THE RING Flashback: August 1941

A look back at a past issue of THE RING and the world of boxing at the time it was published.

WORLD CHAMPIONS
For the period ended June 12, 1941

Heavyweight: Joe Louis
Light Heavyweight: vacant
Middleweight: title vacant
Welterweight: Fritzie Zivic
Lightweight: Lew Jenkins
Featherweight: Joey Archibald
Bantamweight: Lou Salica
Flyweight: vacant


COVER STORY: “Billy Conn vs. Joe Louis” is the cover headline, but Nat Fleischer’s article about the legendary encounter is titled “Cockiness Costly,” which is much more indicative of what took place inside the ring. This was because every other aspect of the issue, including the cover, was shipped to the printer prior to the fight, while Fleischer’s account was inserted immediately afterward, just before the presses rolled. That’s the reason the cover featured such a generic headline. Moreover, as a footnote at the end of Fleischer’s piece explained, there would be no photographs of the fight until the following issue. (Come on, Nat, you couldn’t download a digital image or two?)
“The Bomber will never come closer to being toppled off his throne than in this fight,” wrote Fleischer in his account of Louis’ come-from-behind, 13th-round KO victory. “Even Conn’s most ardent supporters didn’t expect him to put forth the brand of fighting he did. He outboxed and outslugged the most powerful hitter in recent years. He passed out of the picture as had been predicted, by mixing it with the most devastating hitter of his era, and he took the consequences.”

“Terror Thrill For Joe” by Dick Cox covered Louis’ title defense against Buddy Baer (Max’s younger brother), which took place less than a month before the Conn fight, a schedule that would be unthinkable for a modern heavyweight champion. In fact, Louis almost became an ex-champ in the opening round, when Baer clobbered him with a left hook that spun Louis around and sent him flying headfirst out of the ring. But Louis quickly scrambled back between the ropes and, according to Cox, “was punching back at the count of four!” Louis never looked back after his near-disastrous opening round, and the courageous Baer took a savage beating thereafter. But the conclusion, which came in the sixth round, was not without controversy. After twice being floored by a “fusillade of paralyzing punches,” the badly dazed Baer was dropped a third time by a crushing right. The problem was that the round-ending bell had sounded a few seconds earlier but had gone unheard over the din created by the 23,912 at Washington, D.C.’s Griffith Stadium. Baer’s manager, Ancil Hoffman, tried to get Louis disqualified, but referee Author Donovan refused and ordered Baer to come out for the seventh round. When he didn’t, it was Louis who won via disqualification. The hubbub was enough to earn Baer a rematch the following year, which resulted in a one-round KO victory for Louis.

“Louis’ Dude Ranch Shows Joe At His Best” by Hype Igoe was the third Louis feature in the issue and described the writer’s visit to The Brown Bomber’s 450-acre spread in Utica, Michigan, where “You’ll find blooded, white-face cattle, prize hogs, game birds and chickens, trout in a stream that cuts through his grounds, and, best of all, high stepping saddle horses.”
Igoe revealed that after purchasing the land for $35,000, Louis discovered an old couple living in a secluded cabin in a wooded area. The couple were worried they’d be evicted, but the champ reassured them that they could “stay there as long as you like.”

“Broadcast From New York” by Eddie Borden ripped the New York State Athletic Commission for allowing Lew Jenkins to tangle with Bob Montgomery, who won a one-sided, 10-round decision in front of 14,638 at Madison Square Garden. “The cuts from his old wounds (suffered against Lou Ambers) were never properly healed and he was rushed into this contest because promoter Jacobs sensed a good crowd,” wrote Borden. “The commission was negligent in not checking properly on Lew’s condition.”

“Boxers Aid Morale” by Arthur Thompson discussed various fighters serving in the Armed Forces. “Although Army and Navy officials are frowning on a general practice of releasing on furlough boxers who want to engage in professional bouts,” wrote Thompson, “here and there exceptions are being made. It is entirely up to the commander whether such furloughs are granted, and in most cases, they are given only when officials feel that the appearances in a pro fight of boxers at their camp are beneficial to the service through the publicity obtained or because a portion of the receipts are given over to a welfare fund.”

“In Sunny California” by local correspondent Harry E. Winkler featured a thrilling battle for the California welterweight title between Jackie Wilson and Baby Arizmendi that attracted 15,000 fans to Los Angeles’ Wrigley Field. After surviving two first-round knockdowns, Wilson fought his way back and stopped Arizmendi in the eighth round. “Arizmendi was never in danger of being knocked out and he would not give ground, even to Wilson’s hot leather,” wrote Winkler, “but the gallant Baby was merely playing the part of a target at the finish, his left eye completely closed and his face badly swollen.”