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This report includes bouts from the second half of March 1950. Two WBA title bouts are included in this report.

Mar. 17, 1950: A triple feature tops the next Friday night card “Down Under,” this at Melbourne. Two OPBF title bouts on the agenda, but first up, one-time Commonwealth Flyweight Champ Taffy Hancock is paired with Otilio “Zurdo” Galvan, a one-time NABF Fly titleholder. Scheduled for 10, this is the first meeting of the two. Early punches landed advantage for Galvan, who feels more comfortable fighting outside, while Hancock takes a more active role, trying to work his way inside to force the action. At the midway point of the bout, Hancock is up by one (49-48) on the unofficial card. Not much changes in the second half of the bout, and the stamina factor favors Galvan. Galvan’s defense remains solid, and he manages to squeeze out a MD 10 win (97-96, 97-97, 97-96), a good result given Hancock had the full support of a hometown crowd. Post-bout career marks: Galvan, 27-12-2 (5); Hancock, 18-5-1 (14). Next, another homegrown Aussie, Bernie Grant, challenges Tsuneo Horiguchi for Horiguchi’s OPBF FW title. Both are at Post-Prime for this encounter. A strong two-fisted attack from Horiguchi in the opening round manages to cause some initial puffiness to appear under Grant’s right eye. The bout remains a close one through the opening rounds, with Horiguchi taking a more active approach while Grant is content to work mainly from the outside. In round four, Grant strikes, dropping Horiguchi with a combination of blows. Horiguchi arises after the count reaches three, and he covers up to last the round. Despite the knockdown, Horiguchi is able to build a solid points lead (58-55) on the unofficial scorer’s card at the halfway point. This causes Grant to switch tactics and take a more aggressive posture as the bout enters its latter stages. Trouble for Grant in round 11, however, as a Horiguchi combination opens a cut over his left eye, then later in the round, Grant goes down from a wild overhand right. Grant is fortunate to be saved by the ball as the count reached three. The bout enters the final round, and Grant launches a desperate attack that comes to no avail. Thus, Horiguchi retains the title via a solid UD 12 (117-109, 118-108, 117-109) to retain the title and run his career record to 48-19-3 (22); however, Horiguchi will be at End career stage with his next outing. Meanwhile, Grant ends the bout at 16-5-3 (7). Then, the trio of featured bouts concludes with a matchup of two veterans of the ring wars, as Aussies Jack McNamara and Alan Westbury square off for the OPBF WW title that has been held by McNamee since 1945, when we won it from Westbury. All in all, these familiar foes have faced off for five prior encounters, with McNamee winning four. This time, both are End career stage, so this could be the final swansong for both. After a cautious start by both men, McNamee pulls in front in the punch count stats as the early rounds come to a conclusion. Into the middle rounds, McNamee continues to have the better of it; at the halfway point, he leads (by a count of 60-56) on the unofficial scorer’s card. By the seventh round, there is noticeable swelling under Westbury’s left eye. However, just a round later, things begin to turn around for Westbury, as he finds the range with a hard hook that sends McNamee tumbling to the canvas. McNamee struggles to regain his footing as the count reaches eight, and he manages to survive the round with effective use of the “cover up” strategy. Both fighters keep plugging away as the rounds tick off and the bout eventually goes to decision. In the end, the result – a majority draw (114-114, 116-113 McNamee, 114-114) – seems justified. Post-bout records: McNamee, 42-25-3 (23); Westbury, 32-21-5 (18).

