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Progress is still slowed by technical problems with the program, but here is the recap of action from the second half of Feb. 1930.

Feb. 15, 1930: Next fight card is in Rome, Italy. Kid Socks defends the EBU title he won over two years ago for the first time; his opponent, Johnny Vacca, is the man he defeated for the title in late 1927. Vacca, the “Midget Organ Grinder,” has won seven in a row since that loss to earn another title shot. The pro-Vacca crowd is fully behind the challenger for this rematch, and he responds, opening a cut over Socks’ right eye in round four. Near the end of round six, Vacca rocks Socks with a right hook. Vacca keeps up the pressure and registers a solid UD 12 win (117-111, 118-110, 119-109) to move to 23-2 (11) while Socks is now 22-12-1 (8).

Feb. 15, 1930: Action moves to the Kiel Center in St. Louis. Tonight’s feature bout is for the USBA JLW title, as “Little Fish” Benny Bass challenges Jack Bernstein for the belt. Turns out to be a close, tough battle, and Bass begins to pull ahead in the middle rounds. Bernstein has his best round in the 10^th, when he causes Bass’ right eye to swell, but Bass regains the control to take the title with a solid UD 12 win (117-111, 117-111, 117-110). Bass now moves to 33-9-3 (12) overall, while Bernstein is now 26-16-1 (6).

Feb. 21, 1930: Friday night action moves Down Under to Melbourne, Australia. Main support bout sees veteran ex-WBA king Harry Wills matched with top current Aussie HW George Cook in a 10-round non-title affair. Cook is the early aggressor, while Wills (now in the twilight of his long career) looks old and shopworn. Cook sets a relentless pace but Wills does manage to last the distance before the UD 10 goes Cook’s way (98-93, 96-94, 97-93). Cook improves to 36-18-2 (17) with the win while Wills is now 61-12-1 (47) – Cook’s win knocks the aging “Black Panther” out of the top 10 HW ranks for the first time in 17 years. After this, it’s time for the main event as ex-Champ Chick Suggs challenges Louis Kaplan for the WBA FW title. After a cautious start by both men, Suggs gradually steps up the pace as the bout enters the middle rounds. Kaplan tries to battle back but lacks the firepower to bother Suggs. The bout ends suddenly in the 12^th when Suggs lands a huge shot that puts Kaplan down and out. Thus, the title changes hands; the KO 12 moves Suggs to 36-10-4 (12) as he regains the belt. Kaplan’s career totals dip to 35-8-1 (10) with the loss.

Feb. 22, 1930: Back to the UK for some fight action at the Olympia in London. It’s a rematch of an April 1928 bout featuring all-time great Benny Leonard against hometown favorite Bermondsey Billy Wells. The bout evolves into a close, tactical battle. After a huge round five, Leonard appears to have the upper hand through the middle rounds and a slight advantage in the later rounds. However, the crowd and perhaps some hometown judging is enough to allow Wells to secure a draw, probably the equivalent of a moral victory since he dropped a MD 10 to Leonard in 1928. Post-fight records: Leonard, 74-4-2 (41); Wells, 46-12-3 (16).

Feb. 22, 1930: Madison Square Garden in New York City is the venue for another loaded fight card, headed by two title bouts, one for the WBA crown. First, though, in one of the main support bouts, hot MW prospect “Harlem Thunderbolt” Harry Smith is forced to go the distance for the first time in his young career; he takes a UD 10 (96-94, 97-93, 98-92) over Tony Tozzo to move to 13-0 (12)’ Tozzo drops to 12-2-1 (9). The co-main event matches Dynamite Murphy against Eddie “Cannonball” Martin for Martin’s USBA BW belt. This bout sees Martin seize control from the outset, battering Murphy around the challenger’s left eye, then taking a rather lopsided UD 12 (117-112, 118-110, 118-109); the win moves Martin to 28-10-3 (15) while Murphy emerges at 24-15-2 (10). Finally, it is time for the main event, a long-awaited clash for the WBA HW crown – as Young Stribling, the “King of the Canebrakes,” defends against “the Black Uhlan,” the highly-touted German Max Schmeling, who is suddenly thrust into the spotlight in his first title try. In the opening round, Schmeling establishes his piston-like jab, but the Champ, not to be outdone, works in an uppercut to stun the challenger. Good action round to start the bout. In round two, both men freely exchange blows in another good action round. Third round sees Schmeling as the aggressor, working his way inside but neither man is able to land many scoring blows in a relatively quiet round. Round four, it is Stribling working inside and tattooing Schmeling with a three-punch combination. Both men whale away on the inside in round five, when suddenly Stribling unleashes a vicious cross that puts Schmeling down and out. The sudden KO 5 for Stribling lifts him to 34-5-1 (19) compared to 21-2 (17) for Schmeling. A bit of a surprising result, and it looks as if Max will need more seasoning before earning a HW crown. On the other hand, Stribling – who has now claimed wins over Dempsey, Tunney and Schmeling in world title bouts – may be on the verge of becoming the next dominant HW champion of the current era.

Feb. 28, 1930: Final fight card of the month is on a Friday night at the Gran Stadium in Havana, Cuba. No titles at stake in this card that showcases some of top Latin American talent. Co-feature bout has veteran Cuban FLY taking on all-time great Pancho Villa in their fourth career encounter, and right now the count is one win, one draw and one loss for each – so this one really is the rubber match, probably their last one as Villa is at the tail-end of his career. Villa starts strongly, and by the end of round three the Cuban’s left eye is starting to swell a bit. Black Bill preserves, mounting a strong comeback as he gradually starts to break the Filipino great down in the late middle rounds. The bout goes the distance and, aided perhaps by some hometown judging, it goes as a SD 10 for Black Bill (97-93, 95-96 for Villa, 97-94). Post-bout records: Black Bill, 23-10-5 (9); Villa, 33-12-3 (14). The Cuban is now at Post-Prime; Villa was unbeaten at Prime but unfortunately that stage of his career did not last for long. The second co-main event, and the final bout on the card, has veteran MW contender Dave Shade taking on Cuban sensation Kid Charol. Shade appears to be in control from the early rounds, but Charol begins to find the range in the second half of the bout. It becomes a battle of the cuts as Charol is cut over the eye in round seven, then Shade suffers a similar cut a round later. Kid Charol has to battle some swelling in the other eye for the last two rounds, which proves decisive on the final scorecards. Winning both rounds nine and ten enable Shade to escape with a MD 10 (98-92, 95-95, 96-94); the win moves Shade to 30-15-5 (9) and may be enough to return him to a spot among the top 10 MW contenders. Kid Charol dips to 24-10-2 (14) after the loss.