Vince Dundee

Vince Dundee (October 22, 1907 – July 27, 1949), born Vincenzo Lazzara in Sicily, became the New York State Athletic Commission world middleweight champion when he defeated reigning champion Lou Brouillard on October 30, 1933.

His title was also recognized by the National Boxing Association (NBA).

He was the younger brother of former welterweight world champion of boxing, Joe Dundee.

The Lazzara family emigrated from Sicily to the United States and lived in Baltimore.

Following in the footsteps of his older brother Joe, who was a world welterweight champion, Vince changed his name to Dundee and became a professional boxer.

A third brother, Anthony, fought under the name "Battling Dundee", but never contended for a title.

Dundee began his formal professional boxing career in 1927.

He lived and boxed for a period in Belleville, New Jersey, where he was managed by Max Waxman, who also managed brother Joe.

Vince was trained by Benny Benjamin, another Baltimore resident, and later by Heinie Blaustein.

Willie Harmon fell to Dundee on August 1, 1927, in a ten-round points decision in Baltimore.

Dundee first lost to reigning world welterweight champion, the incomparable Jackie Fields on October 2, 1929, in a ten-round points decision before a crowd of 7,000 in Chicago.

In a somewhat close and furiously fought contest, Fields employed the cleaner punching and scored a knockdown with a right cross in the sixth to gain the decision of the judges.

The remainder of the bout saw a furious and constant exchange of blows as both boxers worked for a knockout.

In their second meeting, Fields on January 24, 1930, Fields won more convincingly in a ten-round unanimous decision at Chicago Stadium.

Fields floored Dundee four times in the third, the first three times for eight counts, and a brief two count when Dundee was saved by the closing bell.

The young Dundee recovered in the fifth round, and appeared to have even taken the tenth.

The fighting was constant with rallies in seven of the ten rounds, each ending in exhausted clinches.

During several important boxing bouts in Europe, Marcel Thil, French welterweight champion decisively defeated Dundee on March 12, 1931, in a twelve-round unanimous decision before an impressive crowd of 14,000.

After an even first round, the faster Thil took the next three, and held his own gaining additional points in the remaining rounds.

Two weeks later, Dundee drew with British welterweight champion Jack Hood in ten rounds in White City, England.

The bout was slow and calculated, though Dundee scored occasionally against the mid-section, and Hood connected with long lefts to Dundee's head.

Dundee defeated future NBA world middleweight champion Solly Krieger on October 16, 1931, in an eighth-round technical knockout at Madison Square Garden, though there was no great degree of crowd interest in the semi-final bout.

Dundee drew with Ben Jeby to on March 17, 1933, in his first attempt at the New York State Athletic Commission's (NYSAC) world middleweight title in fifteen rounds before 11,000 at Madison Square Garden.

Ed Hughes of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle wrote that Dundee clearly deserved the decision and believed he won eleven of the fifteen rounds, with only three to Jeby, but one judge ruled for Jeby, and the referee ruled for a draw.

Hughes wrote that from the third round on, Dundee connected with left jabs with enough frequency to gain the decision, though Jeby likely took the fifth and seventh.

In a rough bout, Jeby's face looked badly beaten.

The Associated Press, agreeing that Dundee deserved the decision, gave him nine rounds with Jeby four and two even.

Dundee blocked so well from the sixth to the final round, that Jeby landed very few solid punches.

On October 30, 1933, after six years in the professional ring, Dundee defeated Lou Brouillard over 15 rounds before 9,330 in Boston to capture the New York State Athletic Commission's (NYSAC) world middleweight title.

Dundee side-stepped most of Brouillard's savage rushes and countered repeatedly with rights to the head, in a close decision.

Dundee managed to take eight rounds, but most of his scored points were from calculated blows, and there were no knockdowns in the bout.

Brouillard had difficulty penetrating the defenses of Dundee, and could only score consistently with brief attacks to the body.

Brouillard, though a 3-1 favorite, had difficulty with the skilled scientific boxing and calculated defense of Dundee.

Brouillard claimed fatigue in making the 160 pound weight limit was the cause of his loss, but Dundee opened up well by the last round, and stung Brouillard with both lefts and rights that clinched his scoring margin, and likely had an effect.

In the early rounds, Dundee danced for position and strategically landed left jabs to Brouillard's face that piled up points and kept his opponent at a distance.

Dundee defended his world middleweight title on December 8, 1933, against southpaw Andy Callahan, winning in a fifteen-round split decision against Andy Callahan before 11,200 in Boston.

Dundee dominated the last five rounds, though Callahan frequently tried to force the fighting which was particularly close in the first ten rounds.

The Boston Globe gave Dundee nine rounds with only the first, seventh, eighth, and ninth to Callahan.

Dundee fought with both a four-inch height advantage, and a not insignificant advantage in reach.

Callahan scored in the first two thirds of the bout with hard rights and harder lefts to the head and body before tiring in the ninth.