1921 WICB Boxing News
January 23, 1921
San Francisco, CA
Sam McVey was KO'd here last night by challenger Sam Langford in the 15th round of their Heavyweight Championship fight.
The title bout was close until Langford was able to land some telling blows in the later rounds that the 37 year old McVey was never able to fully recover from.
Read the fight report here.
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February 16, 1921
Paris, France
Irishman Jim Coffey defended his European Heavyweight crown against France's Georges Carpentier with a close split decision over 15 rounds here last night at the Elysée Montmartre in the heart of Pigalle.
It was the heavier blows of the champion, Coffey, that made the small difference in the fight. Carpentier was dropped in the third round and was given a terrible pounding in the 10th that resulted in two 10-8 rounds for the champion.
Carpentier had his left eye swollen by the 6th and actually had Coffey in trouble in the 8th but was unable to stop him or even knock him down. Coffey came back in the next round to rock the Frenchman several times and then pounded him at will in the 10th.
By the 11th round Carpentier had both eyes badly swollen but continued to fight valiantly despite being unable to see many of his opponents blows. Many felt that Carpentier won the last three rounds but he was unable to lift the crown from Coffey's head.
Read the fight report here.
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March 1, 1921
Havana, Cuba
South American heavyweight champion, Pizzaro Elpidio, will fight fellow Cuban Fierro Antolin in a title match on May 16, 1921 here in Havana, Cuba. Antolin has only had 12 fights and sports a record of 6-5-1 with one KO but Elpidio claims he wants to fight in front of his hometown fans and they have a right to see an all-Cuban title bout.
Former champion, Luis Firpo of Argentina, has been lobbying hard to get a rematch with Elpidio but has been rebuffed repeatedly. Elpidio's managers have been sending repeated telegrams to the camp of new World Heavyweight Champion, Sam Langford, in an attempt to get a shot at the world title.
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March 4, 1921
Brisbane, Australia
Albert Pooley has announced he will fight Ern Waddy here on April 12th, 1921 for the Australian-New Zealand HW title he presently holds.
Pooley is considered a 3:1 favorite to retain his title.
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March 15, 1921
Johannesburg, South Africa
George "Boer" Rodel made good on his promise to give fellow South Africans a shot at the British Empire title by agreeing to meet Nick Van Den Berg on June 11 right here in the Johannesburg Hotel venue.
Rodel will bring a record of 26-5-1 with 17 KO's to the ring while Van Den Berg stands at 32-3-2 with only 2 victories coming by the way of KO.
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April 2nd, 1921
May 17, 1921
Havana, Cuba
The fight here in Havana, Cuba last night between Cuban boxers Elpidio Pizzaro and Antolin Fierro was a real barn burner. Both men landed hard blows but it was Elpidio Pizzaro's luck [or low trunks] in the final analysis that enabled him to retain his South American HW crown. Antolin Fierro was disqualified at the 2:00 minute mark of the 15th round of a fight that had him ahead on all cards 133-132, 133-132 and 133-131.
The quickness and footwork of Antolin Fierro kept champion Elpidio Pizzaro off balance throughout the fight despite his supposed edge in talent and experience.
Fierro was cut under the right eye in the 4th and over the left eye in the 7th but he inflicted more damage on his opponent by opening up a cut under Elpidio Pizzaro's left eye in the 9th and then knocking him down with a strong combination in the 11th.
But Antolin Fierro was also warned repeatedly for illegal blows throughout the match and that proved to be his undoing. Referee Vincent Rainone warned Fierro for hitting on the break in the 2nd round, then warned Fierro to watch rabbit punching in the 5th, finally taking a point away. In the 14th Fierro had another point deducted for rabbit punching before finally being DQ'd for the low blow in the 15th.
For a report on the fight go here.
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April 13, 1921
Brisbane, Australia
No one was more shocked last night than Ern Waddy when Albert Pooley was declared the winner by majority decision in their title fight.
Waddy was knocked down twice in the 2nd round for a 10-7 score on all cards and that proved to be enough to give Pooley the margin in the fight, although many others disagreed.
Waddy had fought back well after the knockdowns, with both men striking hard blows. But it was Pooley who tasted the canvas in the 6th and was hurt in the 11th although he proved able to survive the round. A head butt in the 12th opened a severe gash over Pooley's left eye but he was able to survive that setback as well.
