Lee Savold vs. Lou Nova (1st meeting)
Lee Savold 188 lbs beat Lou Nova 200 lbs by TKO in round 8 of 10
- Date: 1942-05-25
- Location: Griffith Stadium, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
- Unofficial UP scorecard (through 8 completed rounds) - 4-2-2 Savold
- Unofficial AP scorecard - 4-4 Even
- Attendance - 9,076
- Gate - $26,601 (of which an estimated $11,500 went to the Navy Relief Fund)
- Promoter Mike Jacobs was originally hoping for an attendance of 20,000 and a $45,000 gate, however, the card had to be postponed twice from May 21st to May 22nd and finally to May 25th due to bad weather in the Washington, DC area.
- "It's all up to Uncle Sam. Joe Louis belongs to the Army now and it's up to them to say when Joe can fight and whether he can fight." -Promoter Mike Jacobs on Joe Louis' status when questioned as to who his next challenger was.
"Lee Savold today joined the waiting list of heavyweights who will get a fling at Pvt. Joe Louis' crown - the US Army permitting. Promoter Mike Jacobs conceded that Savold earned a berth in the challenging bracket last night by carving out an upset TKO victory over Lou Nova in 8 rounds of a scheduled 10 round Navy Relief battle. Nova's handlers had to call it quits after the 8th round to spare Lou from possible serious injury. From the opening minute of the fight, Nova was blinded by blood that streamed unchecked from a forehead wound inflicted by the first blow of the fight. Savold slashed away so savagely with his left that Nova soon suffered from cut eyebrows and a lacerated nose, as well. Nova was bleeding so profusely after the 5th he could scarcely see his foe. He made one futile attempt in the 6th, slugging it out with Savold. Savold scored the only knockdown, catching Nova off balance with a left in the 2nd round. There was no count." -United Press
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