Boxing in the 1940s

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Boxing in the 1940s in many ways reflected worldwide events that affected other endeavors as well.

World War II raged early in the decade, and just like baseballers, many popular boxers went overseas to fight for their countries, Joe Louis, Billy Conn, Beau Jack, and Bob Montgomery among them. Louis was used to entice Americans to join the war against Germany, a couple of propaganda movies starring Louis and many propaganda posters being produced. The posters in particular are collectors' items today.. Louis' great rival, Max Schmeling, a life-long opponent of the Nazi regime, was forced by Adolf Hitler to join the German military after his loss to Louis at their 1938 rematch.

Because of the war, many world championship divisions were frozen. Sometimes, a title bout was held five years after the last title bout in that division had been held.

Television was in its infancy in the 1940s, but nonetheless, viewers were treated to many 10-round, non title fights, and many crown challengers became household names under the absence of so many world champions.

The 1940s did have some historic world title fights and rivalries. Louis and Conn met in two fights that became part of boxing lore. Sugar Ray Robinson and Jake LaMotta began their series of famous bouts towards the middle of the decade, Jack and Montgomery fought four times, and Rocky Graziano and Tony Zale starred in what boxing critics have often called one of the fiercest rivalries in boxing history.

The heavyweight division was dominated by Louis, the only man in history to be world champion throughout every year of a decade. He became world champion in 1937 and kept the title until 1949, the year in which Robinson became world welterweight champion, a precursor to becoming the most dominant fighter of the 1950s,

LaMotta lost a highly controversial fight to Billy Fox in 1947. LaMotta later testified he threw the fight to earn a title shot at world middleweight champion Marcel Cerdan,

Contents

[edit] List of fights by year

[edit] 1940

  • January 4- In the first world title fight of the decade, Henry Armstrong retains the world Welterweight title with a fifth round knockout over Joe Ghnouly, St. Louis.
  • January 24- Henry Armstrong retains his world Welterweight title for the second time in one month, defeating Pedro Montanez, who was attempting to become Puerto Rico's second world boxing champion, by a fifteen round decision, at New York.
  • February 9- Joe Louis retains his world Heavyweight title with a close fifteen round split decision over Chile's Arturo Godoy, who was attempting to become both Chile's first world boxing champion and the first Hispanic world Heavyweight champion, in New York.
  • March 1- Henry Armstrong, attempting to become the first world champion in four different divisions in boxing history, is held to a ten round draw (tie) by world Middleweight champion Ceferino Garcia, who retained the title, at Los Angeles.
  • May 10- Lew Jenkins wins the world Lightweight title, knocking out Lou Ambers in three rounds, at New York.
  • June 5- In a rematch of their previous year's bout, world Light Heavyweight champion Billy Conn retains the world title with a fifteen round decision over Gus Lesvenich, Detroit.
  • June 20- In their rematch, Joe Louis again retains the world Heavyweight title against Arturo Godoy, this time by an eighth round knockout. A small riot forms after the fight, held at New York.
  • October 4- Fritzie Zivic, a largely unrecognized boxer who had 77 career defeats, upsets Henry Armstrong, winning a fifteen round unanimous decision and the world's Welterweight title, in New York.

[edit] 1941

  • January 13- Anton Christoforidis becomes the first Greek world boxing champion in history, beating Melio Bettina by a fifteen round decision for the National Boxing Association's vacant world Light-Heavyweight title, in Cleveland.
  • January 17- Fritzie Zivic retains his world Welterweight title with a twelfth round knockout of Henry Armstrong at their New York rematch.
  • May 22- Gus Lesvenich wins the world Light-Heavyweight title, with a fifteen round decision over Anton Christoforidis, at New York.
  • May 23- In an extremely controversial bout, Joe Louis retains his world Heavyweight title with a seventh round disqualification win over Max Baer's brother, Buddy Baer. After the bell to end round six, Louis landed a blow that dropped Baer. Said time-keeper Billy Dechard: Joe hit Baer at least three seconds after the bell sounded. Looking for a disqualification win, Baer's manager announced his fighter would not come out for round seven, and Baer wound up getting disqualified instead. The controversial fight took place in Washington, DC.
  • June 18- Behind on the scorecards, Joe Louis scores a thirteenth round knockout of former world Light-Heavyweight champion Billy Conn to retain the world Heavyweight title, at New York.
  • July 29- Freddie Cochrane wins the world Welterweight title, defeating Fritzie Zivoc with a fifteen round decision, in Newark.

[edit] 1942

  • January 9- In a rematch of their controversial 1941 bout, Joe Louis retains his world Heavyweight title with a first round knockout of Buddy Baer, at New York. The fight is fought as a benefit to the New York Auxiliary of the Naval Relief Society.
  • February 13- Former world Light-Heavyweight champion Billy Conn beats world Middleweight champion Tony Zale by a twelve round unanimous decision in a non-title bout, at New York. This would be Conn's last fight in four years, as he would go on to serve in World War II.
  • June 20- Freddie Mills conquers the British version of the world Light-Heavyweight title with a second round knockout over Len Harvey, in London.
  • August 7- Manuel Ortiz becomes world Bantamweight champion with a twelve round unanimous decision over Lou Salica, in Hollywood.
  • November 20- -Willie Pep wins the world Featherweight championship with a fifteen round decision over Chalky Wright, at New York.

[edit] 1943

[edit] 1944

  • March 3- The third chapter of the Bob Montgomery-Beau Jack rivalry, as Montgomery beats Jack by a fifteen round decision, at New York.
  • March 10- Sal Bartolo beats Phil Terranova by a decision in fifteen rounds to win the National Boxing Association's world Featherweight title, in Boston. Nonetheless, Willie Pep continues being recognized as the sole world Featherweight champion by most fans and the press.
  • May 5- Sal Bartolo retains his NBA world Featherweight title with a fifteen round decision over Phil Terranova at their Boston rematch.
  • August 4- The "War Bonds Fight", $36m is raised to fund the war effort as Beau Jack wins a ten round decision over arch-rival Bob Montgomery in New York. A few weeks later, they were both drafted on the same day by the Army.
  • September 9- Willie Pep retains the world Featherweight title with a fifteen round decision over Chalky Wright at their New York rematch.
  • September 12- Manuel Ortiz retains the world Bantamweight title with a fourth round knockout over Luis Castillo, in Los Angeles.
  • November 14- Manuel Ortiz once again retains his world Bantamweight title with a knockout over Luis Castillo in Los Angeles, this time in round nine.

[edit] 1945

(note on boxing in 1945: because of the events of World War II during this year, there were only two world championship boxing bouts in 1945).

[edit] 1946

[edit] 1947

[edit] 1948

[edit] 1949


Boxing History

Boxing in the 1920s | Boxing in the 1930s | Boxing in the 1940s | Boxing in the 1950s | Boxing in the 1960s | Boxing in the 1970s | Boxing in the 1980s | Boxing in the 1990s | Boxing in the 2000s |
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