Pete Latzo’s title defense in 1926 drew a crowd of 22,000 paying fans, but they were not happy with the controversial end of the prize fight.
Latzo, a Pennsylvania brawler, was defending the title for the second time since shocking the world just a few months earlier.
He had beaten the world Welterweight champion, and one of the all-time great boxers in his weight class, Mickey Walker, over ten rounds to capture the NYSAC, NBA, and The Ring world title belts.
After beating Wille Harmon, Latzo’s second challenger would be Georgie Russell, although the fight wouldn’t be the 15-round epic fans were hoping for.
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Pete Latzo was hit by Georgie Levine’s low blow during their 1926 title fight
22,000 fans crammed into the Polo Grounds in New York City on July 9, 1926, to see a blockbuster title fight.
Russell was a cagey fighter, a New York native who had earned his title shot with some solid performances, although the jury was out whether he had the power to hurt a champion like Latzo.
With Russell making a reported $25,000 for the bout (around $450,000 in today’s money), it was a huge opportunity for him to ascend to the top of the Welterweight division. However, it didn’t quite work out that way.
Latzo dominated the early rounds and was ahead on points going into the fourth, although it didn’t look like the bout would go all 15 rounds.
A minute into the fourth round, Latzo had Levine up against the ropes and pummeled him with little reply, as the challenger could do little to block the champion’s onslaught.
All Levine could manage was a long right hand aimed at the body, but it slipped below the belt and sank Latzo to his knees. The low blow had taken him off his feet, and the referee began to count him out, assuming that a shock knockdown had occurred.
However, the referee stopped the count at four, before helping Latzo to his feet and awarding the fight to him after realizing why he had gone down like a sack of spuds under very little pressure.
The title belts were awarded back to Latzo, and Levine was disqualified, much to the dismay of the fans. This would be Levine’s final chance of glory, as his boxing would come to a halt just two years later.
Georgie Levine was forced to retire three years later due to eye issues
While this would be Latzo’s final successful title defense, the future of Levine in boxing was much bleaker.
The New York brawler suffered an eye injury during a fight in 1928. It began to deteriorate, which led Levine to have it secretly removed, keeping it a secret from the boxing commission to stop them from removing his boxing license.
He fought for a year with a secret glass eye, but a ten-round loss to rising star Tommy Freeman exposed Levine in the ring and forced him into retirement at the age of just 28.
While he came out of retirement for a fight with Charlie Rauch in 1932, and actually won the fight over six rounds, he went back into retirement following the fight, citing his eye injury as a key reason for his exit from the sport.