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This report includes bouts from the second half of May 1950. One WBA title bout is included in this report.

May 19, 1950: The next edition of the Friday night fights “Down Under” series takes place at Sydney. No titles at stake, and the main event sees Charlie Ashenden, Aussie LW holder of the OPBF LW title belt, matched with Art “Golden Boy” Aragon. This is the first meeting of these two, and the veteran Ashenden is already at Post-Prime career stage while Aragon is still at Prime. In the early going, after the first three rounds are in the books, Aragon has a slight edge in the punch count stats. Then, a minute into round four, Aragon connects with a well timed uppercut that puts Ashenden on the deck. Ashenden is then counted out, so Aragon prevails via a KO 4, running his career totals to 24-4-1 (14). The loss leaves Ashenden at 20-8-8 (5).

May 20, 1950: Next card takes place at the Garden in Boston, and topping the agenda is a bout matching two MW contenders, with Tony Janiro, featured for the first time in the main event, facing Luc Van Dam, a two-time EBU MW titleholder. It is the first meeting of these two, and the bout (with no titles on the line) is scheduled for 10 rounds. The action picks up late in round two, when Van Dam stuns Janiro with a quick hook to the head, but there is not enough time left in the round for Van Dam to follow up. For the rest of the time, at least in the early rounds, Janiro is able to compile a nice lead in the punches landed count. Van Dam has a good round in the fifth to put him up by one (49-48) on the unofficial card at the halfway point of the bout. In the second half of the contest, Janiro, the boxer, stays mainly on the outside while Van Dam, the slugger, is the more aggressive of the two, seeking to initiate action on the inside. Janiro is able to ward off most of Van Dam’s offensive thrusts and maintain his lead in the punch count stats. Thus, the bout goes the distance, and Janiro emerges as a UD 10 victor by the narrowest of margins (95-94 on all three cards). Post-bout records: Janiro, 24-5-3 (2); Van Dam, 31-14-1 (12).

May 20, 1950: Topping the next card at St. Louis is a NABF LW title bout, with Joe Brown defending the belt he won in March against Beau Jack. The two had met once previously, with Brown prevailing via a ninth round knockout. Jack is able to hold his own through the opening round, but, by the end of the round, Brown has connected with a couple of sharp blows, enough to cause some initial puffiness to appear under Jack’s left eye. Brown holds a slight edge in the punch count stats through the early going, and but the bout remains a close one headed into the middle rounds. The two battle away on the inside in round five, with Jack winning most of the exchanges. In round six, another sharp series of exchanges, and Brown is able to open up a cut under Jack’s right eye. At the halfway point, the challenger, Jack, has a two-point lead (58-56) on the unofficial card. The second half of the bout sees Brown as the aggressor, and he makes significant progress in rounds eight and nine, carving into Jack’s lead and pulling ahead in the punches landed stats. Then, in round 10, a new cut appears on Jack’s forehead. The issue remains in doubt until the final round, when Brown connects with a three-punch combo that staggers Jack. Jack manages to hang on and last the distance, and the 10-9 round in the final stanza enables Brown to retain the title via a majority draw (114-114, 116-112, 114-114), with one judge favoring Brown. Post-bout records: Brown, 34-4-1 (23); Jack, 36-8-1 (22).

May 26, 1950: Next up is a Friday night card at Havana’s Gran Stadium. Two top 10 HW contenders square off in the main event, as Pat Comiskey faces Nino Valdes, the hard-hitting Cuban. Comiskey took a points win in one prior meeting of the two, back in 1946 in New York City. In this rematch, in front of a hometown crowd, Valdes starts well, doing sufficient damage in the opening round to cause some initial puffiness to appear under the right eye of Comiskey. However, to the dismay of the Cuban fight fans, Comiskey battles back in round two and catches Valdes with an uppercut that puts the big Cuban slugger on the deck. Valdes is unable to beat the count, so it goes into the books as a KO 2 for Comiskey, running his career record to 34-10 (22). Valdes ends the bout at 24-11-2 (19).

