The Brooklyn Bugle
May 16, 1949
Papp Whacks Izzy Dizzy!
Blum Halted In Fifth Round
By Larry Rubin
Last year's Olympic gold medalist, Hungarian Laszlo Papp, was just too much for Brooklyn local Nat "Izzy" Blum in their scheduled eight round affair at Broadway Arena.
Papp gave Izzy a severe beating in the match which was wisely halted with thirty seconds remaining in round five.
After a feeling out first round, both fighters got down to business in the second. The soutpaw Papp's bobbing, weaving, crouching style gave Blum problems early on.
Laszlo proved difficult to hit as he moved inside to punish Blum with powerful rights and lefts. Blum was able to catch the Hungarian a few times with a crosses to the head but was unable to halt Papp's progress.
In the third, Papp turned up the heat on Izzy, tagging him with ripping hooks and quick combinations. As the round was winding down, referee Mike O'Malley was watching Blum closely with obvious thoughts of stopping the slaughter.
Although Izzy made it to the next round, it was obvious to all that he had little if anything left. Papp, however, was the picture of patience, no doubt following the sage advice of his cornerman, Charley Goldman.
Rather than ripping into Blum at the opening bell, Papp displayed a bit of caution to make certain that the game was over and the prey was ready to be taken. He spent most of the fouth frame, stalking Izzy and measuring him for the kill. For his part, Izzy offered virtually no offense for the entire three minutes of the round.
Now certain of the situation, Papp rushed Blum at the start of the fifth battering the seemingly helpless Izzy around the ring. By the 2:00 minute mark, O'Malley had seen enough and halted the massacre giving the win to Papp via the TKO.
The win takes Papp's record to 6-0. Blum is now stands at 6-14-1.
Al Weill, who recently became Papp's manager, spoke to the press after the match and predicted great things for his fighter.
"Laszlo's progressing much faster than we thought he would. But we're not going to rush him. This is a future world champion. He's making a fine adjustment to the pro game, and I expect he's about a year away from taking a shot at the middleweight title."