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Kid Chocolate sends Bushy Graham to the canvas in their wild 1929 fight at the New York Colosseum. Kid Chocolate won when Graham was disqualified in the 7th round.
April 13, 1929
18,000 SEE GRAHAM LOSE TO CHOCOLATE; Cuban Featherweight Declared Winner on Foul in 7th in Inaugural at Coliseum. GRAHAM IN LEAD AT TIME Utica Boy, Warned on Several Occasions, Had Slight Edge --Brady Victor. THOUSANDS TURNED AWAY Police Disperse Ticket Seekers-- Ringside Fans Yield Seats to Mayor Walker and His Party. Judge Joh Calls Foul. Graham Sent to One Knee. Crowd Noisy Gathering.
Credit...The New York Times
The New York Coliseum in the Bronx opened last night with a spectacular featherweight battle, but an unsatisfactory finish brought the inaugural feature to an untimely close. Kid Chocolate, Cuban negro fighter, won from Bushey Graham, Utica veteran, on a foul in the seventh round of their scheduled fifteen-round encounter. There followed a great roar from : 18,000 fight fans, men and women, some shouting in rebuke for the disqualified lad, some in rebuttal of the disqualification. Referee Jack Dorman disqualified Graham after 2 minutes and 4 seconds of the seventh round, giving Chocolate the fight at a time when Graham was ahead on points. There could be no dissent with the disqualification, because Graham had violated the rules of warfare and was deserving of punishment. Chocolate was down twice, once tinder a foul blow and Graham was down as many times from punches which were clean and upset him. In the first round Graham floored his foe for a count of one. In the second Chocolate sent Graham to his knee with a smashing right to the jaw. Later in the round Chocolate hobbled off to a neutral corner to fall on his knees, claiming an illegal left which was palpably foul. Judge Joh Calls Foul. In the sixth Judge Billy Joh at the ringside called a flagrant foul - which escaped the eye of Referee Dorman because he was out of position, and then Graham was told that another offense would mean his disqualification. The offense came in the next round. Graham protested the disqualification, explaining that his foot slipped as he leaped in on the attack, but the explanation fell on deaf ears. Though he was ahead at the time the bout ended, Graham was weakening under the pace. Great exertion was entailed in his own peculiar style and there was considerable punishment in the punches Chocolate rained upon his head and body at close quarters. The first five rounds held more action than is ordinarily crowded into the average ten-round battle and excitement was proportionate. Graham pumped left hooks into Chocolate's body and face to start the fight and then suddenly electrified the crowd by upsetting Chocolate with a right to the jaw. Chocolate took only a count of one and rose to weather a gale of blows. Graham Sent to One Knee. At the start of the second, Chocolate crashed over a right to the jaw which caught Graham off balance and sent Bushey to one knee. Chocolate tried desperately to press his advantage, and won the round. In one exchange Graham shot over a left which looked low, and Chocolate was hurt by the blow. The Cuban dragged himself to a neutral corner, where he went to one knee in pain, but neither judge could verify the punch and the bout proceeded. Later Graham again was warned for striking low with the left. Graham's dancing style and accurate hitting with left hooks gave him the third round. In this session Chocolate won the crowd when he smilingly assisted his foe back to the ring as Graham almost dove through the ropes after missing a right for the jaw. A late rally won Chocolate the fourth round and found him drilling rights to Graham's jaw in a frenzied outburst of offensive fighting which had the crowd yelling wildly. Chocolate once fell to his knees from the impact of his own blow and his position while delivering it. Graham was warned again in this round for fouling. Through the fifth and sixth sessions Graham's dancing, slapping. hooking style gave the up-State lad these sessions beyond question. Chocolate tried every trick at his command, but was unable at times even to land a jab. The seventh found Graham running into a rally by Chocolate and fighting off the Cuban until suddenly Graham slipped a left to the body, which was erratic and ended the fight. Chocolate weighed 120 pounds and Graham 121½ pounds.
On July 15th, 1931, Kid Chocolate became junior lightweight champion with a 7th round TKO of Benny Bass in Philadelphia, making Kid Chocolate Cuba's first ever world champion. Benny Bass eas nicknamed "Little Fish", he was an all-time great, tough as nails fighter, he's a Hall of Famer. Strongly built with muscular shoulders, Bass's signature punch was a powerful left hook to the midsection, and he enjoyed fighting on the inside, a frequent requirement from his relative lack of reach. Tough, great fighter was Benny Bass.