Mar. 18, 1950: Next, the venue shifts to the Sportpalast in Berlin, and a pair of EBU title bouts top the card. In the first of these, Italian Guido Ferracin is on hand to defend his EBU BW title, and he faces challenger Stan Rowan, a Brit. The two met once before, in Rome back in 1948, and Rowan was able to win a split duke in a hostile venue. This time around, neither fighter has the upper hand in the early going, and Rowan takes charge with a big round five, during which Ferracin ends up with some puffiness around his left eye. Then, in round six, a Ferracin uppercut rips open a cut over Rowan’s left eye. At the midway point, Ferracin has a narrow one-point lead (58-57) on the unofficial card. Meanwhile, Rowan’s corner struggles to deal with the cut which is in a bad spot. The cut is reopened once in round eight but then, in a dramatic turnaround, Ferracin suffers a severe hand injury and is unable to continue, so Rowan is declared the new EBU FW Champion via a TKO 9. Post-bout records: Rowan, 28-4-2 (12); Ferracin, 18-6-4 (3). Then, in the finale, the EBU HW title is at stake, and it is a rematch of a January contest between Joe Weiden and Bruce Woodcock where Weiden took a close MD 12 to take the title, reversing the results of an earlier bout that saw Woodcock emerge as a TKO victor. In this rubber matchup, the action heats up just a minute into the opening round, when Woodcock drops Weiden with a vicious hook. Weiden arises after taking a four count and then covers up to last the round. Weiden is able to work his way back into the bout, but Woodcock continues to enjoy an edge in the punch count stats as the bout heads into the middle rounds. At the halfway point, Woodcock has a huge points lead (60-54), according to the unofficial scorer at ringside. Sensing his title slipping away, Weiden ups the page and becomes much more aggressive in the second half of the contest. However, in round eight, Woodcock connects with a short, clean combination, and Weiden goes down for a second time, this time the count reaches eight before he arises, and a third knockdown occurs in round 11. Try as he might, Weiden is unable to turn things around, so Woodcock regains the EBU HW title via a decisive UD 12 result (117-107, 117-106, 117-106), improving his career stats to 32-6 (26). For Weiden, it is just his third career setback, leaving him at 22-3 (10). Huge result for Woodcock who dominated the action despite being at Post-Prime career stage.

Mar. 18, 1950: The next fistic action takes place in Philadelphia, and a WBA title clash tops the agenda. First, in the main supporting bout, is a matchup of two former WBA BW Champions, as Manuel Ortiz faces Tommy Forte. In three prior meetings between the two, Ortiz has won twice, Forte once, and Forte will be at Post-Prime for this encounter, a 10-rounder with no titles at stake. The opening rounds see Ortiz pull out a comfortable lead in the punch count stats. However, Forte responds with a strong round in the fourth, and Ortiz’s corner is forced to deal with a rapidly swelling right eye. At the halfway point, Ortiz is left with a narrow lead (48-47), according to the unofficial scorer’s card. In the second half of the bout, Ortiz continues to maintain a healthy edge in the punch count stats, plus he begins to wear down Forte, who faces a substantial stamina deficit. Ortiz is able to coast to a comfortable UD 10 (97-94, 98-93, 96-95), although the margin was razor thin on one judge’s card. The win lifts Ortiz to 40-9-3 (19), while Forte drops to 40-14-3 (13). After this, the ring is cleared for a WBA MW title bout, with “Sugar” Ray Robinson defending against challenger and ex-Champ Holman Williams. The two have not met before, and Williams is at Post-Prime for this encounter, and the bout is a close one in terms of punches landed, at least for the opening two rounds. Near the end of round three, Robinson breaks through, landing a crippling hook to the head, then following up with a double jab, but the bell sounds before he can take full advantage of an obviously hurt opponent. At the end of the round, there is a trace of swelling around Williams’ right eye. After five rounds are in the books, Robinson has forged a two-point lead (49-47) on the unofficial card. In the middle rounds, Williams tries to work his way into the bout, but the edge in the punch count category remains in Robinson’s favor. To his credit, Williams does well to keep the bout reasonably close; in fact, at the two-thirds mark, Robinson’s points lead on the unofficial card is still just two points (96-94). Into the final rounds and, with the swelling around Williams’ eye worsening, his corner urges him to become more aggressive. Robinson appears to be well on his way to victory until, in the final round, he is called for a blatant foul and suddenly disqualified by the ref, Chuck Hassett. The shocking DQ 15 result enables Williams, who was headed to defeat, to regain the title once again. Post-bout records: Williams, 59-16-1 (24); Robinson, 40-4-1 (29). Given the controversial ending, it is likely that a rematch will be in the offing.

Mar. 24, 1950: A twin bill headlines the next card, a Friday night affair at the Dodge Theatre in Phoenix. In the first of these co-features, two top 10 LH contenders do battle, as “Joltin’”Joe Kahut takes on former NABF LH Champ Oakland Billy Smith in a 10-round, non-title affair. There has been one prior meeting, and Kahut is seeking to avenge a MD 10 loss to Smith in that earlier contest that took place back in 1944. Kahut comes out swinging, but Smith is the more accurate of the two in the early going, enabling him to pile up an edge in the punches landed count. The bout comes to an early end in round four, when Smith connects with a cross that rips open a gash over Kahut’s right eye. This causes some severe bleeding, to the extent that the ref has no choice but to call an immediate halt. The bout goes into the books as a TKO 4 for Smith. Post-bout records: Smith, 28-10-4 (21); Kahut, 27-11-1 (21). In the second co-feature, the NABF LW title is at stake, with Joe Brown challenging “Bobcat” Bob Montgomery for the title. It is the first meeting of the two, and Brown’s connections are encouraged by the fact that Montgomery is now at Post-Prime career stage. Brown gets off to a solid start and pulls ahead in the punches landed count; he continues to set the pace with some accurate punching as the bout reaches the middle rounds. At the midway point of the contest, Brown has opened up a nice points lead (59-55) on the unofficial card, and there is noticeable swelling under Montgomery’s right eye. Trailing, and seeing the title slipping away, in round nine, Montgomery goes on the attack but, instead, he walks into a Brown combination and goes down. Montgomery is unable to beat the count, so Brown becomes the new NABF LW Champion via an impressive KO 9 victory. With the win, Brown improves to 34-4 (23), while Brown ends the bout at 41-6-2 (22).

