Lightweight Boxer’s Fast Rise

Southland Times, Issue 24153, 15 June 1940, Page 16

Lightweight Boxer’s Fast Rise

The rise to world lightweight champion of Lew Jenkins, of Texas, who won the title from Lou Ambers with a technical knock-out in the third round, is amazing. To the end of March he had' never’ ranked better than eighth position in the list of challengers for the title.

He must be good to take the title from Ambers, for Luigi D’Ambriosio (as he was christened), despite a reputation for taking most of his training lightly, is noted for being up to the mark when a title is at stake, or the big money ,'s about. However, it is possible he has not recovered from his terrific battles with Henry Armstrong in the last few months of 1939.

America’s foremost sporting commentator, Grantland Rice, describes Jenkins as the best puncher in the lightweight division since Benny Leonard. Ambers has a host of followers, for he came up the hard way in the fight game, but has never lost his head since gaining the spotlight. He went to New York when 16, looking for opportunity to show his fighting skill. He had a tough time for a year or so) but his big chance came in 1935 when Barney Ross vacated the lightweight throne through inability to make the weight. Ambers lost in the elimination final to Tony Canzoneri. However, after knocking-out five opponents and defeating six others in the next nine months, he again met Canzoneri and won the title.

Ambers did well financially with the title. His best purse share was 82,000 dollars when he successfully defended the title against Pedro Montanez, after Montanez had defeated him in an overweight match. But he lost the crown to Henry Armstrong when the little negro outslugged him in one of the toughest fights in recent lightweight history.

Last October, however, he regained the championship from Armstrong, to become the first lightweight to win back the crown from the man who had shorn him of the title. He just won at the end of 15 rounds, after the referee had taken five rounds from Armstrong because of low hitting. It was the first decision “Hammering Hank” (Armstrong) had dropped since losing on a foul to Tony Chavez in December 1936. Lew Jenkins weighs round 9.4 to 9.7. His best performances seem to have been wins over Mike Belloise, Primo Flores and Ginger Foran. He scored with a technical knockout after three rounds against Flores, and his bout with Foran was stopped in the fourth after he had knocked Foran heavily in the third, and been robbed of a knock-out by the bell. That fight put him in well with promoters around New York, but did not improve his. ranking. ' He beat Mike Bell rise in the seventh round when Belloise stopped with injured ribs.