Joe Louis vs. Arturo Godoy (1st meeting)

**Challenger rankings**
Org.	Pos.	As of	Published
1+ Mth. Old
NBA	NR	22.06.1939	22.06.1939
Ring	N/A	N/A	N/A
2+ Mth. Old
NBA	NR	22.06.1939	22.06.1939
Ring	NR	13.06.1939	by 14.07.1939
3+ Mth. Old
NBA	NR	22.06.1939	22.06.1939
Ring	NR	14.05.1939	by 03.06.1939

Louis hits Godoy with a left.

Notes

On August 19, Godoy lost the South American Heavyweight Championship to Eduardo Primo (19-8-1, 13 KOs) after being disqualified in the eighth round due to a low blow.[1]
On September 21, Associated Press reported that Godoy was going to sign with manager Al Weill soon and then be matched with the champion, with the fight being scheduled for 1940.[2] This was confirmed by Godoy himself a few days later.[3] The following week, journalist Harold Comrad specified that the fight was planned for winter and would take place at Madison Square Garden.[4]
At the time, Louis' team was primarily negotiating with Lou Nova, and contacted Godoy only because negotiations with Nova were stalling.
United Press learned on October 2, 1939 that Godoy had received a formal offer to fight Louis.[5] The next day, members of Louis' team held negotiations with members of Nova's team.[6]
On October 3, Mike Jacobs confirmed that he was negotiating to have Louis fight Godoy sometime in winter.[7]
Ultimately, on October 9 Jacobs announced that Louis was going to fight Godoy in February.[8]
By October 13, the deal was signed.[9][10]

Godoy entered the fight unranked by The Ring Magazine.
When the National Boxing Association (NBA) released its Q3 rankings on September 15, 1939, Godoy was not among the top 10 heavyweight contenders nor the 13 "honorable mentions".
On December 15 in its Q4 rankings, NBA moved to Godoy to the "honorable mentions" section.
On December 25, 1939, The Ring Magazine ranked Godoy as the tenth best heavyweight of 1939. Godoy was 3-2, 1 KO, in 1939, with the sole stoppage win scored against Eusebio Ramirez who had made his professional debut that night. He also defeated Alberto Lovell (unranked going into the fight), exchanged decision wins with Valentin Campolo (12-4-2, 10 KOs) and was disqualified against Eduardo Primo (19-8-1, 13 KOs). Lovell and Campolo were ranked 11th and 12th, respectively, while Primo was left out of The Ring's Top 22 of 1939.
After the fight, Godoy dramatically went up in the rankings: in its April 1940 issue released late February, The Ring Magazine elevated him from unranked to No. 1, as did the National Boxing Association on March 20.

Louis was a 10-1 betting favorite.
There was a crowd of 15,567.
The gross gate was $88,523.99, and the net was $74,988.27.
Louis' purse was $32,848.81, and Godoy's was $13,450.10.
The only rounds in which the three official scorers agreed were the third, eighth (both to Godoy) and the fourteenth (Louis).
The New York Times reported: "Louis won sloppily against a bruising, mauling and rushing fighter who knew no fear or retreat." Many in the crowd booed the decision, but the Times called the verdict "eminently fair." Its reporter scored the fight 10-5 for Louis and stated that other reporters had a similar score.
The Associated Press scored the fight 10-5 for Louis. They gave the champion the last five rounds.
The International News Service scored the fight 9-6-1 for Louis.
The United Press scored the fight even, giving each fighter five rounds and calling five even.

Joe Louis: "This was the worst fight I ever had."
Arturo Godoy: "Of course, I think I win. Certainly, I should get no worse than draw."

Preceded by: Louis vs. Pastor II	NBA Heavyweight Title Fight # 22	Succeeded by: Louis vs. Paychek
Preceded by: Louis vs. Pastor II	NYSAC Heavyweight Title Fight # 20	Succeeded by: Louis vs. Paychek