Henry Armstrong vs. Fritzie Zivic (1st meeting)
Henry Armstrong 142 lbs lost to Fritzie Zivic 146 lbs by UD in round 15 of 15
- Date: 1940-10-04
- Location: Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, USA
- Referee: Arthur Donovan 7-8
- Judge: Marty Monroe 7-8
- Judge: John Potter 5-8
"Henry Armstrong lost his welterweight title after 15 of the most vicious rounds ever fought but he lost like a true champion should. There was no doubt as to the victor. The crowd sensed as early as the 10th round that a new champion was in the making but that crowd stayed to cheer the game little fellow who gave it all he had and still lost. For the first seven rounds they stood head to head with Henry banging away from outside and Fritzie stabbing, cutting and slashing at Henry's eyes. Henry was on his way out as early as the 8th round when Zivic, fighting a cool, heady battle, cut both of the fading champion's eyes and never let up banging away at them. In ten different rounds Fritzie knocked the rubber mouthpiece from Henry's mouth. Zivic did just what he said he'd do--cut the old scar tissue over Henry's eyes, blind him and then finish. Then came the final round and Zivic stood off and banged Henry at will. Just before the bell, Zivic landed a corking right and Henry went down on his ear just as the bell rang." - International News Service
Unofficial scorecards:
- UP - 8-7 Zivic
- AP - 9-6 Zivic
Post fight comment: "Armstrong hits surprisingly hard, but those bolo punches hurt him more than any of his punches hurt me. Every time I landed one of them I noticed that right away his punches lost steam. He's the gamest guy I ever saw." - Fritzie Zivic