The Fight City
Boxiana
July 15, 1931: Chocolate vs Bass
By: Patrick Connor
Throughout boxing history, world titles have assumed various levels of worth, some about as valuable as your proverbial wooden nickel. It’s a process unlikely to ever stop, as different sanctioning bodies and incarnations of championships are always being created and destroyed, but if naught else the belts do signify some kind of achievement and often function as a means to an end. And indeed a world title belt not universally recognized triggered a wave of patriotism and euphoria in Cuba on behalf of Eligio Sardiñas, aka the great “Kid Chocolate,” the island nation’s first world champion.
A 160-0 amateur record, as reported by Chocolate’s manager Luis “Pincho” Gutierrez, was likely fudged, but no one could deny “The Keed” seemed destined for stardom. The former newsboy brought his entertaining ring style to New York in 1928, along with his stablemate Black Bill, and after only ten fights, Kid Chocolate caught on as a major attraction. He stayed that way as he went on a 61-3-1 tear, putting himself in line for a chance to face Benny Bass, holder of the National Boxing Association’s super featherweight title, a championship acknowledged by some, but not all.
Benny Bass
The losses on Chocolate’s ledger came at the hands of Jack “Kid” Berg, Fidel LaBarba and Bat Battalino, and were all forgivable, if not disputed. Still, the Cuban’s popularity caught up with him, as noted by Kansas City editor Edward Cochrane: “About a year ago [Chocolate] was rated by the leading fistic experts of two continents as the best featherweight in the world despite the fact that he did not hold the title. Then he went the way of all boxers. He decided he could do Broadway at night and retain his fighting form but he found that he could not.”
A title shot loss against New York’s featherweight champion Battalino perhaps reflected the cost of such high living. The Kid then moved up to super featherweight, a division still struggling for legitimacy a decade after its semi-formal inception.
Bass was no unknown himself, though despite his history of being warned and even disqualified for low blows, Bass was more soft spoken than The Kid. But his record of 105-15-3 proved his toughness and experience, even if he had trouble winning the important ones. Losing to Tony Canzoneri was understandable, but Pete Nebo, Eddie Shea and Mike Dundee were all beatable opponents. Unfortunately, Bass often underperformed, starting with losing a spot on the 1920 U.S. Olympic team in the semi-finals of the Amateur Athletic Union games. (He was sent packing by William Cohan, who would then be defeated by Frankie Genaro, the eventual gold medalist.)
After having picked up a vacant featherweight belt, which he then lost to Canzoneri, Bass won the NBA junior lightweight title with a two round destruction of Tod Morgan in 1929. But then the New York State Athletic Commission moved to abolish all junior or supplemental weight classes and ceased to recognize Bass as a champion at 130. It was another hit to a division largely considered superfluous.
All through 1930 and the first half of 1931, Bass could not consistently prevail over good fighters, but due to the screwy rule in some jurisdictions stating that champions needed to be stopped to lose a belt, he managed to hold on to his NBA title and his defense against the Cuban was set for Shibe Park in Philadelphia.
In training, Bass pitched hay at his Berlin, N.J. farm between gym sessions, while Chocolate worked at the headquarters of George Godfrey just outside of Philadelphia. The Kid even wrestled with Godfrey, who outweighed him by 100 pounds or more, after sessions with his usual sparring partner, Nick Florio. The irony of Kid Chocolate grappling with a fighter named after George “Old Chocolate” Godfrey aside, the exercise probably did little to enhance his boxing skills. It did, however, keep The Kid in great shape, as he came into the match weighing well below the super featherweight limit.
Bass and Chocolate weigh in
Following an intense opening round, Bass returned to his corner complaining that the vision in his left eye was quickly diminishing. He would later state he had been thumbed, and in round two the same eye opened up, spilling copious amounts of blood. From then on, The Kid set himself to annex the belt on cuts, as he mercilessly pecked away at the bad eye. A United News report out of Pittsburgh read, “Bass was bewildered by Chocolate’s boxing skill and frequently swung all the way around in attempts to hit his opponent. On other occasions he wound up with his back to the Cuban.”
