The Official Pete Sanstol Web Site
The World Champion!
(The Archie Bell Title Fight)

SANSTOL DEFEATS BELL
Triumphs Over Brooklyn Fighter
in 10 Rounds at Montreal

Pete Sanstol, the blond Norwegian who now makes his home in Montreal, won what the Montreal Athletic Commission termed the world's bantamweight title when he defeated Archie Bell of Brooklyn tonight after ten fast rounds.

Sanstol earned the unanimous verdict of the judges. He weighed 115½ pounds to 118 for Bell.

This bout occurred the evening of May 20, and was described as a fight "which goes into Canadian fistic history as a world's championship mill... Sanstol's masterpiece." It was a clear-cut but not easy win. Pete went the distance, fought his heart out, and gave the crowd a thrill. By doing so Pete "endeared himself to the Canadians." (The Ring magazine, August 1931 issue.)

[In 1957 Pete informed Cowboy, a Norwegian men's magazine, that this fight was one of the three most punishing of his career. Joe Scalfaro and Sixto Escobar provided the other two.]
 
 

The claim of Pete Sanstol of Norway to the world's bantamweight boxing championship was materially strengthened to-day as a result of his 10-round victory over Archie Bell of Brooklyn last night. Sanstol was awarded seven rounds while two went to Bell and one was even. The verdict of the referee and two judges was unanimous. By virtue of his victory, Sanstol is recognized by the National Boxing Association and the Canadian Boxing Commission as the world's champion. Al Brown, present title-holder as far as many boxing fans and the New York State Boxing Commission are concerned, was dethroned by the National and Montreal bodies because he failed to defend his crown within a stipulated time.

(Click here for one round-by-round account of this Bell vs. Sanstol fight.)

As a historical sidenote: Earlier, on April 19, 1927, the Canadian Boxing Federation had decided to affiliate with the NBA. At this time the CBF's executive committee was composed of Chairman Thomas Murphy (Toronto), Vice-President Louis Rubenstein (Montreal), VP Morkin (Winnipeg), VP Pierre Gagne (Quebec), Secretary James P. Fitzgerald (Toronto), and Honorary Vice-President Elmer W. Ferguson (of The Montreal Daily Herald newspaper). Two days later, April 21, according to the Montreal Star, the CBF was officially brought "back to life" by boxing officials representing Ontario, Montreal and Quebec City. The Federation was an alliance of all boxing commissions in Canada. The Montreal Athletic Commission and some other members soon became disgruntled and unhappy with the way the NBA handled matters and thus broke away. It would later affiliate with the NYSAC - each recognizing the other's rulings and champions. The CBF later considered affiliating with the British Control Board - according to an April 30, 1930 article in the Winnipeg Free Press.
 
 

Pete Sanstol, Montreal Norwegian, won what the Montreal Boxing Commission insists was the world's bantamweight championship title at Montreal last night when he took the decision over Archie Bell of New York, after taking the majority of the ten rounds. Recognition of the championship, it is understood, is now being considered by the National Boxing Association of the United States which previously ruled the throne vacant and named Bell as leading defender of the title. Bell provided good opportunity to the Norwegian but could not cope with Sanstol's heavy barrage. The unanimous decision of the judges was received with wild shouts by the 5,000 spectators at the Forum.

Pete Sanstol's victory over Archie Bell, New York veteran, at Montreal last night, entrenches him more strongly than ever among the contenders for the world's bantam championship. Nevertheless, it is far from likely that the National Boxing Association, which is taking a mail vote on the question, will accede to the request of the Montreal Commission and take the title from Al Brown in favor of Sanstol.

The newly-crowned world champion went about the business of being a "true" champion -- despite the lingering questions that followed him.

One week after this title fight with Bell -- only seven days later! -- Pete fought the high-ranking Benny Brostoff in Quebec City. The Brostoff fight ended in a draw. At first. Then, 45 minutes later, while the crowd still "lustily booed" the verdict, the Quebec Boxing Commissioners over-ruled the judges and gave the decision to Pete. (Two judges had rendered a draw, while the third judge had awarded nine rounds to Pete. This third judge was J. B. Forgues.)

Meanwhile Al Brown and the American National Boxing Association refused to recognize Pete's title. Brown continued to decline to face Pete in the ring for the world title, even after Pete had been declared the new bantam king. And it appears that the NBA, despite its earlier promise to the Canadian boxing authorities, failed to take a mail vote to recognize Pete's title, although Brown's title should have been forfeited due to his failure to defend within the officially stipulated time. Time was also running out for Brown's New York State Athletic Commission crown.

