The Lloyd Marshall-RJJ thread led me to take a look at Marshall’s boxrec entry, as I wanted a refresher and had not done so in a long while. I noticed that Lloyd fought Jimmy Bivins for the Duration Light Heavyweight Title (unsuccessfully) and crossed over to Bivins’ record to see he won that distinction by beating Anton Christofordis earlier in 1943. Obviously this title was one awarded due to WWII with some champions and contenders out of action due to service in the war, and they were recognized for “the duration” of the war. But it’s the first time I ever noticed this. Got me to thinking: what other Duration Championships were contested during the war years? And what are the various lineages for those particular titles? Did the holders of such get ‘real’ title shots when the champs returned to action? Did they get belts? Who decided who could contest these or did promoters just make them up? And have their been equivalents in other wars or times? Any knowledge passed along would be appreciated.
Jimmy Bivins won both light heavy and heavy duration titles and got squat when Gus Lesnevich and Joe Louis returned from service. I don't know if there was any kind of a duration belt involved.
Hard to know whether Bivins got lucky with the war allowing him to pick up some titles or got unlucky in that he would have been the legit champ at one or both weights regardless. Probably a mix given that the two weights presented very different challenges at the time.
In March of '42, light heavyweight champ Gus Lesnevich fought a non-title 10 rounder with Jimmy Bivins. And it doesn't look like they were keen to ever see Bivins again. Here is the write-up: "Jimmy Bivins, hard-punching Cleveland negro, saw his hopes of a light-heavyweight title match with Gus Lesnevich fade today despite - or perhaps because of - the decisive whipping he gave the champion in a non-title 10 round bout last night. Despite the NBA edict that Bivins be given a title match "within 60 days" if he should win, Lew Diamond, manager of Lesnevich, effectively spiked any future bout. Bivins battered Lesnevich into the ropes with a heavy right in the 1st round - a punch acknowledged by Gus to have slowed him throughout the fight. Bivins dumped Lesnevich on the seat of his trunks in the 2nd round, but the champion got up before a count and successfully evaded Bivins' attempts to land a knockout punch." -United Press Unofficial UP scorecard - 7-2-1 Bivins Post fight comment "Gus joins the Coast Guard March 15th. He won't be able to fight for two months while he's in training. And when he does fight, he'll defend his title against a serviceman in a General MacArthur benefit boxing show. There isn't a chance of Lesnevich fighting Bivins again." -Lew Diamond, Lesnevich's manager