The champion’s usually trusty left hook was easily dodged or taken on Chocolate’s gloves, though Bass sometimes found The Kid’s body, where he was said to be weak. But the difference in speed and sharpness was a killer, and through rounds five and six the challenger dished out welts and whips galore. Bass was fading quickly and The Kid sensed a world title within his grasp. The end came in round seven.
Kid Chocolate celebrates his big win
“[Bass] was in a battered condition when Referee Leo Houck ordered the bout stopped,” reported The New York Times. “His left eye was closed and bleeding badly, while he also had a split under his chin. On the other hand, Chocolate appeared virtually unharmed as the battle ended. To celebrate winning the title the Cuban danced for joy in his corner as the crowd set up a roar of acclaim.”
The Kid had every right to celebrate. After all, blindness had already retired Black Bill, Cuba’s other championship hope, and with the victory Kid Chocolate became Cuba’s first world titlist and an overnight national hero.
Kid Chocolate floors Fidel LaBarba at Madison Square Garden in 1932, The Keed defeated LaBarba by majority decision, defending both the featherweight and junior lightweight titles. Fidel LaBarba is another all-time great fighter in the Hall of Fame, LaBarba won the gold medal in the flyweight division at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris. Love this image of Kid Chocolate, awesome pose with the arms out.
In 1932 Kid Chocolate defended his junior lightweight championship with a 10-round unanimous decision over Eddie Shea in Chicago. This image captures Chocolate sending Shea to the canvas in round 3.
1933, Kid Chocolate defended his featherweight and junior lightweight titles with a 15-round unanimous decision over Seaman Tommy Watson at Madison Square Garden. Love that bottom image of Kid Chocolate leaping forward with everything he's got about to hit Watson with a right hook to the body, what an electrifying fighter.
Great shot of Kid Chocolate in the ring against Jack "Kid" Berg, Berg was an all-time great, he was nicknamed "The Whitechapel Whirlwind" because of his non-stop, relentless punching style that originated from his time fighting in London's Whitechapel district. The nickname highlighted his perpetual motion and ability to overwhelm opponents with a constant barrage of punches, earning him a reputation for being both powerful and tireless. Berg would hand Chocolate his first professional loss and defeat him again in their rematch.
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Hey look, it's time for a word from our sponsors. This thread is being brought to you by Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls, they're the undisputed champion of cinnamon rolls, try some today!
Kid Chocolate sends Bushy Graham to the canvas in their wild 1929 fight at the New York Colosseum. Kid Chocolate won when Graham was disqualified in the 7th round.
April 13, 1929
18,000 SEE GRAHAM LOSE TO CHOCOLATE; Cuban Featherweight Declared Winner on Foul in 7th in Inaugural at Coliseum. GRAHAM IN LEAD AT TIME Utica Boy, Warned on Several Occasions, Had Slight Edge --Brady Victor. THOUSANDS TURNED AWAY Police Disperse Ticket Seekers-- Ringside Fans Yield Seats to Mayor Walker and His Party. Judge Joh Calls Foul. Graham Sent to One Knee. Crowd Noisy Gathering.
Credit...The New York Times
The New York Coliseum in the Bronx opened last night with a spectacular featherweight battle, but an unsatisfactory finish brought the inaugural feature to an untimely close. Kid Chocolate, Cuban negro fighter, won from Bushey Graham, Utica veteran, on a foul in the seventh round of their scheduled fifteen-round encounter. There followed a great roar from : 18,000 fight fans, men and women, some shouting in rebuke for the disqualified lad, some in rebuttal of the disqualification. Referee Jack Dorman disqualified Graham after 2 minutes and 4 seconds of the seventh round, giving Chocolate the fight at a time when Graham was ahead on points. There could be no dissent with the disqualification, because Graham had violated the rules of warfare and was deserving of punishment. Chocolate was down twice, once tinder a foul blow and Graham was down as many times from punches which were clean and upset him. In the first round Graham floored his foe for a count of one. In the second Chocolate sent Graham to his knee with a smashing right to the jaw. Later in the round Chocolate hobbled off to a neutral corner to fall on his knees, claiming an illegal left which was palpably foul. Judge Joh Calls Foul. In the sixth Judge Billy Joh at the ringside called a flagrant foul - which escaped the eye of Referee Dorman because he was out of position, and then Graham was told that another offense would mean his disqualification. The offense came in the next round. Graham protested the