May 27, 1950: Next is a mammoth card at the Olympia in London, and a WBA title clash tops the agenda. Also on tap are a pair of GBU title bouts, and, in addition, there is a supporting bout matching former GBU and EBU Flyweight Champ Terry Allen with French Flyweight Louis Skena. The two have not met before, no titles are at stake, and the bout is settled for 10 rounds. In round three, Skena works his way inside but has little impact on Allen, other than being warned for hitting low by the end of the round. Allen pulls in front on the punch count stats, and at the midway point, Allen has a nice lead (49-46) on the unofficial scorer’s card. In the second half of the contest, it is Skena who is on the front force, attempting to force the action. Allen is able to withstand the pressure, and in round 10, he is able to rip open a cut under Skena’s right eye. The bout goes to the judges and, in a bit of a surprise, Allen takes a SD 10 (96-95, 94-96, 97-93), with the surprise being that one judge ruled for Skena. Post-bout career marks: 31-5-1 (3) for Allen; 18-4-1 (7) for Skena. Next, in the first of the three title bouts, Vince Hawkins defends his GBU MW title versus a former titleholder, Tommy Davies. This is Hawkins’ first title defense in over two years, and the two are meeting for the third time, with Hawkins having recorded a points win and a draw in their prior meetings. The action heats up right away when, near the end of the opening round, Davies decks Hawkins with a big hook that puts the defending Champion on the canvas, before arising after the count reached seven, with the bell sounding seconds thereafter to end the round. Davies continues to rack up a huge lead in the punch count stats through the remainder of the early rounds and, by the halfway point of the contest, he has managed to open a cut on Hawkins’ mouth and, accordingly, is well ahead on points (by a count of 60-53) on the unofficial card. Not much changes in the second half of the bout, despite Hawkins’ best efforts to turn things around with a more active and aggressive approach. In the end, Davies regains the GBU title via a lopsided UD 12 (120-107, 118-110, 120-109), improving his career record to 29-13-4 (9) while Hawkins, now at Post-Prime career stage, slips to 22-16-5 (8). Then, in the second GBU title matchup, it’s a rematch as Cliff Curvis takes on the man he defeated for the GBU WW title, veteran Ernie Roderick. This is the third meeting of the two, with the two prior encounters resulting in a win and a draw for Curvis. The action, what little there is, is slow to develop, but the early punch count stats favor Curvis. In round four, he manages to open a cut over the left eye of the the post-Prime challenger. Then, in round six, the cut over Roderick’s eye is reopened, while Curvis sustains a cut over his right eye. The unofficial card at the halfway point shows Curvis up by two (59-57). Curvis maintains an edge in the punch count status into the later rounds of the bout, and a desperate Roderick gets more and more aggressive, throwing caution to the wind. Curvis takes a cautious approach, which is dictated by the fact that the cut was reopened late in round eight. The bout does go the distance, and Curvis does just enough to retain the title, taking a MD 12 (116-112, 114-114, 119-109) despite one judge scoring the bout as even. Post-bout records: Curvis, 23-3-2 (1); Roderick, 40-29-7 (9). Then, in the finale, the WBA Flyweight title is at stake, as fam favorite Teddy Gardner takes to the ring to defend the title versus challenger Maurice Sandeyron, the reigning EBU Flyweight titleholder. As in the prior two bouts, these two are meeting for the third time, and Gardner, who enters the bout on a seven-bout winning streak, has recorded a win and a draw in their prior meetings. This time around, Gardner gets off to a strong start, landing repeatedly in the opening two rounds, and doing enough damage to cause some puffiness to appear under the left eye of the challenger. Sandeyron is able to work his way into the bout and, at the one-thirds mark, Gardner has just a two-point advantage (49-47), according to the unofficial scorer’s card. Into the middle rounds, and Sandeyron appears to be holding his own, but then Gardner rocks him with a solid combination just before the bell sounds to end round eight. Gardner has a huge edge in the stamina factor and, after 10 rounds are in the books, he has opened a wide points lead (99-92), according to the unofficial scorer’s card. In the final rounds, and the onus is on Sandeyron to mix things up, looking for a surprise knockdown or knockout. Gardner is able to hang on and take a solid UD 15 (148-138, 147-139, 147-140), retaining the title while running his career record to 37-9-2 (13). Sandeyron, who has the EBU title to fall back on, ends the bout at 28-10-4 (5 ).

May 27, 1950: The final card of the month takes place at New York City’s Madison Square Garden. The main event, a USBA title bout, is somewhat overshadowed by the main supporting bout, a much anticipated meeting of two highly touted HW prospects: Rocky Marciano, the “Brockton Blockbuster,” and the stylish boxer, Roland LaStarza. Marciano enters the bout with a perfect record (14 KO wins in 14 bouts), while LaStarza has one defeat as the only blemish on his career slate thus far, which he avenged in his most recent outing, so he enters this bout with a 13-1 career mark. A little more than a minute into the opening round, Marciano connects with a sharp uppercut that puts LaStarza on the canvas. LaStarza scrambles to his feet, then resorts to the cover up strategy in order to last the round. Marciano continues on the offensive in round two, but LaStarza is able to offer some resistance although most of the action favors Marciano. A second KD follows in round three and, while LaStarza is able to beat the count a second time, Marciano’s killer instinct kicks in and, as a result, the ref steps in to call an early halt. Impressive KO 3 for Marciano, who is now a perfect 15-0 (15). The loss leaves a stunned LaStarza at 13-2 (4). After this, it is time for the main event, which sees two veteran LHs, both on the downside (i.e., Post-Prime) stage of their respective careers, do battle. Billy Conn, the “Pittsburgh Kid,” a three-time former WBA LH titleholder, challenges Tommy Yarosz for Yarosz’s USBA LH title. Surprisingly, despite their lengthy careers, this is the first meeting of the two. After a fairly close opening two rounds, Conn’s superior boxing skills begin to tell as he dominates the scoring in round three. Into the middle rounds, and by this time Conn has established a clear lead in the punches landed count, plus he seems to have the edge in terms of stamina as well. At the halfway point of the bout, the unofficial scorer has awarded Conn all six rounds for a commanding points lead (60-54) as well. Yarosz responds by working his way inside in round seven, outmuscling Conn and scoring with some effectove punching. By round nine, however, both men show signs of fatigue. In the end, Conn’s early lead holds up and, in a bout with no cuts or knockdowns, Conn prevails, taking the title via a UD 12 by a narrow margin (115-113, 115-113, 116-113) after a strong second half effort put forth by Yarosz, who fell just short in his bid to retain the title. Post-bout career marks: 48-13-4 (18) for Conn; 30-8-2 (11) for Yarosz.