Willie Pep vs. Sal Bartolo (3rd meeting)

Referee Frank Fullam counts out Bartolo in the 12th round.

Notes

Pep and Bartolo were originally scheduled to fight on March 1, but the fight was cancelled on February 23 because Bartolo said he did not feel in condition to fight. Bartolo's manager, Lou Schiro, said his fighter had been suffering from a cold.
The fight was promoted by Mike Jacobs.
Pep was a 12-5 favorite.
A crowd of 9,881 produced a gate of $53,486.
The United Press reported: "Bartolo fought on even terms until the ninth round when he suffered a terrific battering that started him toward the second kayo of his career. His nose bled so profusely in the ninth that his handlers thought it had been broken. When he returned to his corner at the end of the ninth he said he thought his jaw was broken. But he continued to fight. He absorbed considerable punishment in the 10th and 11th rounds."
Pep put Bartolo done for the count in the 12th round with a short right to the chin.
Bartolo was taken to St. Clare's Hospital after the fight. X-rays showed that he had suffered a fracture of the inferior maxillary bone on the lower left side of his jaw. Dr. Vincent Nardiello, a New York Boxing Commission physician, operated on the jaw the following day.