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Some World title fights in the first half of August, 1930 ...

Aug. 1, 1930: It’s a nice crowd for Friday night fights at Comiskey Park in Chicago. On the undercard, in an 8-round preliminary bout, is highly regarded young WW prospect Barney Ross, seeking to add to his record at the expense of a TC opponent. Ross starts slowly, gradually wearing down his opponent with an impressive boxing display. The bout ends via a TKO in round six for Ross, who improves to 7-0 (4). No title bouts, but some double-barrel action with co-main events. The first of these is a HW matchup of former Champ Jack Dempsey with up-and-comer, Elmer Ray. In round two, Dempsey serves notice when he stuns his younger opponent, forcing Ray to cover up. However, the “Manassa Mauler” is unable to follow up, allowing Ray to gradually work his way into the fight. In round seven, Ray is on target with a big hook that staggers the ex-Champ. Round eight proves crucial as both men are going for the knockout. Dempsey gets there first, nailing Ray with a big hook that causes him to topple to the deck. A second KD follows by the end of the round, plus another trip to the canvas for Ray in round nine, the end result being a solid UD 10 for Dempsey (98-89 on all three cards). The aging vet proved his superiority, but was unable to reach the 50 KO milestone and is still stuck at 56-12-1 (49) while the loss, Ray’s second, leaves him at 17-2 (12). The final bout on the card has two seasoned veterans doing battle for the first time, ex-LW king Benny Leonard and WW veteran Packey McFarland. Between them, the two have logged more than 170 career bouts. Leonard gives the fight fans a great boxing exhibition, literally running circles around the 42-year-old McFarland who is at the tail end of his long career. McFarland tires early, and in the end is no match for Leonard. Easy UD 10 win for Leonard (100-90, 99-91, 99-91) to move him to 76-4-2 (41) overall, while McFarland, who is now just one bout away from retirement, is 70-16-5 (30).

Aug. 2, 1930: Once again, a little more than a week after the last card there, the venue is the Palazzo de Sport in Rome, Italy. Lots of Italian and other European fighters on the undercard, which leads to a WBA title contest. It’s newly-crowned WBA Flyweight Champion Fidel LaBarba against Johnny Vacca, the EBU titleholder. LaBarba took a SD 10 from Vacca back in 1927, when both were at Pre-Prime. Both men start cautiously, settling in while remaining on the outside. Vacca keeps the bout close through the early rounds. In the middle rounds, LaBarba rallies and seeks to establish control. By the end of round nine, Vacca’s left eye shows signs of swelling. Vacca draws strength from the crowd and gets a second wind, keeping the bout close down to the wire in the final rounds. It goes to the scorecards, and once again it’s a SD 15 win for LaBarba (144-140, 142-143, 143-141). The win improves LaBarba’s career totals to 24-2-1 (9), while Vacca slips to 24-3 (11).

Aug. 2, 1930: Back on the West Coast for a packed fight card at the Cow Palace in San Francisco. Two title bouts on the agenda, first a USBA title clash followed by a WBA title tilt. The main support bout has Newsboy Brown, the USBA Flyweight titleholder, making his first defense in almost a year against veteran Pinky Silverberg. With two prior wins over Silverberg and Silverberg now at Post-Prime, Brown is a clear favorite in the bout. Not much to report, it was a relatively straightforward and uneventful title defense by the Newsboy, who takes a UD 12 (118-111, 116-113, 117-112). Post-fight, Brown improves to 32-6-2 (10); Silverberg is now 25-20-4 (10). In the main event, WBA WW Champ Irineo Flores takes on NABF WW Champ Jack Sparr. Flores holds a prior win (a SD 10 back in 1922, when he was at Pre-Prime), and now Sparr is at Post-Prime career stage, so he feels comfortable about his chances. In round one, Flores serves notice by landing a huge shot that puts Sparr on his back; the count reaches eight before the challenger arises. As the bout goes on, Sparr’s left eye begins to swell. In round 14, the end comes for Sparr as a combination from Flores finishes him off. KO 14 win for Flores to keep the title. Post-fight career records: Flores, 32-11-2 (18); Sparr, 33-15-1 (19).

