Nathan Mann, born Natale Menchetti in New Haven, had boxed and won by knockout on the big stage on the undercard of some of the most dramatic face-offs in the era of great big men, including Braddock vs. Louis, Max Baer vs. Louis, and Carnera vs. Louis in 1935.  By 1938, Mann was a contender himself, but lost his own shot at the title held by the “Brown Bomber” in February of that year, going down 3 times before the full count in the 3^rd of 15 at the Garden.  The Italian-American battler had won 13 of 16 since, yet the lighter Mann could not handle the younger of the Baer brothers from California, Buddy, going down repeatedly in the 7^th before the scheduled 12-round bout was stopped and the Easterner recorded the loss.  The younger Baer would twice contest Louis for the world title in mid-’41 and January of ’42 in a benefit for the Navy Relief Fund following Pearl Harbor, both losses.
  The typical undercard for the era offered a trio of 6 round matches, with heavyweight competition between Bill Poland and Danny Hassett, with the Bronx's Poland taking the win, and the even heavier "Dark Spoiler" Eddie Blunt hammering the 1936 NY Golden Gloves open & intercity champion Jim (not Thurston) Howell in their 3^rd.  In the 3^rd 6, the veteran Mexican middleweight Augie Arellano lost to the Maine-based former Polish Olympic contender Henry Chmielewski, who had lost the bronze medal match in Berlin in 1936 to the Argentine boxer Raul Vicente Villareal.  The short fights on the card were won by Brooklyn lightweight Danny Bartfield over “The Bronx Cyclone” Patsy Spataro, Bartfield’s 6^th straight since turning pro, and another Bronx big man Julio Ortenzio, who knocked out Bill Kettle in the 1st of 4, after taking him out in fewer than 2 in White Plains 3 weeks prior, this last humiliation enough to get Kettle to settle for the spectator’s role from then on.