Mar. 25, 1950: Next is a huge card at the Olympia in London, and a twin bill of title bouts tops the agenda. In the first co-feature, two titles are at stake, as Eddie “the Merthyr Marvel” faces Ernie Roderick in a bout where both the EBU WW title (currently held by Thomas) and the Commonwealth WW title (currently held by Roderick) will be up for grabs. This is the first meeting of these two, and Thomas gets off to a strong start, dominating the action in the early going versus the post-Prime Roderick. In fact, there is already some noticeable puffiness around Roderick’s right eye as early as the second round. By the middle rounds, Thomas has piled up a huge lead in the punch count stats and, at the halfway point, he is ahead on points (58-56) on the unofficial scorer’s card. Roderick continues to struggle as the rounds tick off in the second half of the contest, and thus, Thomas is able to grind out a comfortable UD 12 win (117-111, 118-110, 117-111) to capture both belts at stake. Post-bout career marks: Thomas, 20-2-1 (4); Roderick, 40-28-7 (9). Then, in the finale, Brit Harry Hughes, who recently added the EBU LW title to his GBU LW title, has earned a shot at the WBA LW title held by Ike Williams. No prior meetings, and Williams enters the bout as a prohibitive favorite. Not much happening in the opening two rounds and, late in round three, Hughes stuns the Champ with a hard hook; Williams covers up and manages to last the round. At the one third mark, with five rounds in the books, Williams is ahead on points (49-47) on the unofficial scorecard, and Hughes’ corner must deal with a rapidly swelling left eye. In the middle rounds, Williams tries to take a more active approach, moving inside, but Hughes is able to offer some stiff resistance. In round seven, the challenger manages to cause a welt to appear under Williams’ left eye. In round eight, Williams breaks through, dropping Hughes with a hard shot; the challenger arises after taking a five count then covers up to last the round. At the two thirds mark, Williams’ lead has widened (to 97-93), according to the unofficial scorer. A cross to the head from Williams drops Hughes for a second time in round 13. In the end, it’s a game effort from the overmatched Brit who at least survives until the final bell. However, a dominant performance from Williams who takes a lopsided UD 15 (148-136, 148-137, 149-134) to retain the title, upping his career totals to 41-4-1 (34), while the loss leaves Hughes at 22-7-1 (9).

Mar. 31, 1950: The month wraps with a card at New York’s Madison Square Garden. The main event matches ex-WBA MW Champ Charley Burley with Artie Towne, a former USBA MW titleholder. Burley is on the comeback trail after a pair of recent losses to Jake LaMotta, and he faces Towne, whom he defeated previously (a TKO stoppage in which he defeated Towne for the USBA crown). This time, with no titles at stake, the bout is scheduled for 10 rounds, and Burley is handicapped by the fact he is now at Post-Prime career stage. Towne stuns Burley with a big cross in round one, and Burley does well to retreat and employ the cover up strategy to survive the round. Towne is able to take advantage of a lethargic looking Burley to gain the upper hand in terms of punches landed after moving inside in round three. Towne continues to set the pace into the middle rounds and, despite being deducted a point for a low blow early in the fifth, he still manages to hold a healthy points lead (50-45) at the halfway point, according to the unofficial scorecard. In the second half of the bout, Burley is forced to dig deep in an effort to mount a rally, but he is showing signs of fatigue as the stamina factor at this point heavily favors Towne. In round eight, however, the tide turns dramatically, with Towne once again resorting to low blows. Having previously deducted a point, this time the ref exercises his discretion and goes for the more extreme penalty of disqualification. Thus, despite trailing on points on all three cards, Burley walks away as a DQ-8 winner. Towne’s corner files a protest, but to no avail, so the result stands. Post-bout career marks: Burley, 52-6 (35); Towne, 23-4-2 (8). However, plans are afoot for a rematch of the two in the coming months.