Editing Lew Jenkins (section)

===Win over Mike Belloise, November 1939===
On November 21, 1939, Jenkins scored a seventh-round technical knockout against Mike Belloise, a former World Featherweight Champion, before a crowd of 12,000 at the Bronx's New York Coliseum.<ref>"Jenkins Defeats Mike Belloise", ''Valley Morning Star'', Harlingen, Texas, pg. 12, 22 November 1939</ref> Belloise was unable to answer the call of the bell for the eighth round due to the severe punishment he had taken to the body in the sixth and seventh rounds.<ref>"Belloise Kayoed By Lou Jenkins", ''Arizona Republic'', Phoenix, Arizona, pg. 11, 23 November 1939</ref> It was later confirmed that Belloise suffered a broken rib from the bout.<ref>"Breaks Rib, Loses", ''News-Journal'', Mansfield, Ohio, pg. 6, 23 November 1939</ref>

On January 24, 1940, Jenkins convincingly defeated Cuban boxer Chino Alvarez in a knockout only around fifteen seconds into the first round at the Sportatorium in Dallas. Jenkins landed only two or three punches and the rowdy Dallas crowd booed when the ten count was completed, with several climbing into the ring. The victory was Jenkin's ninth straight with six by knockouts. Jenkins sudden rise to prominence as a serious World Lightweight contender was not unprecedented, as he had been fighting professionally at least five years, but the quality of his opposition had increased dramatically in the last two years as many newspapers noted.  When he defeated Tippy Larkin in a first-round knockout at Madison Square Garden on March 8, 1940, he was finally scheduled for a World Lightweight Title bout with reigning champion [[Lou Ambers]]. In the impressive win over Larkin, Jenkins started cautiously, then flicked a few straight lefts. After Jenkins blasted with both hands, and in "2:41 of the first round Larkin was left flailing around in his own corner and down for the count."<ref>"Larkin Kayo Victim", ''Asbury Park Press'', Asbury Park, New Jersey, pg. 9, 9 March 1940</ref><ref>Miller, Tom, "Dallasites Boo As Lew Jenkins Gets Quick Kayo", ''El Paso Herald'', El Paso, Texas, pg. 10, 25 January 1940</ref>