Ike Williams vs. Juan Zurita

Ike Williams 131 lbs beat Juan Zurita 133 lbs by TKO in round 2 of 15

• Date: 1945-04-18
• Location: El Toreo de Cuatro Caminos, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico

"Ike Williams, Trenton, N.J., held the NBA's lightweight title today after knocking out champion Juan Zurita in the 2nd round of a scheduled 15-round bout last night. The result was accepted with bad grace by the 28,000 fans who jammed the bullfight arena for the first championship bout in Mexico's history. Zurita, who weighed in at 133, was floored in the 1st but bounded up quickly to resume the contest. He countered blow for blow and the round ended even. A staggering right cross to the chin in the 2nd after 1:20 of sparring, gave the 131-pound challenger the title. A series of short, hard punches by Williams prepared Zurita for the knockout." -United Press

• Williams required a guard of 25 policeman to escort him back to his dressing room from the unruly crowd. In spite of this, Williams' manager Connie McCarthy was injured slightly by a flying stone.
• This bout was originally proposed to take place in Philadelphia but was rejected by the Pennsylvania Commission, which recognized Bob Montgomery as the 135-pound champ. New York State also turned down a proposed championship contest between Zurita and Bobby Ruffin for the same reason.
• A day after this contest, NBA president Abe Greene proposed to the California State Athletic Commission a unification match for the lightweight championship between Williams and NYSAC titleholder Bob Montgomery. The unification bout eventually did take place but not until August of '47 and it was fought in Philadelphia.
• Gate - $100,000 (25% went to charity)
• Purses: Zurita - $32,500, Williams - $12,500