[JCWeb]

On to action from September, 1929 ...

Sep. 6, 1929: September action kicks off with a Friday night fight card in War Memorial Auditorium in Syracuse, New York. Tonight's main event is for the USBA HW title, now held by Bearcat Wright, who defends against Floyd "the Auburn Bulldog" Johnson, a top 10 HW while Wright is mired just outside the top 20. Johnson starts well, peppering Wright from the outside and causing the Champ's right eye to start swelling a bit by the end of the second stanza. However, Johnson gets careless in round five and Wright takes advantage, landing a nice combination. Johnson slumps to the canvas and cannot beat the count. The KO 5 win for Wright lifts his overall record to 25-10-3 (16) and moves him up the rankings. Johnson is 27-8-1 (21) after the loss.

Sep. 7, 1929: Another big fight card in Germany, this time at the Sportpalast in Berlin. Featured is a German fan favorite, the "Black Uhlan," HW Max Schmeling, now ranked among the top 10 HWs in the world. Tonight, Max's opponent is the Belgian, Pierre Charles. Charles proves to be a very dangerous opponent, as right out of the gate he uses his jab to open a cut over Schmeling's right eye and then follows with a hook that puts Max down on the canvas briefly in round one. Charles targets the cut, while Schmeling takes the second round to regroup and clear his head. By the end of round four Max has bounced back, repeatedly landing and causing Charles' left eye to start puffing up. Then, in round six, Schmeling breaks through, putting Charles on the canvas for a three-count. When the cut over Schmeling's eye is reopened in round seven, there is a sense of urgency in Max's corner. Accordingly, the "Black Uhlan" takes charge in round eight, nailing Charles with a wicked cross to the head to register the bout's second knockdown. Later in the round, he swarms over the hapless Belgian, putting him down with a sharp combination that signals an end to the bout as Charles does not arise. KO 8 for Schmeling, and the crowd here at the Sportpalast goes home happy after some troublesome moments early in the fight. The win moves Schmeling to 21-1 (17) while Charles drops to 24-10 (16) with the loss.

Sep. 7, 1929: Toronto's Maple Leaf Gardens in the scene of the next fight card. Co-feature is a LH bout that sees Paul Berlenbach, bounce back from some recent setbacks with a one-round demolition of George Nichols. The KO 1 result moves Berlenbach to 22-5 (17). Then, it's on to the main event, which sees Tiger Flowers, the "Georgia Deacon," defending his NABF MW title belt for the first time in 1929, facing newly-crowned USBA MW king Vince Dundee. Dundee likes his chances here tonight, as Flowers is at Post-Prime career stage. Dundee sets up Flowers for a huge shot to score the bout's first knockdown in the third round. Flowers gamely regains his footing and takes the bout into the later rounds. However, a tired and frustrated Flowers, after repeated warnings from the referee, is eventually called for flagrant holding and hitting in round 10, leading to a DQ 10 win for Dundee. Seeing as how Dundee had a comfortable lead on all three cards, there is little for Flowers' backers to complain about. Post-fight, Dundee moves to 25-3-1 (13), while Flowers slips to 36-14-1 (17).

Sep. 13, 1929: Friday night fights is once again "Down Under" at Sydney Stadium in Australia. Co-feature bout matches up two top five Flyweights, as former Champ Elky Clark takes on Johnny "the Midget Organ Grinder" Vacca. Clark, now reduced to the role of an aging former Champ, starts well and causes some swelling around Vacca's right eye by the end of the second round, but as the bout wears on, the Italian's superior boxing skills prove dominant. The ex-Champ simply can't find the range and goes down meekly as it turns out to be a fairly lopsided UD 10 win for Vacca (99-92, 99-92, 98-93) to move him to 21-2 (11) while Clark is now 29-9-1 (15). Next up is the main event, as OPBF HW king Tom Heeney puts that belt on the line versus popular Aussie George Thompson, a one-time Commonwealth HW titleholder who is making his first try for the OPBF belt. Thompson gets off to a strong start, and Heeney's right eye is starting to swell before the end of round two. In round two, a cut lip slows the Aussie challenger. Undeterred, Thompson quietly builds an early points lead. Heeney gradually gets more aggressive, and he tries to launch a comeback in the later rounds. In the final round, Thompson drops Heeney briefly with a nice, short clean hook. He goes on to lift the belt, taking a UD 12 (117-110, 116-111, 116-111) by a fairly comfortable margin. Thompson emerges from the bout with a 23-4-1 (13) career mark, compared to 28-13-1 (8) for Heeney whose career prospects seem to have stalled at the moment.

Sep. 14, 1929: It's another fight card at the Stadium in Liverpool. Key bout is the main event, for the Commonwealth MW title. Australian Alf Stewart has journeyed to defend the belt against Len Johnson, top 10 ranked EBU MW Champion. Johnson in seeking to add the Commonwealth belt to his collection of titles, having previously won the GBU title in addition to the EBU belt. He fights very conservatively, spending most of his time on the outside, cleverly picking his spots and generally outboxing and outpointing his less talented opponent. Finally, in round 11, a frustrated and tired Stewart leaves himself vulnerable to a powerful uppercut from Johnson, which leaves the Aussie on the canvas. Back up at a six-count, Stewart tries to cover up but Johnson is able to dish out some more punishment, bloodying Stewart's nose. The bout goes the distance, and Johnson takes a UD 12 (115-112, 117-110, 115-112) to add the Commonwealth belt to his other successes. The win moves Johnson to 24-9-1 (15) overall, compared to 22-14-3 (17) for Stewart.

Sep. 14, 1929: Action for the first half of September concludes with a big fight card is back in the USA, at the Convention Hall in Atlantic City. One of the preliminary bouts sees a locval favorite, HW Jimmy Braddock, continues to resurrect his flagging career, taking on James Jackson, who can best be described as a "journeyman"-type opponent. Braddock, who has won his last two and is now firmly on the comeback trail, starts well, using his slow, methodical approach of wearing down his opponent. By the end of round five, Jackson's left eye is beginning to puff up. However, right before the bell in round seven, Jackson clocks Braddock with a big uppercut right before the bell. Fortunately, Braddock has plenty of time to recover and the rest of the bout goes without incident. Braddock takes a UD 10 verdict (96-94, 97-93, 96-94). Post fight records: Braddock, 16-3-1 (6); Jackson, 15-12 (11). Braddock will move into the Prime of his career with his next bout, not expected until early 1930 as he takes a four-month layoff.
The main event for the Jersey crowd here tonight is for the LH WBA Championship, held for over three years by the popular Philadelphia area fighter, master boxing ace Tommy Loughran. Loughran's challenger this time will be the newly-crowned USBA LH Champion, Young Firpo, aka "the Wild Bull of the Pampas from Idaho." As expected, Loughran sets up shop on the outside and gradually builds a huge points lead, demonstrating his clever boxing skills. Firpo is bothered throughout the bout with a swollen left eye that gradually worsens from the accumulated impact of Loughran's blows. In round 12, Firpo starts bleeding from a cut on his nose. The cut is reopened in round 14, but the ref (after consulting the ring physician) allows the bout to continue. Firpo is unable to last the distance, however, as more bleeding causes the bout to be halted midway throught the final round. TKO 15 for Loughran, who has now won 12 successive title defenses and moves to 38-4-2 (14) overall; Firpo is now 19-3-2 (14). A real boxing clinic by Loughran here tonight.