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Boxing in the 1940s in many ways reflected worldwide events that affected other endeavors as well. World War II raged early in the decade, and just like baseballers, many popular boxers went overseas to fight for their countries, Joe Louis, Billy Conn, Beau Jack, and Bob Montgomery among them. Louis was used to entice Americans to join the war against Germany, a couple of propaganda movies starring Louis and many propaganda posters being produced. The posters in particular are collectors' items today.. Louis' great rival, Max Schmeling, a lifelong opponent of the Nazi regime, was forced by Adolf Hitler to join the German military after his loss to Louis at their 1938 rematch. Because of the war many world championship divisions were frozen. Sometimes, a title bout was held five years after the last title bout in that division had been held. Television was in its infancy in the 1940s, but nonetheless, viewers were treated to many 10-round, non title fights, and many crown challengers became household names under the absence of so many world champions. The 1940s did have some historic world title fights and rivalries. Louis and Ryan met in two fights that became part of boxing lore. Sugar Ray Robinson and Jake LaMotta began their series of famous bouts towards the middle of the decade, Jack and Montgomery fought four times, and Rocky Graziano and Tony Zale starred in what boxing critics have often called one of the fiercest rivalries in boxing history. The heavyweight division was dominated by Louis, the only man in history to be world champion throughout every year of a decade. He became world champion in 1937 and kept the title until 1949, the year in which Robinson became world welterweight champion, a precursor to becoming the most dominant fighter of the 1950s, LaMotta lost a highly controversial fight to Billy Fox in 1947. LaMotta later testified he threw the fight to earn a title shot at world middleweight champion Marcel Cerdan, ==1941== *January 13- Anton Christoforidis becomes the first Greek world boxing champion in history, beating Melio Bettina by a fifteen round decision for the National Boxing Association's vacant world Light-Heavyweight title, in Cleveland. *January 17- Fritzie Zivic retains his world Welterweight title with a twelfth round knockout of Henry Armstrong at their New York rematch. *May 22- Gus Lesvenich wins the world Light-Heavyweight title, with a fifteen round decision over Anton Christoforidis, at New York. *May 23- In an extremely controversial bout, Joe Louis retains his world Heavyweight title with a seventh round disqualification win over Max Baer's brother, Buddy Baer. After the bell to end round six, Louis landed a blow that dropped Baer. Said time-keeper Billy Dechard: ''Joe hit Baer at least three seconds after the bell sounded''. Looking for a disqualification win, Baer's manager announced his fighter would not come out for round seven, and Baer wound up getting disqualified instead. The controversial fight took place in Washington, DC. *June 18- Behind on the scorecards, Joe Louis scores a thirteenth round knockout of former world Light-Heavyweight champion Billy Conn to retain the world Heavyweight title, at New York. *July 29- Freddie Cochrane wins the world Welterweight title, defeating Fritzie Zivoc with a fifteen round decision, in Newark. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Boxing in the 1940s」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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