For a report on the fight go here.
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May 18, 1921
Boston, Mass., USA
World Heavyweight Champion, Sam Langford, announced here today that he will defend his crown against Irish born Mike McTigue on June 22, 1921 right here in Boston, Mass. McTigue fights out of New York and has a 33-2-1 record with 9 KO's. Langford has been posted as a heavy favorite in the fight and is expected to KO McTigue within 8 rounds.
At the news conference Sam Langford, also announced that has declined to defend his Canadian HW title against the #1 Canadian contender, Horace "Soldier" Jones. As a result, the Canadian Boxing Commission has sanctioned a title bout between Horace Jones and Cleve Hawkins to fill the vacant spot. That fight will take place in Toronto, Canada on August 15, 1921. Jones is an odds-on favorite to win the crown.
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May 21, 1921
Philadelphia, PA
A new rising star has appeared on the scene in the shape of a 19 year old named Tommy Loughran. Loughran recently ran his record to 12-0 [all decisions] with a win over veteran Dutch Zimmer. Loughran has also defeated European contender Jean Forr, American fighter "Agile" Andre Anderson and promising Canadian newcomer, Jack Renault.
Oldtimers viewing the youngster, claim Loughran is a skilled boxer with the perfect stance. Manager Joe Smith says his young fighter is always thinking, always scheming for some way to beat his opponent. Smith says that Loughran even tries to finish each round while fighting in his own corner. That allows him to sit down at the bell while his opponents walked across the ring at the close of each round. "Just a little thing" says Smith, "but something that may take him to the heavyweight crown some day. He's going to be that good."
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June 11, 1921
Johannesburg, South Africa
Nick Van Den Bergh upset the British Empire boxing scene here this afternoon with a TKO win over fellow South African George" Boer" Rodel!
Van Den Bergh used his superior boxing skills to dominate the fight and completely frustrate Rodel. Van Den Bergh even threw in a little bit of seldom seen power and knocked Rodel down twice in the 11th round. Van Den Bergh's jabs made a mess of Rodel's face and the fight was stopped with the former champion unable to see well enough to defend himself in the opinion of the referee.
For a report on the fight go here.
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June 22, 1921
Boston, Mass., USA
Sam Langford retained his heavyweight title in an exciting fight here this evening. The fight went the distance, something boxing experts did not expect to happen, even though Langford did his best to satisfy them. Mike McTigue was knocked down in the 11th, 13th and twice in the 15th but refused to give in. Much credit must be given to the game veteran with the "never say die" attitude.
For a report on the fight go here.
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July 28, 1921
Bangkok, Thailand
Argentinian Luis Firpo KO'd Englishman Tom Cowler in the 5th round here in a fight that was designed to get both men back into the heavyweight spotlight.
Cowler had been shaken by big bombs from Firpo in the 1st before coming back to take the 2nd, 3rd and 4th rounds. Cowler stayed in control until a sharp left hook dropped him early in the 5th. He was able to rise and keep Firpo at bay until near the end of the round when he was caught again, this time by a powerful uppercut that put him down for the count.
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July 29, 1921
Edmonton, Canada
Canadian heavyweight Jack Renault took on 3 opponents this month here in Edmonton in an attempt to pick up the pace on his boxing career.
On July 1st, Renault won a unanimous decision over Sunny Jim, knocking Jim down in the 7th and completely dominating the fight. Two weeks later, Renault scored a TKO victory over Billy Cadman. Cadman's right eye was banged up pretty badly in the 2nd round by several powerful blows and made it very difficult for him to avoid left hooks all night. Cadman was knocked down in the 4th, 5th and 6th rounds before the ringside physician, after taking a look at Cadman's eye and seeing blood, recommended halting the bout. Stepping up in class the next week, Renault then met veteran Charley Robinson. But Robinson proved to be a tougher nut to crack for the young fighter. Robinson had gone 14 rounds with current heavyweight champ Sam Langford in 1918 in a bid for the Canadian HW title, losing on a TKO, and his ring savy showed. Despite hurting Robinson in the first two rounds Renault could do no better than a majority draw. Two judges saw it as even at 76 to 76 while Jimmy Shephard scored the bout 77 to 75 for Charley Robinson.
Renault plans to sail to England in an attempt to get several more high caliber fights before the end of the year.
