SRR beats Tommy Bell to win WW Title (1946) Interesting the fighters who declined to fight SRR for the title were existing WW Champ Marty Servo, former LW Champ Beau Jack & former JrWW champ Tippy Larkin. Ironically, Tommy Bell fought Jake LaMotta and lost, 4 months after Bell was beaten by SRR in the WW title bout. 1946-12-20 : Sugar Ray Robinson 146½ lbs beat Tommy Bell 146 lbs by UD in round 15 of 15 (SRR 73-1-1; Bell 39-10-2) Location: Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, USA Referee: Eddie Joseph 10-5 Judge: Arthur Schwartz 10-5 Judge: Jack O'Sullivan 8-6 Unofficial United Press scorecard: 10-4-1 Unofficial Associated Press scorecard: 8-5-2 World Welterweight Championship (Vacant) "Sugar Ray Robinson last night reached the pot of gold he has been hunting for five years by coming on in the middle rounds to outpoint Tommy Bell and win the world welterweight championship in Madison Square Garden. Robinson weighed 146½; Bell 146. Notes Robinson had been scheduled to fight World Welterweight Champion Marty Servo at Yankee Stadium on September 6, 1946, but Servo pulled out of the fight due to a nose injury and announced his retirement on September 25. Former lightweight champion Beau Jack and former junior welterweight champion Tippy Larkin were each offered the opportunity to face Robinson for the vacate title, but they both declined. Robinson had been called the "uncrowned world welterweight champion" for five years. The fight was promoted by Mike Jacobs. Robinson was a 5-1 favorite. Bell floored Robinson in the second round, and Robinson dropped Bell in the eleventh. A crowd of 15,670 produced a gross gate of $82,948.
Matching two black fighter for the title in 1946. Word has it that the promoters had to get unofficil approval of some of the sportswriters to test the climate. Anyway Bell put up stiff residence. Robinson had beaten Tommy once before and perhaps overlooked him a bit. In truth Sugar Ray had been the Welterweiht Champion for at least a couple of years.
