior to meeting Slattery, the skilful Loughran had run up 102 contests, comprising 47 wins, five draws, seven losses and 43 no-decision affairs. As an excellent counter puncher, who could hit back hard when he had to, he had beaten men of the calibre of Young Fisher, Harry Greb, Ted Moore, Johnny Wilson, Tony Marullo (3), Yale Okun (2), Georges Carpentier, George Manley, Johnny Risko (2), Chuck Wiggins and Young Stribling. His opponent, Slattery, with speed and accuracy to spare, had won the vacant NBA title when outpointing Maxie Rosenloom over ten rounds on 30 August 1927 and was coming to the ring with 88 wins, five defeats and two no-decision contests under his belt since turning pro in November 1921.

12 December 1927. Tommy Loughran w pts 15 Jimmy Slattery

Venue: Madison Square Garden, Manhattan, NYC, New York, USA. Recognition: World. Referee: Lou Magnolia.

Fight Summary: In a battle to unify the title both men proved to be top class, and it was probably the eight-pound weight advantage that helped to swing the fight Loughran’s way towards the finishing line. While Slattery (165½) showed great speed, making Loughran (173½) look pedestrian at times, when he was eventually forced to trade as he slowed it was then that the latter came into his own. Although Slattery had outboxed his man at the start, with snapping left hands scoring points, once Loughran’s body shots began to take effect everything changed. Making his run for home Loughran continuously worked the body and smashed in overarm rights to the head, while Slattery tried his best to fight back but was too tired to make an impression. Press reports suggested that Loughran had won eight rounds to Slattery’s five, with two even, on his way to the unanimous decision.

6 January 1928. Tommy Loughran w pts 15 Leo Lomski

Venue: Madison Square Garden, Manhattan, NYC, New York, USA. Recognition: World. Referee: Jack Denning.

Fight Summary: The challenger, who was known as the ‘Aberdeen Assassin’, quickly proved the moniker was deserved when he smashed Loughran (174½) to the floor with a terrific right to the jaw moments after the fight had started. Somehow Loughran got to his feet at the count of ‘nine’ before being forced to defend as the non-stop Lomski (171) threw leather for fun. As much as Loughran tried to stop all the punches from hitting the target it was impossible, and eventually another right to the jaw sent him down and out in the eyes of most of those in attendance. Luckily for Loughran the bell came to his rescue. Thereafter, Lomski was never given another opportunity as the champion ran for the next few rounds prior to taking up the initiative with accurately placed lefts and rights to well-deserve the unanimous decision in his favour.

1 June 1928. Tommy Loughran w pts 15 Pete Latzo

Venue: Ebbets Field, Brooklyn, NYC, New York, USA. Recognition: World. Referee: Jed Gahan.

Fight Summary: Boxing in front of a 20,000 crowd the champion’s mastery and ring wizardry were too much for Latzo (168), who despite making himself a difficult target as he found a way of sliding under the left lead to score with short-arm blows and roundhouse swings, lacked the ability to make it pay. Although Latzo had a good tenth round, class ultimately told as Loughran (173¾) sailed home to receive the unanimous decision.

16 July 1928. Tommy Loughran w pts 10 Pete Latzo

Venue: Abertillery Park, Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania, USA. Recognition: World. Referee: Leo Houck.

Fight Summary: On a rain-soaked evening in front of 18,000 people Latzo (167½) plunged in recklessly time and again only to be picked off by the champion’s immaculate left hand. While there was a brief success for Latzo in round four when he connected with a heavy left hook that brought blood from his rival’s right eye, an injury that bled for the remainder of the fight, there was no joy for him when he tried to claim a disqualification in the seventh after being hit on the belt line. Loughran (172½), who had Latzo bleeding from the nose and mouth, landed at will with left jabs, left hooks and right uppercuts to run out an easy winner according to all three judges’ cards.

28 March 1929. Tommy Loughran w pts 10 Mickey Walker

Venue: The Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, USA. Recognition: World. Referee: Dave Miller.

