Domenico Bernasconi vs. Pete Sanstol
Pete Sanstol 118 lbs beat Domenico Bernasconi 118 lbs by UD in round 10 of 10
- Date: 1930-06-24
- Location: Baseball Stadium, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Referee: Georges Rivet
Promoter: Aleck Moore
From the Montreal Herald June 25, 1930:
SANSTOL WINS FROM BERNASCONI
Yes, The Two Battled After Many Set-backs And Real Battle Too
Speed and Skill of Sanstol Takes Effectiveness Away From Bernasconi's Heavy Wallop, and Fight Has Gory Finish--Quadrini Makes Hit in Out-fighting Joe Marciente
By E. W. Ferguson
Mark up another addition to the Miracles of Sport, Mr. Edgren. For Pete Sanstol and Dominic Bernasconi have finally fought.
Yessir, they had it out last night at the baseball park, believe it or not. This fight, twice arranged for European rings only to fall through, and four times postponed in Montreal from divers and sundry causes, came off at last.
And a battle it was between the blonde Norseman from the fjords and the swarthy, black-eyed product of the land of spaghetti. Sanstol, the Blonde Blizzard, won. He was too fast, too clever and too smart for the powerful and rugged Italian, setting at naught his brunette rival's strength and terrific punching power by sheer and skill.
Sanstol won seven of the ten rounds, as he flashed in and out, shooting darting gloves into the Italian's impassive face. He lost the fourth, when Bernasconi lashed a terrific left hook to the head that jarred the blonde, and dropped a shade in the ninth and tenth. With blood pouring from a re-opened cut on his left eye at the finish, Sanstol fought furiously and gamely, but half-blinded by blood, he ran into many a powerful punch and the battle finished with the Italian smashing home punches, walking in and taking Sanstol's darting hooks and jabs in an effort to land a knock-out blow.
Sanstol's Fine Display
In the first three rounds, Sanstol uncovered a dazzling display of ringcraft and speed that made the Italian look slow by comparison. Sanstol, blond, smooth-skinned and blue-eyed, was in striking physical contrast to the swarthy, black-eyed Italian, with his fine muscular development, powerful-looking arms and shoulders. Bernasconi plainly was built for punching, and Sanstol, on the racy grey-hound type, for speed.
For three rounds the darting Sanstol banged and hooked the Italian almost at will. He was in and out weaving, swaying and leaping, his fists shooting with rapier-like precision from all angles, jolting and jarring the Italian as they landed about his head. Bernasconi frequently lashed out his powerful punches but Sanstol, keen and alert was underneath the heavy blows, or outside them.
Thus they went into the fourth, with Sanstol leading by the proverbial mile. Bernasconi was plainly annoyed, for he came out of his corner with a rush, was almost in Sanstol's corner before the blonde got out, and promptly nailed Pete with a high left hook to the head. Sanstol was staggered. He back-pedaled hastily, ducking and dodging more blows, and Bernasconi followed him. Temporarily the Italian was halted as Sanstol set himself and whipped right and left to the jaw, but the southerner was ploughing in again at the finish of the round.
That proved the best round Bernasconi had. In the fifth, Sanstol came out with blue eyes flashing and chin set. He whipped his lightning lefts to Bernasconi's face, and brought blood from the nose with a fusilade of blows. Bernasconi had to set himself for a return to his solid punches, but Sanstol was traveling in high gear and took the round.
From that to the ninth, Sanstol carried every round. He was in and out at whippet speed, his fists darting to the head, ducking under return blows. In the ninth, Bernasconi hit low, his punch landing on the leg. Previously, as early as the third, Bernasconi had seemed to hit low, but Sanstol only laughed when the Italian apologized. In the ninth, however, the blonde hopped around on one leg a [illegible] a low blow. In a close exchange, Sanstol emerged bleeding badly from a cut which he had taken into the ring, a souvenir of his recent Toronto bout. Blood flowed freely, and Bernasconi drove in, both his battering fists flying. Sanstol was hard put to it to weather the storm, and there was whirlwind and gory battling through the two final sessions, to end the fight in spectacular fashion.
Both judges and referee Rivet gave Sanstol the call, as they should.
From the August 19, 1931 Montreal Herald:
"You fellows are away off the track on that fight," said Sanstol, apropos the popular opinion held by a majority of the fight that Bernasconi, although a terrific puncher, was not so hot on the inside whips to the body. "The Italian lad is a much better fighter than any but those who have been in the ring with him realize. In that fight he gave me one of the severest body poundings I have so far had to take. He could certainly hit hard, and kept chugging in those short arm jolts at close quarters. Those outside of the ring never realized how much punishment I was taking. Neither did the referee or the judges, for that matter. But I knew because I was taking it. Bernasconi could do a lot of things to a fellow that nobody seems to notice except the man he is boxing."
The August 8, 1935 Montreal Herald erroneously reported, the day-after the Sixto Escobar-Sanstol title bout, that Sanstol had been knocked down by Bernasconi during this fight. Also in that edition Sanstol was quoted as saying: "Bernasconi was the hardest puncher I ever fought. There was dynamite in both of his fists!"