Jose Napoles vs. Hedgemon Lewis (1st meeting)

Jose Napoles 145 lbs beat Hedgemon Lewis 145 lbs by UD in round 15 of 15

• Date: 1971-12-14
• Location: Forum, Inglewood, California, USA
• Referee: Larry Rozadilla 8-6
• Judge: John Thomas 8-7
• Judge: George Latka 9-4

"Jose Napoles successfully defended his world welterweight title Tuesday night at the Forum by scoring a unanimous 15 round decision over Hedgemon Lewis. The Cuban exile from Mexico City piled up points with his extreme aggressiveness and a withering body attack that produced welts over almost the entire torso of the Los Angeles challenger. Napoles piled up a hefty margin after six rounds, then Lewis got his jab working and came to life. The Cuban regained command in the 9th round, while Hedgemon went back to work in round 13, but by then the challenger had little chance short of a knockout." -Long Beach Press-Telegram

• Unofficial Press-Telegram scorecard - 9-4 Napoles
• Unofficial Pasadena Star-News scorecard - Draw, no points stated.
• Unofficial AP scorecard - 8-5 Napoles
• This bout shared top-billing on a card uniquely featuring a world title double-header. The Ruben Olivares - Jesus Pimental world bantamweight title fight was the co-main event.
• Both Napoles and Olivares earned a $90,000 payday, while both Lewis and Pimental earned $25,000 apiece.

Post fight comments

• "I never was hurt, but I was mad. He ran around too much to make it a good fight. He jabbed me pretty good in a few rounds and that's how I get the cut. But he never hit me with a punch that hurt." -Jose Napoles

• "I thought I won it. He might have hit harder, but I got in more punches." -Hedgemon Lewis