Scorecards: 8-1-1, 6-2-2, 4-5-1.

Fight Summary: One newspaper report stated that Loughran (173¼) easily thwarted the challenger’s efforts to land a heavy wallop, either by picking off his blows or by clever evasive tactics, to run out a decisive winner after ten rounds. Realistically, it was much closer than that with Walker (165) starting fast and attacking the body, while the champion surprised him with lightning fast left hands to the head. Although Walker’s pressure began to tell in the middle rounds, Loughran came back with fast one-twos as he began to take control of the contest, nailing his hardy rival with sharp right uppercut counters before jabbing his way to the split decision.

18 July 1929. Tommy Loughran w pts 15 Jim Braddock

Venue: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NYC, New York, USA. Recognition: World. Referee: Eddie Forbes.

Fight Summary: Giving a master class of boxing at its best, Loughran (174) left no room for doubt as to his superiority over Braddock (170) when winning all but one of the 15 rounds contested. The fight had only just begun when Loughran was gashed over the left eye, but he kept the jab going and boxed his way out of trouble. Although Braddock forced the fight throughout he got nowhere, even with his pet right hand, as Loughran moved first one way and then the other, constantly spearing him with the left while making a difficult target. In the sixth Braddock was cut over the right eye, while Loughran also received a gashed forehead. To be fair to Braddock he never gave up trying, but with Loughran giving him few chances the unanimous decision in his favour was a formality.

Loughran relinquished his title on 3 September in order to campaign as a heavyweight. Supported by the NBA, when Maxie Rosenbloom met Jimmy Slattery, the NYSAC champion, the world title would next be at stake on 25 June 1930. Rosenbloom would never satisfy everybody with his style of boxing, always moving, cuffing and making himself a difficult target. Prior to taking on Slattery, a man who had four victories over him, he had put together 138 contests, made up of 94 wins, ten draws, 17 defeats and 17 no-decisions, beating George Courtney, Frank Moody, Dave Shade (2), Lou Scozza, Jamaica Kid, Johnny Wilson (2), Tiger Flowers, Tony Marullo, Pete Latzo, Jack McVey (2), Ted Kid Lewis, Tiger Thomas, Leo Lomski (2), Charley Belanger, Slattery, Joe Skyra, Jim Braddock, Yale Okun and Ace Hudkins. A former NBA champion, Slattery, with 104 wins, eight defeats, three no-decisions and one no contest on his tab, had won the vacant NYSAC version of the title when beating Lou Scozza on 10 February 1930.  

25 June 1930. Maxie Rosenbloom w pts 15 Jimmy Slattery

Venue: Bison Stadium, Buffalo, New York, USA. Recognition: World. Referee: Patsy Haley.

Fight Summary: In this, the sixth meeting between the pair, and a contest that would unify the title, Rosenbloom (170½) was wise to his rival’s moves as he slapped and cuffed Slattery (166½) around for the full 15 rounds, his speed being a deciding factor. However, although the verdict was split the fact that Rosenbloom barely landed with the knuckle part of the glove caused much dissent among the 15,000 crowd. Interestingly, while two judges voted for Rosenbloom, the referee, who had almost been knocked out by one of the latter’s wild swings, voted for Slattery.

22 October 1930. Maxie Rosenbloom w rsc 11 (15) Abie Bain

Venue: Madison Square Garden, Manhattan, NYC, New York, USA. Recognition: World. Referee: Lou Magnolia.

Fight Summary: Defending his title against the promising Bain (171½), the first round saw Rosenbloom (174½) reeling around the ring after being hit by a big left hook to the jaw. Rosenbloom then grabbed hold of his rival and hung on for dear life despite the referee’s efforts to break them. Having made it to the bell, Rosenbloom completely outboxed and outpunched Bain from thereon in before the third man stepped in to rescue the latter, bleeding from a deep cut, at 1.47 of the 11th.

