Joe Baksi vs. Gus Dorazio (1st meeting)
Joe Baksi 209 lbs beat Gus Dorazio 194 lbs by UD in round 10 of 10
- Date: 1943-03-26
- Location: Uline Arena, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
- Dorazio lost the 1st and 3rd rounds for low blows
- Baksi was scheduled to meet Lou Brooks in Baltimore on April 5th, but the fight never came off.
"The customers in the Uline Arena in last night's heavyweight feature, all were for Gus Dorazio, the veteran from Philadelphia. But the decision was unanimous for Joe Baksi of Wilkes-Barre, with the edge apparently the result of several low blows Dorazio tossed in the early going after warnings by referee Charley Reynolds. It was a honey of a battle, the best heavyweight mixup here in many a moon. Baksi, with an advantage in reach, gave Dorazio a fine going over, opening a cut below the veteran's right eye. Dorazio, however, stuck to his guns. In the 3rd he cut Baksi's right eye, and despite the efforts of Baksi's handler Ray Arcel, blood flowed freely the rest of the way. In the 4th, 5th and 6th Dorazio was effective with a left hook to Baksi's body. In the 7th, however, Baksi came out a new man, tossing out a lot of leather, which shook Dorazio with a solid left hook to the jaw. The next two rounds were pips as both fighters went all out." -Washington D.C. Evening Star