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August 17, 1921
Toronto, Canada
Soldier Jones won the vacant Canadian Heavyweight Championship here last night with a TKO win over Cleve Hawkins. Referee Max Parker stopped the bout at the start of the 9th when it was obvious that Hawkins was having difficulty seeing from both eyes.
For a report on the bout go here.
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September 1, 1921
San Francisco, California
Top HW contenders John Lester Johnson and KO Bill Brennan met her last night at the Cow Palace in a scheduled 12 round bout that lasted only 2 rounds.
Johnson started the fight very quickly by landing a severe body blow at the 40 second mark that hurt Brennan and kept him off balance for the rest of the round. But it was all Brennan in the 2nd. He staggered Johnson with a tremendous right hook to the head at the 29 second mark, then continued to attack and hurt his opponent until Johnson was able to get in a right cross that opened a large gash over Brennan's right eye at the 1:39 mark
Seeing the large amount of blood flow, the referee stopped the action and led Bill Brennan to his corner where the ring doctor recommended he not be allowed to continue. Despite the pleas from Brennan's corner to let their man finish the round he was clearly winning, the bout was halted and John Lester Johnson was declared the winner by TKO due to the severity of the cut. Official time is 1:44 of the 2nd round.
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September 14, 1921
Newark, New Jersey
The American boxing world was set on its' collective ear last night when Dutch Messer landed a desperate uppercut that knocked out HW contender Harry Wills in the first round. Wills had started the round in complete control and actually had Messer in trouble with several powerful left hooks that had Messer leaning on the ropes. Wills moved in for the kill and was caught with the uppercut that put him down for the 10 count. The official time was 1:19 of the 1st round.
Wills had been unbeaten in his ring career to this point and now sports a 30-1 record with 24 of those coming by way of KO.
The veteran Messer is now 12-24 with 3 draws to his credit. This was only his 4th KO of an opponent.
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November 10, 1921
Havana, Cuba
World Heavyweight Champion, Sam Langford, has announced he will defend his belt against the #1 contender, Fred Fulton, in a bout to take place in Gran Stadium here in Havana, Cuba on February 2, 1922.
In an undercard, South American heavyweight champion, Elpidio Pizzaro, will take on former SA champion Luis Firpo, with the winner being guaranteed a shot at the winner of the Langford-Fulton title fight.
Cuban President, Alfredo Zayas, has reportedly been involved with Pizzaro's management team to secure the boxing card and the possiblity of a world title shot for the Cuban native Pizzaro. But reports also say Zayas wanted the card as a means to put the sporting spotlight on Cuba and the governments' hopes of hosting the 1924 Olympic Games.
Large sugar concerns on the island are said to have already assured a very large purse for Langford and the guarantee of a sellout for the 35,000 seat stadium.
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November 15, 1921
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Young sensational Nebraska heavyweight, Monte Munn, was on the receiving end of KO Bill Brennan's anger last night as he lost on a TKO in the 5th round.
According to the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, just before the fight Brennan vented his anger at what he considered the unwarranted sudden stoppage in his heavyweight bout against John Lester Johnson last month. Brennan feels the 2nd round TKO loss may have derailed his opportunity for a title fight with champion Sam Langford.
Right from the beginning of the fight here last night, Brennan pounded the body of the 20 year old Munn with short ripping hooks that had the younger fighter on the defensive. Only in the 2nd round did Munn get a chance to show his skill when he caught Brennan with an uppercut that clearly hurt the man. Brennan, however, fought back like a wounded Tiger and never relented or allowed his opponent back in the fight after that. Brennan finally dropped Munn at 1:28 in the 5th round for an 8 count and then pounded away until the ref stepped in to stop the beating.
The official decision was a TKO at 2:47 of the 5th round
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December 2, 1921
London, England
South African, George "Boer" Rodel met with English HW Joe Beckett here this afternoon and promptly stunted the ambitions of the Brit from Wickham. Beckett was hoping for a good showing against Rodel and Beckett did floor Rodel in the 4th but he was dropped twice himself in the 5th before being KO'd in the 8th round.
Rodel has now challenged young English HW Phil Scott and Canadian Champion Soldier Jones, both ahead of him in the British Empire rankings, in the hopes for one more tile shot.
"I'm not getting any younger," said Rodel, "I'm willing and ready to fight anyone anywhere, anytime. I'm not ducking anyone, never have and never will!"
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