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This is a summary of ring action from the second half of December 1936, wrapping up another year in this historical universe. A total of 54 bouts are covered in this report, including two WBA title contests. Be prepared, there's a couple of major upsets in the feature bouts in this, the final ring action report from 1936.


Dec. 18, 1936: Next is a Friday night card at Los Angeles’ Olympic Auditorium. The main event has #1 FW contender Battling Battalino facing Frankie Covelli in a non-title contest. Battalino holds a prior UD win over Covelli from 1934; both men have done well recently, Battalino having won his last six and Covelli, his last two. “Bat” gets off to a solid start, and in round three he moves inside, carrying the fight to Covelli. Things begin to turn around for Covelli with a strong round four, and Battalino comes off the worse as a trace of swelling begins to appear under his left eye. Battalino is content to work on the outside, forcing Covelli to take on the role of the aggressor. In round eight, Covelli connects with a big left, forcing Battalino to cover up. Battalino recovers with a strong round nine. The bout goes the 10-round distance, and to the surprise of many, Covelli pulls off the upset, taking a fairly solid UD 10 (96-93, 97-92, 96-93) to run his career record to 25-7-6 (7). Battalino, who slips to 35-10 (12), appeared to be overconfident and a bit too defensive, enabling Covelli to score a big upset.

Dec. 19, 1936: More fistic action back, this time in Europe at the Amor Bahn in Munich. Lots of German fighters (and a few Italians) on the card, and the feature is for the EBU MW crown, with Hein Domgorgen seeking to regain the crown from the British titleholder, Jock McAvoy. These two have split two prior encounters, and Domgorgen – despite being at Post-Prime – has won his last two since losing the EBU title to McAvoy, while McAvoy is coming into the bout off two recent losses. In this rubber match, it does not take long for the action to heat up as McAvoy puts the German crowd favorite down in the first round. A groggy Domgorgen arises at the count of eight, but McAvoy’s killer intinct has kicked in, and it is too much for the German challenger to handle. McAvoy lands shot after shot until the ref calls a halt, saving the defenseless Domgorgen from further punishment. TKO 1 for McAvoy, who retains the EBU title and runs his career totals to 28-10-4 (20) overall. Domgorgen, whose days as a MW contender appear to be over, is 40-17-1 (20) after this devastating setback.

Dec. 19, 1936: There’s a buzz of excitement at Briggs Stadium in Detroit, as there’s a huge crowd on hand in anticipation of Joe Louis’ third defense of his WBA HW crown. First of all, after some preliminary bouts, the co-feature takes place, matching two young MW prospects with identical 15-1 (13) records: it’s “the Man of Steel” against the “Battling Bellhop,” as Tony Zale faces Fred Apostoli. Each of these two young warriors has just one prior loss – Zale, to Ben Brown; Apostoli, to Marcel Cerdan. Zale is on target early, and by the end of round two there are already traces of swelling appearing under the left eye of Apostoli. Zale follows up with a huge round three, banging away on the inside but is unable to put Apostoli down. The bout proceeds through the middle rounds, with “the Man of Steel,” Zale, firmly in control with an iron grip. Near the end of round seven, a Zale hook connects and puts Apostoli on the deck for a count of seven, but there is not enough time for Zale to follow up and finish the job. The bout goes the distance, with Zale taking a well-deserved UD 10 win (96-93, 97-92, 97-92). Post-bout records: Zale, 16-1 (13); Apostoli, 15-2 (13). Then, in the main event, Joe Louis puts the WBA HW title on the line in his third defense since dethroning Max Schmeling earlier in the year. This time, his opponent is Schmeling’s lesser known countryman, Walter Neusel, who earned the title shot against “the Brown Bomber” by virtue of a draw against Schmeling in his most recent outing after four straight wins, making him unbeaten in his last five. Louis, of course, remains as an undefeated Champion despite being a couple of bouts away from hitting his Prime career stage; as Champion, he has forced Neusel to come to him rather than traveling to Germany for this defense. After a close opening round, Louis begins to establish control in round two, working from the outside before moving inside for round three. Neusel continues to hold his own to this point, and in round four he ventures forward, only to run into a three-punch combination from Louis that forces the challenger to cover up to survive the round. Then, in round five, Neusel elects to stand toe-to-toe with Louis – a huge mistake, as Louis softens him up before delivering the knockout blow – a deadly cross that puts Neusel down and out. KO 5 for Louis, who runs his impressive career stats to 19-0 (17) – one more bout at Pre-Prime for Joe. Neusel, now 22-4-2 (16), will have to regroup, perhaps setting his sights a bit lower, perhaps on an EBU title try in 1937.