5 August 1931. Maxie Rosenbloom w pts 15 Jimmy Slattery

Venue: Ebbets Field, Brooklyn, NYC, New York, USA. Recognition: World. Referee: William McPartland.

Fight Summary: Slapping and cuffing his way through the bout Rosenbloom (171½) met with little resistance from Slattery (170½) despite his title being on the line. He even landed the better quality punches. The longer the contest went the more boring it became, and the unanimous decision in Rosenbloom’s favour was a formality. With four victories over Rosenbloom from a possible six Slattery was expected to do a lot better, but having failed to produce he retired five fights later.

At the NBA convention held on 14-16 September, the Association withdrew recognition from Rosenbloom and set up an eliminating series in Chicago, Illinois to find a new champion. The move, generally felt to have been a political one, saw the NBA suffer much ridicule at the hands of The Ring magazine and the press, especially as Rosenbloom had defended against Slattery just six weeks earlier.

14 July 1932. Maxie Rosenbloom w pts 15 Lou Scozza

Venue: Bison Stadium, Buffalo, New York, USA. Recognition: NY/Lineal. Referee: Gunboat Smith.

Fight Summary: Piling on the pressure in the first half of the fight Rosenbloom (175) had too much of everything for the plodding Scozza (173), who despite being cuffed and slapped tried his utmost to get to close quarters where he would be more effective. Often Scozza was left floundering as the champion used the ring, and in the seventh he was floored by a looping right to the jaw before jumping up without a count. However, from the 11th Rosenbloom was in trouble as Scozza began to find his mark, the former eventually being dropped by a heavy right to the jaw for ‘nine’ in the 14th. Although shaken up the champion weathered the storm to win by a majority.

10 March 1933. Maxie Rosenbloom w pts 15 Adolf Heuser

Venue: Madison Square Garden, Manhattan, NYC, New York, USA. Recognition: NY/Lineal. Referee: Jed Gahan.

Fight Summary: Making an excellent start the challenger battered Rosenbloom (174) almost groggy in the second when landing a series of left and right hooks to the jaw, and in the sixth he buckled the latter’s knees following a savage left hook to the body. Unfortunately for the stubborn Heuser (172), who had won all but one session prior to the seventh, he began to tire. The tide then turned in the eighth, Rosenbloom slapping in blows at the rate of ten to one as he moved on to take the next five rounds with ease. Although the German rallied to even the last two frames it came as no surprise that Rosenbloom took the unanimous verdict. Bloody but unbowed, Heuser finished with his left eye almost closed, damage to nose and mouth and covered in welts, while Rosenbloom was unmarked.

24 March 1933. Maxie Rosenbloom w rsc 4 (15) Bob Godwin

Venue: Madison Square Garden, Manhattan, NYC, New York, USA. Recognition: NY/Lineal. Referee: Pete Hartley.

Fight Summary: Having received a badly gashed right eye in his fight with Joe Knight that was further damaged in training, necessitating five stitches, Godwin (167¼) was a beaten man from the start. It was soon clear that he should never have been allowed to fight Rosenbloom (174¾). Dropped twice by the champion in the first, after the wound reopened in the second the referee called it off at 1.16 of the fourth. Nat Fleischer, writing in The Ring magazine, stated that Godwin should never have been passed by the doctors, especially as he had appeared at the weigh-in with plaster dressing over both eyes.

Further to the NBA title being vacated on the result the Association sent out a questionnaire to its members asking whether Rosenbloom should be recognised, and on receiving an insufficient number of favourable replies decided not to give him their blessing. The British Boxing Board of Control (BBBoC) were among those who felt that Rosenbloom was an unworthy champion, saying that they would not recognise him until he met Jack Petersen. Then, on 22 June, in a further response, the BBBoC wrote to the NBA stating that as Len Harvey was the new British champion, having beaten Eddie Phillips (w pts 15 at Olympia, London on 12 June), he should be seen as a logical challenger instead of Petersen. It is thought that neither the BBBoC nor the IBU, who were removed from the NBA at their September convention, recognised Rosenbloom as champion from thereon in. Despite all the misgivings, the NBA announced at their convention that they would finally recognise Rosenbloom as champion, regardless of the fact that he had twice been beaten by John Henry Lewis on points over ten rounds at the Civic Auditorium, San Francisco, California in non-title contests on 10 and 31 July and did not have the full support of their membership.

