Johnny Greco vs. Gaby Ferland (1st meeting)

Greco (right) putting pressure on Ferland

Ferland in his corner after the 5th round

Johnny Greco 151 lbs beat Gaby Ferland 147 lbs by TKO in round 6 of 10

• Date: 1948-10-27
• Location: Forum, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
• Referee: Tommy Sullivan

“Johnny Greco, Canadian welterweight champion, staged another of his dynamic, all-out displays to pummel rangy Gaby Ferland into submission in five furious rounds, his victim being unable to come out for the sixth heat. This all-local fracas, a rousing humdinger while it lasted, attracted a gate of $20,465 at the Forum, marking another profitable presentation by Match-maker Raoul Godbout.

Ferland boxed carefully during the first two rounds, jabbing with a long left and making Greco miss. However, he wasn’t moving as fast as usual and eventually paid for his cockiness, as Greco’s body punching slowed him considerably. The third round was sensational. Ferland opened up to catch Greco coming in and kept beating him to the punch. It was Ferland’s round, too, but the pace was beginning to tell. As they maneuvered at long range in the fourth Greco suddenly snapped over a right that nailed Ferland on the upper jaw. He went down like a log, but got up at nine. It was all Greco from then on. They were mixing it at close quarters a few seconds before the bell in the fifth when Ferland suddenly collapsed to the canvas. He was helped to his corner at the bell but Whitey Bimstein wouldn’t let him start out for the sixth, motioning to referee Tommy Sullivan that it was all over.”

Source: Lawson Bampton, “Canadian Topics”, The Ring, Vol. XXVII, No. 12, January 1949, p. 60.