Boxing in The 1940s - 1945

1945

(note on boxing in 1945: because of the events of World War II during this year, there were only two world championship boxing bouts in 1945).

• February 19- Willie Pep retains his world Featherweight title with a fifteen round decision over Phil Terranova, in New York.
• February 24- Sugar Ray Robinson and Jake LaMotta fight chapter four of their rivalry. Robinson wins a ten round unanimous decision, at New York.
• April 18- Ike Williams wins the National Boxing Association's world Lightweight title, knocking out champion Juan Zurita in two rounds, at Mexico City, Mexico.
• September 28- Rocky Graziano stops Harold Green in two rounds at New York. Green later claimed he was paid to lose the fight.

==1946==

• June 7- Willie Pep unifies the world Featherweight title with a twelve round knockout victory over Sal Bartolo, at New York.
• June 9- In a rematch of their 1941 bout, Joe Louis retains the world Heavyweight title with an eighth round knockout over former world Light Heavyweight champion Billy Conn, in New York.
• September 27- Tony Zale and Rocky Graziano fight each other for the first time, starting one of boxing's most notorious rivalries. World Middleweight champion Zale retains the crown, knocking out Graziano in round six, at New York.
• December 20- Sugar Ray Robinson becomes world champion for the first time, defeating Tommy Bell by a fifteen round unanimous decision for the vacant world Welterweight championship, in New York.