3 November 1933. Maxie Rosenbloom w pts 15 Mickey Walker

Venue: Madison Square Garden, Manhattan, NYC, New York, USA. Recognition: NBA/NY/Lineal. Referee: Eddie Forbes.

Scorecards: 11-3-1, 9-6, 4-9-2.

Fight Summary: Even though the New York Times reported earlier that Rosenbloom (173¾) had been warned by the NYSAC that he must discard his open-glove style of slapping, cuffing and mauling he still managed to give one of his unorthodox displays when holding and hitting Walker (173½) on the break, for which he was repeatedly warned by the referee. With respect to the closed glove situation Rosenbloom did at least do his best on that score despite never really hurting Walker, and at times he wound up the right hand rather like a baseball pitcher. Regardless, apart from the ninth round when Walker hurt him with lusty two-fisted blows through to the bell, the cagey Rosenbloom, who finished carrying a cut over the right eye, was generally much too clever for his rival, keeping him off balance and at arm's length for most of the time.

15 February 1934. Maxie Rosenbloom drew 15 Joe Knight

Venue: MSG Stadium, Miami, Florida, USA. Recognition: NBA/NY/Lineal. Referee: Harry Graham.

Scorecards: 74-76, 75-75, 75-75.

Fight Summary: Although only ten-rounders were allowed in Florida at the time, the contest went ahead as a billed title fight over 15 rounds after the political ‘okay’ was received. Finding the going tough, as Knight (173), a southpaw forced the fight, Rosenbloom (174) soon resorted to his well-known back-hand slapping and open glove slashing before the referee deducted a point from him in eighth. Despite the champion continuing to crouch low and hit with the open glove he received no further warnings, whereas Knight, who was the cleaner puncher of the pair, appeared to have won at the final bell, especially when Rosenbloom congratulated him on winning before a drawn verdict was announced. Following an investigation by the Miami Boxing Commission the referee was suspended for 30 days, having allowed the champion to continually use illegal blows.

After the Miami Boxing Commission stripped Rosenbloom on 12 September for not being able to make a match with Knight they handed the title to the latter, a decision which was rubber-stamped by the authorities representing North Carolina and Georgia. A few days later, on 16 September, Rosenbloom was stripped by the NBA. On 19 July, after Rosenbloom had been instructed by the NYSAC to sign for a defence against either Knight or Bob Olin within 30 days, it was announced that he would meet the latter in New York on 16 August. However, on 2 August it was learned that contracts of the prospective contest had not even been submitted to the NYSAC due to an enquiry in progress which was looking into whether Frank Bachman, Rosenbloom’s manager, was also involved with Olin in a financial capacity. The fight was finally given clearance by the NYSAC on 5 October when it was announced that it would go ahead on 16 November. Olin had hardly set the world alight, but in 61 contests, of which he had won 44, drawn four and lost 13, he had boxed his way to number three in the ratings with two recent wins over Bob Godwin and had beaten fighters such as Joe Banovic, Al Gainer, Willie Bush and Don Petrin along the way. A hurtful puncher, he was clever with good defensive skills and was durable.  

16 November 1934. Bob Olin w pts 15 Maxie Rosenbloom

Venue: Madison Square Garden, Manhattan, NYC, New York, USA. Recognition: NY/Lineal. Referee: Arthur Donovan.

Scorecards: 5-8-2, 9-5-1, 8-6-1.

