Fritzie Zivic vs. Billy Arnold
Fritzie Zivic 153 lbs beat Billy Arnold 144 lbs by MD in round 8 of 8
- Date: 1945-01-05
- Location: Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, USA
- Referee: Arthur Donovan 4-2
- Judge: Jack Gordon 4-4
- Judge: Marty Monroe 5-3
"Old Fritzie Zivic of Pittsburgh, sprang a major boxing upset Friday night by handing youthful Billy Arnold of Philadelphia, the first defeat of his meteoric career in winning an 8 round decision at MSG. The 31 year old Zivic, a 5-1 underdog in the betting, stunned the crowd by outsmarting the Philadelphia High School student who previously was unbeaten in 31 scraps. Pacing himself beautifully, the cagy Zivic, former welterweight champion and veteran of 14 years in the ring, took everything Armold threw and twice in the 5th and 8th rounds staggered his 18 year old opponent with vicious lefts and rights." -Associated Press
- Unofficial AP scorecard - 5-2-1 Zivic
- Zivic took this fight while on a 15-day furlough from the U.S. Army
- Attendance - 16,923
- Gate - $57,576
James P. Dawson of the NY Times felt Arnold edged Zivic. Jack Cuddy of the Long Island Daily Press felt that Zivic gave Arnold a "boxing lesson" as did Wendell Smith of the Pittsburgh Courier, who was present at the fight. Al Buck of the NY Post scored it for Zivic as well.