Ultimately boxing historians also ignored Pete's title. Today it means nothing. Or does it? See The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Boxing: The Definitive Illustrated Guide to World Boxing by Harry Mullan (1987), upon which that listing was based. Why virtually all historians today fail to mention Pete's title triumph remains a complete mystery. (Since the time we originally wrote this page, historians have done independent research and confirmed our facts. Pete finally has achieved recognition as a legitimate former World Champion.)

This is what the August 1931 issue of The Ring magazine, the "Bible of Boxing," had to say about the matter:

The fighting champions! What the fight fan would give to see a few labeled as such, sporting their wares before the public!

The day of the fighting champion, like the day of the million-dollar boxing gate, is a thing of the past, but we should not live without hopes....

But prosperity will return only when we have a return of the old style, willing fighter - the champion who fears no one and who is willing to risk his crown against all comers. The lack of patronage in boxing may be traced to many causes, principally to the general international depression, but I think one of the biggest causes is the failure of champions to live up to expectations. Too much stalling, too much ducking, too much picking of soft opponents - these are responsible for many of the present-day ills of the sport.

Canada has suffered the same as have other countries, but almost overnight there has come to the front in the Dominion a fighter whose great work has instilled new life into boxing and has brought temporary prosperity to promoters who were ready to throw up the sponge because of a lack of patronage. Pete Sanstol, Norway's fly and bantam king, now a resident of Canada, is doing for the sport here what Tony Canzoneri, Jackie LaBerg, Fidel LaBarba and Tommy Loughran are doing in the States.

To this lad, the blonde-haired Norwegian who whipped Archie Bell and was crowned by the Athletic Commission of Montreal "world bantam champion," belongs much of the credit for the rise boxing is taking in the Dominion. Whether Sanstol is officially recognized by the National Boxing Association when it next meets is unknown at present, but the fact remains that the N.B.A. king, Al Brown, has repeatedly refused to meet Sanstol and the Montreal Commission acted only after Brown had evaded the issue.

Pete is a great little scrapper, and regardless of whether he is recognized at the next sitting of the N.B.A., he certainly must be reckoned with.

In Sanstol the Canadians know they have a champion who will fight. He is ready to settle the matter of supremacy in the bantam class with Al Brown or any other bantamweight of note, but Brown prefers to remain in Europe to pick his marks rather than take a chance against Canada's recognized leaders.

Sanstol won the title conferred on him by the Montreal Board when his flying fists battered out a clean-cut win over Bell, the clever, stabbing New Yorker. Pete had been given sixty days in which to defend his title against the first challenger, but he didn't wait that long, for a week later, even before a deep gash alongside his right eye had healed, Pete signed up to fight Arthur Giroux of Montreal, who in the same week had won the Canadian bantamweight title by knocking out Joe Villeneuve, the Quebec holder.

Now, it seems to me that here's a throw-back to those real old-time champions who growled the battle-cry of defiance "Let 'em all come!" and who fought for the sheer love of combat, rather than for the insignificant money involved. Shades of such really great fighters as the tornado McGovern, the tearing, mighty Sullivan, the dynamic Ketchell, the bouncing Sharkey and the brilliant Corbett are revived in this midget Norwegian. In fighting action those blue eyes turn an icy, bitter blue and the smiling, babyish mouth becomes grim and drawn.

Sanstol has that indefinable thing known as "color." Dempsey had it in overflowing measure. All really good fighters have it....

Pete, the Blond Blizzard of Norway, is the modern Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde of the prize ring for his abilities as an artist and a fighter are not the sole accomplishments of this talented, two-fisted little scrapper. No, sir, Pete is also an accomplished violinist, a fancy skater, skier and linguist with four different languages -- Norwegian, German, French and English.

Equally at home with the proletariat as he is with the millionaire -- the bounding blond has the ability to mingle with every class of individual. Modest and unassuming in his tastes, he can wear evening clothes with the same sense of fitness and easy grace as training clothes while in the gym. Although he has taken up one of the toughest professions known to the Twentieth Century athlete, he has no marks to show as a result....

In every sense of the word, Sanstol looks and fights like a real champion. He is of the old type, that school that brought personal patronage to the clubs through the medium of gong-to-gong battles.