disqualification, explaining that his foot slipped as he leaped in on the attack, but the explanation fell on deaf ears. Though he was ahead at the time the bout ended, Graham was weakening under the pace. Great exertion was entailed in his own peculiar style and there was considerable punishment in the punches Chocolate rained upon his head and body at close quarters. The first five rounds held more action than is ordinarily crowded into the average ten-round battle and excitement was proportionate. Graham pumped left hooks into Chocolate's body and face to start the fight and then suddenly electrified the crowd by upsetting Chocolate with a right to the jaw. Chocolate took only a count of one and rose to weather a gale of blows. Graham Sent to One Knee. At the start of the second, Chocolate crashed over a right to the jaw which caught Graham off balance and sent Bushey to one knee. Chocolate tried desperately to press his advantage, and won the round. In one exchange Graham shot over a left which looked low, and Chocolate was hurt by the blow. The Cuban dragged himself to a neutral corner, where he went to one knee in pain, but neither judge could verify the punch and the bout proceeded. Later Graham again was warned for striking low with the left. Graham's dancing style and accurate hitting with left hooks gave him the third round. In this session Chocolate won the crowd when he smilingly assisted his foe back to the ring as Graham almost dove through the ropes after missing a right for the jaw. A late rally won Chocolate the fourth round and found him drilling rights to Graham's jaw in a frenzied outburst of offensive fighting which had the crowd yelling wildly. Chocolate once fell to his knees from the impact of his own blow and his position while delivering it. Graham was warned again in this round for fouling. Through the fifth and sixth sessions Graham's dancing, slapping. hooking style gave the up-State lad these sessions beyond question. Chocolate tried every trick at his command, but was unable at times even to land a jab. The seventh found Graham running into a rally by Chocolate and fighting off the Cuban until suddenly Graham slipped a left to the body, which was erratic and ended the fight. Chocolate weighed 120 pounds and Graham 121½ pounds.
On July 15th, 1931, Kid Chocolate became junior lightweight champion with a 7th round TKO of Benny Bass in Philadelphia, making Kid Chocolate Cuba's first ever world champion. Benny Bass eas nicknamed "Little Fish", he was an all-time great, tough as nails fighter, he's a Hall of Famer. Strongly built with muscular shoulders, Bass's signature punch was a powerful left hook to the midsection, and he enjoyed fighting on the inside, a frequent requirement from his relative lack of reach. Tough, great fighter was Benny Bass.
The Fight City
Boxiana
July 15, 1931: Chocolate vs Bass
By: Patrick Connor
Throughout boxing history, world titles have assumed various levels of worth, some about as valuable as your proverbial wooden nickel. It’s a process unlikely to ever stop, as different sanctioning bodies and incarnations of championships are always being created and destroyed, but if naught else the belts do signify some kind of achievement and often function as a means to an end. And indeed a world title belt not universally recognized triggered a wave of patriotism and euphoria in Cuba on behalf of Eligio Sardiñas, aka the great “Kid Chocolate,” the island nation’s first world champion.
A 160-0 amateur record, as reported by Chocolate’s manager Luis “Pincho” Gutierrez, was likely fudged, but no one could deny “The Keed” seemed destined for stardom. The former newsboy brought his entertaining ring style to New York in 1928, along with his stablemate Black Bill, and after only ten fights, Kid Chocolate caught on as a major attraction. He stayed that way as he went on a 61-3-1 tear, putting himself in line for a chance to face Benny Bass, holder of the National Boxing Association’s super featherweight title, a championship acknowledged by some, but not all.
Benny Bass
The losses on Chocolate’s ledger came at the hands of Jack “Kid” Berg, Fidel LaBarba and Bat Battalino, and were all forgivable, if not disputed. Still, the Cuban’s popularity caught up with him, as noted by Kansas City editor Edward Cochrane: “About a year ago [Chocolate] was rated by the leading fistic experts of two continents as the best featherweight in the world despite the fact that he did not hold the title. Then he went the way of all boxers. He decided he could do Broadway at night and retain his fighting form but he found that he could not.”
A title shot loss against New York’s featherweight champion Battalino perhaps reflected the cost of such high living. The Kid then moved up to super featherweight, a division still struggling for legitimacy a decade after its semi-formal inception.
