On May 31, 1950, possibly the most historic day in South African boxing, in Johannesburg, South Africa, more than 20 000 people saw Vic Toweel climb through the ropes at Wembley Stadium to become the second South African to fight for a recognised world bantamweight title.
He was up against one of the greats in the bantamweight division, Mexican-American Manuel Ortiz, a veteran of twelve years in the prize ring.
Ortiz had won the title eight years before and defended it 15 times before losing it to Harold Dade. Three months later, he regained the title and was making his fourth defence, against Toweel.
Toweel won most of the 15 rounds with his superior speed.
The Mexican found the younger South African was his master and could not cope with his youth and stamina.
Ortiz's best punch was a short right uppercut, which got through on occasion.
TITLE DEFENCES
DECEMBER 2, 1950, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
Vic Toweel made the first defence of his bantamweight title against British champion Danny O'Sullivan, who was knocked down 20 times in 10 rounds of fighting at Wembley Stadium in a contest scheduled for fifteen rounds.
O'Sullivan probably won the first round and maybe shared the second, but after that, the superlatively fit British champion was a beaten man as the champion attacked with both hands, and it was no surprise when trainer Jim Pettengell decided to retire his fighter at the end of the tenth round.
NOVEMBER 17, 1951, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
In a great bantamweight title contest, Vic Toweel outpointed the Spanish champion Luis Romero over 15 rounds at the Rand Stadium.
A crowd approaching 20 000 roared with excitement when Romero unleashed a vicious attack in the first two rounds in an effort to score a quick knockout.
Romero was brilliantly countered by Toweel, who kept scoring with perfectly timed straight lefts and flashing right crosses.
Romero, who was always dangerous with his sudden counterattacks, was sensationally floored for a count of eight in the last round as Toweel ran out a comfortable winner after an action-packed fight.
JANUARY 26, 1952, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
In an uninteresting fight, a below-par Vic Toweel retained his bantamweight title with a fifteen-round points decision over Scot Peter Keenan at the Rand Stadium.
Keenan indulged in repeated holding and spoiling tactics, and there was general dissatisfaction from the crowd.
Toweel started off in bull-like fashion in the first round as he rushed out and dumped Keenan on the floor with a right cross, but the Scot got up looking quite undismayed and unhurt.
The judges did not give Keenan a single round. Some newspaper critics conceded Keenan the second round and possibly one other. As a spectacle, the much-boosted fight was a sad disappointment.
NOVEMBER 15, 1952, IN JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
Jimmy Carruthers, the first Australian to win a world title, scored one of the biggest upsets in boxing history when he knocked out Vic Toweel after 2 minutes and 19 seconds of the first round before more than 30 000 fight fans at the Rand Stadium.
The 23-year-old Carruthers, a southpaw, dazed Toweel with his first punch and never let up as he knocked the champion out of the ring for a count of eight.
Shortly afterwards, he sent Toweel down for the count of ten.
As a contest, this one-sided affair was almost farcical, and the weight-weakened champion was made to look like a novice.
MARCH 21, 1953—JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
Jimmy Carruthers of Australia established beyond doubt that he had the speed and punching power to beat Vic Toweel. At the Rand Stadium, before a crowd of 38 000 fans, he retained his world bantamweight title with a tenth-round knockout.
Carruthers moved around Toweel rapidly, throwing straight rights and crossing with lefts.
Many of the blows were picked off by Toweel, but for every blow he parried, there were two or more that got through his defence.
Toweel made a bit of a showing in the fifth and sixth rounds but could not sustain the pace, and finally, the weight-weakened South African succumbed to sheer exhaustion in the tenth round and was counted out by referee Willie Smith.
In becoming South Africa's only real-world champion to date, Toweel authored several unique chapters for boxing's ever-expanding history.
For one thing, Toweel became the first South African to win a universally recognised professional title.
His rise to the top of his division was the most spectacular individual performance in the crowded archives of boxing history. He had been fighting in the paid ranks for less than a year and a half and had only thirteen bouts before the historic victory over Ortiz.