By Ron Jackson

On May 31, in what is possibly the greatest night in the history of South African boxing, it will be 70 years since Vic Toweel beat Manuel Ortiz, a Mexican-American, considered one of the great bantamweight champions, on points over 15 rounds for the world bantamweight title at the Wembley Stadium in Johannesburg, before a crowd of more than 20 000.

When he won his title, he was the universal world champion; not merely the champion of one of four or more organizations that dish out “world” titles these days. He is still the only South African to be recognized as a universal world champion.

Toweel was, for a while, the best bantamweight in the world when there were only eight recognized weight divisions and champions.

To give you some idea of the significance of his win you have to look at the reigning eight champions at the time.

The heavyweight title was vacant after the legendary Joe Louis had retired.

The light heavyweight, middleweight and welterweight champions were Joey Maxim, Jake LaMotta and Sugar Ray Robinson.

At lightweight you had Ike Williams, featherweight Willie Pep and at flyweight there was Terry Allen.

All the aforementioned fighters accept Allen are in the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Toweel was the second South African to win a world title, with Willie Smith being the first after his win over Teddy Baldock at the Royal Albert Hall in Kensington, London on 6 October 1927, for the lightly recognised British version of the world bantamweight title.

Ortiz who has been also been inducted into the International Boxing hall of Fame, had won the title eight years earlier and defended it 15 times before losing the belt to Harold Dade.

Three months later he regained the title in a return match with Dade and then signed a contract to defend it against Toweel.

The 22-year-old South African won most of the 15 rounds through his superior speed. Ortiz was unable to match the younger challenger’s speed and stamina. The champion did get through with a short right uppercut several times but failed to shake Toweel.

Toweel had been fighting as a professional for less than a year and a half and had only 13 bouts before beating Ortiz.

There was talk that he had beaten an ageing champion but this was not so as the 33-year-old Ortiz was a hardened 111-fight veteran and one of boxing’s great bantamweight champions.
At the time a reporter wrote in the authoritative Ring magazine that Vic Toweel had authored several unique chapters for boxing’s ever-expanding history.

For one thing, Toweel became the first South African to win a world professional ring title.
A third accomplishment of exceptional note was Toweel’s feat in becoming the first non-American in nearly half a century to receive undisputed recognition as bantamweight champion of the world.

In acquiring a world championship after only a dozen professional bouts he matched the remarkable record posted by Jim Jeffries back in the 1890’s.

For another thing, Vic’s rise to the top of his division was the fastest and most spectacular individual performance in the crowded archives of the leather-pushing industry. The youngster had been fighting in the money ranks less than a year and a half.

Vic had outstanding background going into the match with Ortiz.

Victor Anthony Toweel was born in Benoni on 12 January 1928. He began boxing at the age of nine and it was reported that he had in the region of 300 amateur fights, of which he lost only two. Of his 190 senior amateur bouts, he won 160 by knockout.

He once lost to a South African, Andrew Engelbrecht (this was when he was 12-years-old), whom he later beat more than once. He was also beaten by Arnoldo Pares of Argentina in his first fight at the 1948 Olympic Games in London.

The defeat followed what was described in reports as one of the worst decisions at the Games.
Vic won the SA senior amateur flyweight title in 1946 and 1947 and won the bantamweight division at the 1948 Olympic trials.

In the 1947 SA championships, he clearly outpointed J. Andre in the final at the Feather Market Hall in Port Elizabeth and in the final of the Olympic trials he beat Pete Taljaard.
After turning professional, he launched his career with ten bouts against SA opponents and then beat Stan Rowan a veteran of 58 fights for the British Empire bantamweight title.

He went on to beat the champions of England, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, France and Spain before dethroning the world champion Ortiz.

Vic lost only three of his 32 professional fights. As a bantamweight, he won the universal world title, the Empire and SA titles and the national featherweight title in only 14 months.
Reading through this, one must ask the question “Why is Vic Toweel not inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.”

And, finally another first for Vic was that to date he is the only South African fighter to appear on The Ring magazine cover and was the first South Africa to be presented with a Ring magazine championship belt of the two ever presented to a South African.