Benny Lynch vs. Aurel Toma

Benny Lynch 131 lbs lost to Aurel Toma 119 lbs by KO at 0:32 in round 3 of 10

• Date: 1938-10-03
• Location: Empress Hall, Earl's Court, London, United Kingdom

"Benny Lynch, former king of the flyweights, and at present, an 'overweight king,' suffered the greatest humiliation of his career, when he was knocked out by the Romanian bantamweight, Aurel Toma in the 3rd round at the National Sporting Club. Lynch, who weighed almost a stone heavier than his opponent, was flabby and dull-eyed, a caricature of his former greatness. He made spasmodic efforts at punching and moved sluggishly out of the range of Toma, who was trained to the minute. The Romanian punched with both hands and floored Lynch with a right to the jaw and a left to the body, lifting Lynch off his feet. This was Lynch's first knockout loss, and it was greeted with boos from the crowd of 10,000. Commentators stated that Lynch appeared to collapse because of his own weight and that Toma merely contributed." - The Brisbane Courier

• After this bout, the National Sporting Club announced that it has offered to finance Benny Lynch an opportunity for rehabilitation. The NSC stated that, with an eye towards fighting for and winning the bantamweight championship of the world from Sixto Escobar - in order for Lynch to regain his form - he would be required to spend two weeks in a nursing home, and later in the month, to check into a country Sanitorium. After that he would be required to sign on as a deck hand on a freighter in order to toughen himself up before going into training. The NSC was providing 400 pounds Sterling, which Lynch agreed to. However, Lynch never fought again.