Bass was no unknown himself, though despite his history of being warned and even disqualified for low blows, Bass was more soft spoken than The Kid. But his record of 105-15-3 proved his toughness and experience, even if he had trouble winning the important ones. Losing to Tony Canzoneri was understandable, but Pete Nebo, Eddie Shea and Mike Dundee were all beatable opponents. Unfortunately, Bass often underperformed, starting with losing a spot on the 1920 U.S. Olympic team in the semi-finals of the Amateur Athletic Union games. (He was sent packing by William Cohan, who would then be defeated by Frankie Genaro, the eventual gold medalist.)
After having picked up a vacant featherweight belt, which he then lost to Canzoneri, Bass won the NBA junior lightweight title with a two round destruction of Tod Morgan in 1929. But then the New York State Athletic Commission moved to abolish all junior or supplemental weight classes and ceased to recognize Bass as a champion at 130. It was another hit to a division largely considered superfluous.
All through 1930 and the first half of 1931, Bass could not consistently prevail over good fighters, but due to the screwy rule in some jurisdictions stating that champions needed to be stopped to lose a belt, he managed to hold on to his NBA title and his defense against the Cuban was set for Shibe Park in Philadelphia.
In training, Bass pitched hay at his Berlin, N.J. farm between gym sessions, while Chocolate worked at the headquarters of George Godfrey just outside of Philadelphia. The Kid even wrestled with Godfrey, who outweighed him by 100 pounds or more, after sessions with his usual sparring partner, Nick Florio. The irony of Kid Chocolate grappling with a fighter named after George “Old Chocolate” Godfrey aside, the exercise probably did little to enhance his boxing skills. It did, however, keep The Kid in great shape, as he came into the match weighing well below the super featherweight limit.
Bass and Chocolate weigh in
Following an intense opening round, Bass returned to his corner complaining that the vision in his left eye was quickly diminishing. He would later state he had been thumbed, and in round two the same eye opened up, spilling copious amounts of blood. From then on, The Kid set himself to annex the belt on cuts, as he mercilessly pecked away at the bad eye. A United News report out of Pittsburgh read, “Bass was bewildered by Chocolate’s boxing skill and frequently swung all the way around in attempts to hit his opponent. On other occasions he wound up with his back to the Cuban.”
The champion’s usually trusty left hook was easily dodged or taken on Chocolate’s gloves, though Bass sometimes found The Kid’s body, where he was said to be weak. But the difference in speed and sharpness was a killer, and through rounds five and six the challenger dished out welts and whips galore. Bass was fading quickly and The Kid sensed a world title within his grasp. The end came in round seven.
Kid Chocolate celebrates his big win
“[Bass] was in a battered condition when Referee Leo Houck ordered the bout stopped,” reported The New York Times. “His left eye was closed and bleeding badly, while he also had a split under his chin. On the other hand, Chocolate appeared virtually unharmed as the battle ended. To celebrate winning the title the Cuban danced for joy in his corner as the crowd set up a roar of acclaim.”
The Kid had every right to celebrate. After all, blindness had already retired Black Bill, Cuba’s other championship hope, and with the victory Kid Chocolate became Cuba’s first world titlist and an overnight national hero.
Kid Chocolate floors Fidel LaBarba at Madison Square Garden in 1932, The Keed defeated LaBarba by majority decision, defending both the featherweight and junior lightweight titles. Fidel LaBarba is another all-time great fighter in the Hall of Fame, LaBarba won the gold medal in the flyweight division at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris. Love this image of Kid Chocolate, awesome pose with the arms out.
In 1932 Kid Chocolate defended his junior lightweight championship with a 10-round unanimous decision over Eddie Shea in Chicago. This image captures Chocolate sending Shea to the canvas in round 3.
1933, Kid Chocolate defended his featherweight and junior lightweight titles with a 15-round unanimous decision over Seaman Tommy Watson at Madison Square Garden. Love that bottom image of Kid Chocolate leaping forward with everything he's got about to hit Watson with a right hook to the body, what an electrifying fighter.
Great shot of Kid Chocolate in the ring against Jack "Kid" Berg, Berg was an all-time great, he was nicknamed "The Whitechapel Whirlwind" because of his non-stop, relentless punching style that originated from his time fighting in London's Whitechapel district. The nickname highlighted his perpetual motion and ability to overwhelm opponents with a constant barrage of punches, earning him a reputation for being both powerful and tireless. Berg would hand Chocolate his first professional loss and defeat him again in their rematch.