New York Daily Star
December 2, 1948
Papp Bangs Out Second Win
With Unanimous Nod
By Jimmy Wallwork
Laszlo Papp, winner of a gold medal at last summer's Olympic games, scored his second professional victory with a unanimous six round verdict over Harlem's King David last night in an undercard match at St. Nick's Arena.
Papp pretty much had his way with the King, who had been a regular undercard slugger in local venues. After putting on a picture-book boxing display in the first round, the Hungarian ripped a deep gash over King David's left brow with a sharp uppercut in the next round.
For the remainder of the match, the King did his best to protect the wound by avoiding mixing it up with Papp. Laszlo's steady assault in the third along with the free flow of blood coming from above David's eye had the referee taking a close look at the action.
As the round closed, there was high speculation among the crowd that David wasn't coming out for the fourth. But the King did answer the bell to face his tormenter for another round.
David seemed a little worn from the encounter and appeared to be an easy mark for Papp. Laszlo however failed to take full advantage of the situation by demonstrating a lack of patience. Rather than set his opponent up, Papp winged lefts and rights, many of which missed there mark.
The effort might have winded the Hungarian a bit as he looked lethargic when he came out for round five and resorted to some occassional holding. The final round was a slow affair with the fighters engaging in infrequent exchanges, none of which did any damage.
By the cards of all three judges, Papp took all six rounds with a cored of 60-54.
While the result was far from a surprise, a number of ringsiders were questioning Papp's inability to put his opponent away.
King David, who's real name is Ernest Foster, is univerally recognized by New York's boxing fans as the owner of a glass jaw. He's been kayoed twenty-two times in his thirty losses with most of the countouts taking place by the second round.
To be fair to Papp, he's not known to be a one-punch knockout artist. He's a classic boxer/puncher who wears his opponents down with a steady barrage of blows.
Still the inability to even send a fighter like King David to the canvas for a count is caused for a raised eyebrow. More importantly, although looked like a punching machine for the first four rounds, he appeared tired in the last two heats and missed many of his punches.
All of that said, nobody's suggesting that we start composing Papp's epitaph at this juncture. This was his second fight as a pro, and he's obviously still making adjustments.
It will take more than two fights to get a true assessment of Laszlo's place among the current class of middleweights.