Aug. 8, 1930: Friday night fight card at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, featuring a long-time local favorite and a USBA title matchup. In the main support or co-main event, aging vet Harry Greb, aka “the Pittsburgh Windmill,” takes on “the Wild Bull of Idaho,” Young Firpo. Firpo, who won a UD 10 in a prior encounter in 1928, feels confident of victory against Greb, who is now at the tail-end of his long career. However, Greb charges out from the opening bell full of fight, nailing Firpo with a wicked cross to the head that puts him on the deck. Young Firpo bounces back with a strong round two, and Greb’s left eye shows signs of swelling as a result. The bout remains close into the middle rounds, with Greb remaining the aggressor. The two mix it up in round eight, and Greb comes out on the short end when he is floored by a combination from Firpo. One knockdown apiece, the bout goes to the scorecards. It’s a draw (94-94 on all three cards). Post-fight, Young Firpo is 19-4-3 (14) while Greb is 61-16-3 (17). The result is enough to convince Greb to defer any retirement plans. The main event is for the rarely defended USBA WW crown, held by ex-WBA Champ Pinkey Mitchell. Mitchell’s opponent in his first title defense in almost a year is Mickey Cohen. The tone of the bout is set in the opening stanza when Cohen catches Mitchell with a short, clean hook that puts the Champ on the canvas. Things get worse when Mitchell sustains a cut over his right eye, and then his left eye starts to swell in the later rounds. There is no late rally coming from the aging Mitchell, and Cohen takes a UD 12 (116-111, 117-109, 114-113) and the belt. Cohen emerges from the bout at 16-10 (9) while Mitchell dips to 33-17-4 (14).

Aug. 9, 1930: North of the border, and it’s a strong fight card tonight at Toronto’s Maple Leaf Gardens. Two title bouts, one NABF title followed by a WBA title clash. In the co-main event, NABF MW Champ Vince Dundee is making his second defense, against long-time top contender Jock Malone. It’s the first meeting of the two, and it’s Dundee’s first bout since falling short in his WBA title bid against Mickey Walker. It’s a close bout through the early rounds, without a lot in the way of action. Malone carries a slight points lead into the later rounds, and the bout goes the distance with both men emerging unmarked. It goes to the judges, and they give the nod to Dundee via a SD 12 (116-114, 114-116, 116-115). A strong performance in the final round saved the belt for Dundee. Post-fight records: Dundee, 27-4-1 (13); Malone, 33-16-4 (13). Then, the main event matches long-time LH king, Tommy Loughran, with popular top 10 contender, “Slapsie Maxie” Rosenbloom. It’s the 16^th defense for Loughran of the title he won back in 1926, and it’s his fourth title defense in 1930 alone. A prior title bout with Rosenbloom resulted in a TKO win for Loughran in 1929. Loughran looks sharp early, but Rosenbloom is able to manage to keep the bout reasonably close into the middle rounds, when Loughran gradually pulls ahead. Maxie exhibits prior stamina, but it isn’t enough to come back against Loughran, who takes a solid UD 15 (146-139, 146-139, 147-140). The win improves Loughran to a very impressive 42-4-2 (17), compared to 23-6-4 (10) for Rosenbloom.

Aug. 15, 1930: Next Friday fight card is at Mammoth Gardens in Denver. After breezing through some pedestrian bouts on the undercard, the main event matches Sammy Mandell, the “Rockford Sheik,” and Billy Wallace, for Mandell’s NABF LW crown. Mandell holds UD wins in two prior bouts with the hard-hitting Wallace. Nothing much happens until the fourth round, when a perfectly-timed uppercut from Wallace drops Mandell for a three-count. Mandell recovers and begins to pile up points through the middle rounds of the bout. In round seven, some puffiness begins to appear under Mandell’s right eye. Wallace does well to keep the bout close into the later rounds, and Mandell barely escapes with his title and a SD 12 win (112-115, 115-112, 114-113). Mandell moves to 33-12 (9) with the win, while Wallace dips to 31-16-3 (16).