Fight Summary: In what was deemed by most of the press and audience present as a huge miscarriage of justice, Olin (173) beat Rosenbloom (173½) after the two men outside the ring decided in his favour. Prior to the fight Rosenbloom was told that unless he hit with the knuckle part of the glove throughout he would be penalised, and to all intents and purposes the champion did just that. By rights Rosenbloom should have won the decision when picking up at least ten rounds with much superior boxing to that of his foe, who had connected with far fewer blows and was generally outpunched and certainly outmanoeuvred. Although Olin was the aggressor during the first 11 rounds he was well outboxed in at least seven of them, while Rosenbloom swarmed all over his rival in the last four to win going away according to the unbiased Nat Fleischer, writing in The Ring magazine. Fleischer stated that unless the NYSAC acted quickly over the quality of some of their judges there would be no more title fights held in the State as they would have become the laughing stock of boxing.

Within a few weeks of the contest the NBA stated that they would be happy to recognise Olin as the champion, but would look to him to meet the winner of a fight between John Henry Lewis and Tony Shucco, won by the former on points over ten rounds at Madison Square Garden on 14 December. Having secured a title shot, Lewis would come to the ring with a record of 48 wins, four draws and six defeats, beating among others, Yale Okun (2), Jim Braddock, Fred Lenhart, Lou Scozza, Maxie Rosenbloom (2), Don Petrin, Emilio Martinez and Olin. However, somewhat surprisingly, he lost to Rosenbloom and Abe Feldman immediately prior to meeting Olin.

31 October 1935. John Henry Lewis w pts 15 Bob Olin

Venue: The Arena, St Louis, Missouri, USA. Recognition: NBA/NY/Lineal. Referee: Walter Heisner.

Fight Summary: In his first defence Olin (175) was unlucky to come up against an outstanding challenger in Lewis (174½), but in losing by a unanimous decision he went down in glorious fashion when fighting against the odds. Taking a severe beating in most of the rounds, Olin manfully stuck to his guns despite being battered from pillar to post at times. Olin’s bravery had the crowd on his side as Lewis eventually grew weary of hitting him, and he even blasted back in the 13th before staggering through the next two sessions to make it to the final bell. Never one to set the pulses racing when winning, in defeat Olin finally got the kudos he deserved.

13 March 1936. John Henry Lewis w pts 15 Jock McAvoy

Venue: Madison Square Garden, Manhattan, NYC, New York, USA. Recognition: GB/NBA/NY/Lineal. Referee: Arthur Donovan.

Fight Summary: Outreached and carrying a badly injured right hand into the fight, McAvoy (168¼) was well in the running before the novocaine wore off in the middle rounds and forced him to concentrate on defence. Lewis (172¼) was a master at long range, but once the problems of the challenger surfaced he hit his man with all the punches in the book. From thereon in it was only the bobbing and weaving style of the Englishman, coupled with his toughness that kept him upright. Even though the decision was unanimous in favour of Lewis the crowd booed vociferously.

For some reason known only to themselves the IBU announced at their congress on 8 August that they would recognise the winner of the forthcoming European title fight between Heinz Lazek and Gustave Roth as world champion.

9 November 1936. John Henry Lewis w pts 15 Len Harvey

Venue: The Arena, Wembley, London, England. Recognition: GB/NBA/NY/Lineal. Referee: Jack Smith.

Fight Summary: For the whole 15 rounds the pair entertained the big crowd with their quality, although it was noticeable that the champion’s fists carried more authority, especially after the Englishman’s right hand went in the third. However, Harvey (172), carrying a damaged left eye, put on a tremendous display of ring-craft to make things difficult for Lewis (173½). And in the last three rounds, fighting as if his life depended on it, he came with a rush in a desperate effort to swing the referee’s decision.

3 June 1937. John Henry Lewis w rsc 8 (15) Bob Olin

Venue: The Arena, St Louis, Missouri, USA. Recognition: GB/NBA/NY/Lineal. Referee: Walter Heisner.

