Cocoa Kid vs. Jimmy Leto (3rd meeting)
Cocoa Kid 148 lbs beat Jimmy Leto 147 lbs by UD in round 10 of 10
- Date: 1940-07-08
- Location: Carlin's Park, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
- Cocoa Kid was already signed to fight Phil Furr a week later on July 15th at Griffith Stadium in D.C., going into this bout.
"Kid Cocoa, dusky-skinned Puerto Rican ranked the No. 1 welterweight contender, comes to Washington later this week having removed one of the few blemishes on his record. He won a 10-round decision last night in Baltimore over Jimmy Leto of Hartford, a lad who twice previously had defeated him. The verdict was booed by the crowd at Carlin's Park, but experienced ring observers were of the opinion that Kid Cocoa had a wide margin at the finish. The eventual winner started slowly against the crouching Leto, but after feeling his opponent out he began to move in the 4th round. He struck his first solid blow in that stanza and continued his attack to even matters at the end of the 5th round after cutting Leto's nose. A cut was opened over Leto's eye in the 7th, and after a furious 8th round, which was called even, Kid Cocoa won going away with a blistering finish that left Leto bleeding about the face at the end." -Washington D.C. Evening Star