Dec. 26, 1936: Next is the traditional “Boxing Day” card, this year at the Olympia in London. Headliner has GBU FW Champ Jim “Spider” Kelly challenging Frenchman Maurice Holtzer for the latter’s EBU FW title. Early on, there is hope for Kelly as Holtzer sustains a cut under his right eye in the opening round. Then, in the third, Kelly surprises Holtzer with a huge shot that puts the French Champion down briefly but Holtzer arises and resumes after a count of three is reached. Then, in round five, Holtzer pulls ahead, winning the inside exchanges. Holtzer gradually gets more aggressive and, late in round nine, he sends Kelly to the canvas with a barrage of punches. The cut is reopened in round 10, but it is not a factor as Holtzer goes on to record a close but UD 12 (116-111, 114-113, 114-113), overcoming some hometown scoring for Kelly by taking the last round from two judges who had scored the bout even to that point. Post-fight, Holtzer improves to 33-14-3 (12). Kelly’s record is still an excellent 20-4-1 (7) despite the loss.

Dec. 30, 1936: Nearing the end of 1936, and the last New York City card is a huge one, featuring a WBA title bout plus a USBA bout as the main support. In one of the preliminary bouts, LH prospect Archie Moore toys with his opponent, taking a few rounds before scoring a KD early in round four and finishing up with a TKO 4 win to remain perfect, now 6-0 (6). Then, later on the agenda, two unbeaten LH prospects take to the ring, with Billy Conn facing Greek Anton Christoforidis who is making his appearance in the States. Conn gets off to a strong start, and his superior boxing skills dominate most of the action, leaving Christoforidis with a swollen right eye. UD 10 for Conn (100-91 on all three cards); Billy is now 10-0-2 (9) while the Greek returns to Europe with the first blemish on his slate, leaving him at 12-1 (8). In the co-feature, ex-WBA HW Champ Joe Sekyra faces a resurgent Art Lasky for the USBA HW crown, recently vacated by Elmer Ray who moved up to claim the NABF belt. Lasky puts Sekyra down in the opening round and follows up with a hook for a second KD in the fifth. The end comes a few rounds later when Sekyra is defenseless against the ropes. Impressive performance for Lasky, who takes the belt via the TKO 7 to improve to 22-4-2 (22) while Sekyra is now 33-12-3 (25). Then, in the feature, Barney Ross makes his second defense of the WBA WW title, facing Ruby Goldstein, the reigning NABF WW Champ. Good opening round for Goldstein, who seems well prepared for this, his first WBA title shot. Ross moves inside in round three, in an effort to push the pace, but late in round four Goldstein takes charge, ripping open a cut over Ross’ right eye. Goldstein targets the cut, which is reopened in round six but quickly patched up by Ross’ corner. In round seven, Goldstein catches Ross with a solid uppercut that forces the Champ to cover up, and at the end of the round, Ross is called for hitting after the bell. Beginning in round eight, Ross’ punches are beginning to have an effect on Goldstein, as there is some telltale swelling beginning to appear under Ruby’s right eye. Two-thirds of the way through, after round 10, the unofficial scorer has Goldstein up by three (97-94). Ross continues to press forward in the later rounds, desperately hoping to keep the title. The cut over Ross’ eye is reopened in the 14th round, and it is still bleeding as the two men square off in the final stanza. Goldstein battles to the end despite sustaining a cut over his right eye in the last round. Close bout, the scorecards tell the story: 143-142, 144-141, 144-141 – all for Goldstein, who takes the title from Ross via a UD 15 in a huge upset, as the punches landed stats showed a huge edge for Ross. Now 39-10-3 (24), Goldstein may find his reign to be short-lived as he hits Post-Prime with his next bout in 1937. Ross, now 30-6-2 (10), is already plotting to regain the title, but he has just one more year at Prime before hitting the downside of his career path as well.

Dec. 31, 1936: The year wraps up with a New Year’s Eve card at Miami. No titles, but the feature is a rematch between two LH title holders, Battling Bozo (current USBA LH Champ) and Len Harvey (who simultaneously holds the Commonwealth, European and British LH title belts). In two prior meetings, Harvey has recorded one UD win and a draw, but both of those were in his native England, and this time Bozo has lured the Brit to his home turf in hopes of a better result. The two boxers, wary of each other, keep their distance, with Bozo getting the better of it in the early and middle rounds. Harvey is therefore forced into an uncomfortable role of stepping up the pace to force matters heading into the later rounds. However, he is unable to close the gap and Bozo walks away a UD 10 winner (97-93, 97-93, 96-94) to run his career stats to 32-8-3 (12); Harvey is now 47-15-3 (19). Bozo’s moment of triumph may be brief, however, as he hits Post-Prime with his next bout in 1937.

Pleased to report I have hit my goal of concluding 1936 action by the end of real-life year 2014. Look for the year-end wrap-ups to commence in the next few days.