Fight Summary: Having kept Olin (174¾) at arm's length during the opening two sessions, Lewis (174) opened up in the third with a vicious body attack. After putting Olin down in the fourth with a cracking right under the heart that fractured a rib, Lewis continued to attack the body from there onwards. Those tactics certainly paid dividends, and at 1.20 of the eighth with the challenger down for the second time in the round the referee stopped the fight.

During an international boxing convention held in Rome, Italy, which concluded on 20 April, the IBU agreed to  recognise Lewis in an effort to stand by one universally acknowledged champion, who, in turn, would have to concede to regular defences decided by the new Federation.

25 April 1938. John Henry Lewis w co 4 (15) Emilio Martinez

Venue: The Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. Recognition: World. Referee: Britt Gorman.

Fight Summary: Jabbing and moving with great skill, Lewis (174¾) hurt Martinez (174) badly in the opening session before scoring at will with telling lefts and rights in the second and third rounds. In the fourth, Lewis, having set Martinez up with the left, caught him flush with a right to the jaw, a punch that saw the challenger counted out on the 0.54 mark.

On 27 July, Lewis was warned that he would forfeit NYSAC recognition under the six-monthly defence ruling after refusing to fight in the ‘Empire City’. He was then given until the end of October to defend in New York. This action, which was followed by Lewis taking the NYSAC to the Supreme Court, resulted in him being granted the right to appeal against the NYSAC’s decision.

28 October 1938. John Henry Lewis w pts 15 Al Gainer

Venue: The Arena, New Haven, Connecticut, USA. Recognition: GB/NBA/Lineal. Referee: Dave Fitzgerald.

Fight Summary: Carrying the fight to Gainer (170) from the off Lewis (174) jabbed, hooked and sunk his right repeatedly under the heart to win at least ten of the 15 rounds, according to Nat Fleischer of The Ring magazine. Although the challenger looked to counter most of the time Lewis’ blocking of blows was superb, and when Gainer got through he was unable push on. Gainer’s best rounds were the eighth through to the 11th when he fought viciously to turn the tide, but Lewis came back strongly right through to the end even though he had to take several stiff punches to the jaw before winning the unanimous decision. Prior to the fight there was much controversy after Lewis and Gainer weighed in at 10am instead of 1pm without the press being present. 

Following his defeat at the hands of Joe Louis in a crack at the heavyweight title, Lewis went forward to defend against Dave Clark in the latter’s home city on 31 March. However, the fight was prevented from taking place when two doctors failed Lewis regarding his eyesight. At this point, John Roxborough, Clark’s manager, claimed the title on behalf of his charge, while Grippo wrote to the NBA asking them to consider Melio Bettina, the NYSAC title holder, as their champion. Both claims were immediately rebuffed. Nat Fleischer, of The Ring magazine, then attacked the NYSAC for allowing Lewis to fight Joe Louis when it must have been obvious that his eyesight had already failed. It did not stop there, however. With Lewis still claiming the championship, he travelled to England to make a defence against Len Harvey in London, but after the BBBoC doctors inspected his eyesight on arriving he was immediately stopped from fighting in Britain. Prior to that, the NBA had actually implied that Lewis’ eye damage was not as bad as first thought and were still considering him to be their champion. Back in America, Lewis was forced to retire on 19 June 1939 when banned by the NBA from fighting due to failing eyesight. Lewis’ enforced retirement was followed by a match made between the top-rated Bettina and Billy Conn, ranked second. With the vacant NBA and NYSAC titles on the line the contest should be seen as providing a new champion. Conn, who had won 45 and drawn two of 56 since turning pro at 17 four years earlier, had twice beaten the reigning NBA middleweight champion, Solly Krieger, as well as the NYSAC equivalent, Fred Apostoli. Fast on his feet with hand-speed to match, Conn was a box-fighter of the highest order. With 45 wins, two draws and six defeats on his record since October 1934, Bettina had won the vacant NYSAC version of the title when stopping Tiger Jack Fox inside nine rounds on 3 February 1939 and as a clever southpaw would not be an easy man to cast aside.