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More World title fights included in the second half of April, 1930 highlights.

Apr. 18, 1930: It’s more “Friday night fights down Under” with a fight card in Sydney Stadium. Main event is for the OPBF BW title held by former WBA Champ Pete Sarmiento, who faces the challenge of Speedy Dado, whom he defeated in his last defense back in 1929. Dado, however, has now reached Prime career stage and demonstrates his improved boxing skills as he builds an early points lead in the first part of the contest. Then, in round nine, Dado suffers a cut over his left eye. Later in the round, bad turns to worse as a solid combination from Sarmiento puts Dado on the deck for an eight-count. A round later, Sarmiento’s rally proves short-lived as Dado turns the tables, landing a strong shot to score a knockdown as well. One KD apiece, the bout goes the distance and it’s a surprisingly large margin for the challenger; the UD 12 (117-109, 115-111, 117-109) means Speedy Dado is the new OPBF BW Champion. Post-fight career totals are now 17-5 (11) for Dado, compared to 31-11-6 (20) for the well-traveled Sarmiento.

Apr. 19, 1930: Next card is at the Ullevi Stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden. After a series of rather desultory preliminary bouts, the main event is a WBA LW title fight with Billy Petrolle, the “Fargo Express,” traveling from the States to make his third defense against veteran Lew Tendler. Trouble right away as Tendler is cut over the right eye in the second round, and the cause was an accidental butt. The cut is reopened in round five, and once again in round seven, leading to an early stoppage. In the meantime, Petrolle made sure of the win by dropping Tendler with a hard cross in the sixth. Due to the accidental butt, the scores are tallied at the end of round six, leading to a UTD 7 win for Petrolle (58-55,59-54,59-54). No complaint from Tendler’s corner, as the challenger was totally outclassed throughout. The win lifts Petrolle to 32-3-2 (18) while Tendler drops to 49-18-3 (14).

Apr. 19, 1930: Next fight card is back in the States at New York City’s Madison Square Garden. Another World title bout heads this card, and this time it’s WBA Flyweight king Frankie Genaro putting his title belt on the line against top-ranked contender, Fidel LaBarba. Genaro took the only previous meeting, via a UD, to take the title in 1928, but he faces a much more seasoned LaBarba in tonight’s bout. The challenger gets off to an excellent start, nailing Genaro with a solid right hook in round three, causing the Champ to cover up to last the round. Genaro tries to battle back, but he is on the defensive most of the rest of the bout, plus LaBarba’s superior defense keeps him off target for most of the bout. Genaro’s right eye begins swelling in the late rounds. The bout goes the distance, and LaBarba emerges as the new Champ via a solid UD 15 win (146-138, 145-139, 144-140). The win moves him to 23-2-1 (9) while Genaro is now 34-10 (17).

Apr. 25, 1930: Havana’s Gran Stadium hosts the final Friday fight card of the month. After some preliminary bouts featuring Cuban and Latin American talent, the first really interesting matchup pits former WBA LW king Ever Hammer against current USBA JLW Champ Benny Bass in a non-title affair in one of the main support bouts. Bass piles up the points in the early going, but Hammer battles away, causing Bass’ left eye to start swelling near the end of round seven. A big hook from Hammer staggers Bass in round eight, delivering a wake-up call to the “little Fish.” Bass holds on and pulls out a SD 10 win (94-96, 98-92, 96-94) that improves his overall record to 34-9-3 (12). Good effort by the veteran Hammer, who is now 43-18-5 (18). In the second main support, two former WBA HW Champs collide as George Godfrey takes on Harry Wills. Bad luck for Wills, who suffers a severe cut over his right eye in the opening stanza. The cut proves troublesome and leads to an early stoppage – the bout goes down as a TKO 4 win for Godfrey. Post-fight career totals: 40-9-1 (29) for Godfrey; 61-13-1 (47) for Wills. Finally, it’s time for the main event, a NABF FW title contest as Mike Dundee faces the challenge of Bobby Garcia. An off-balance Dundee hits the deck toward the end of round one, but it is ruled a slip and no knockdown. After a close contest for the first five rounds, Dundee pulls ahead after dropping Garcia with a strong hook in the sixth. Dundee dominates the rest of the way to take a UD 12 decision win (117-110, 116-111, 117-110). Dundee improves to 39-13-3 (20) with the win while Garcia slips to 23-12-4 (13).

Apr. 26, 1930: The action moves to the Earls Court in London. Two top MWs are matched in one of the key main support bouts, as Brit and European Champ Len Johnson takes on Panama Joe Gans. Despite the backing of a hometown crowd and the fact that Gans is now at Post-Prime, Johnson trails badly in the early rounds. Late in the bout, Johnson suffers a nick under his right eye. However, he mounts a strong comeback, and Gans is gradually worn down as his left eye starts to swell badly. Johnson’s rally is sufficient to pull out a UD 10 win (97-93 on all three cards) to move the Brit to 26-9-2 (15) overall, compared to 52-13-3 (19) post-fight for Gans. Then, the main event has two long-time British WW veterans, Bermondsey Billy Wells and Ted Kid Lewis, matched for Wells’ Commonwealth title. Lewis, no longer a “Kid” at 37, puts on a mighty effort despite being at the tail-end of his 22-year ring career. Wells effectively snuffs out a late surge by Lewis, putting him on the deck in the 11^th with an overhand right. The UD 12 nod goes to Wells (118-109, 115-111, 114-112) to move Bermondsey to47-12-3 (16) overall, while the bout turns out to be the swansong for Lewis, who wraps up a 52-23-4 (22) career.

Apr. 26, 1930: Final fight card of April is at the Cow Palace in San Francisco. The USBA LW title is at stake, with Maxie Strub defending against veteran Johnny Goodrich in a rematch of their February encounter which saw Strub claim the belt based on a controversial DQ call. This time around, Strub gets off to a strong start that enables him to build a nice points lead. Goodrich, who is now at Post-Prime, battles back despite a cut over his right eye and a swollen left eye. The cut is patched up and the veteran stages a late rally to make the bout a close one. Strub manages to escpae with a draw (115-113, 114-114, 113-115) to keep the belt. Post-fight records are: 22-3-2 (9) for Strub; 41-12-2 (10) for Goodrich.