page_title: Dave Levin
section_title: First World's Heavyweight Championship Reign
hierarchical_section_title: Dave Levin / First World's Heavyweight Championship Reign
caption_attribution_description: English: Promotional picture of Dave Levin July 1936
context_page_description: George William Wenzel was an American professional wrestler and World Heavyweight Champion who was active in the early portion of the twentieth century, best known under the ring name Dave Levin.
context_section_description: Dave Levin first challenged Ali Baba on May 13th at the Ridgewood Grove Athletic Club in Brooklyn, NY. The match was a disappointing loss for Levin who gave up 18 pounds to the shorter but stockier Ali Baba. Baba defeated Levin in 10 minutes and 40 seconds. Levin was questioned about the loss but was undeterred. He claimed it motivated him more to work harder and rack up more victories quickly to earn another shot against Ali Baba.
  On June 5th, 1936 promoter Max Joss promised the winner of Dave Levin versus Salvatore Balbo the opportunity to face Ali Baba for the World's Heavyweight Championship at a large baseball park as opposed to his usual Broadway Arena show. Levin would defeat Balbo on June 8th to earn his second chance against Ali Baba.
  However prior to that outdoor stadium show, Dave Levin substituting for Hans Schnabel faced Ali Baba in Newark, NJ on June 12th at the Meadowbrook Field. He would defeat Ali Baba via disqualification after 21 minutes of action when Baba kicked him into the groin. At 23 years of age, Dave Levin became the youngest World's Heavyweight Champion at that time. The decision was protested by Ali Baba and title recognition was in limbo but the next day, the New Jersey State Athletic Commission would rule in favor of Dave Levin being the new World's Heavyweight Champion citing that "the referee is the sole arbiter of the decision of a match." Baba would continue to claim the World's Title in some states such as Michigan, Baba's adopted home state which labeled the championship as "clouded." The most important state for the recognition to mean anything was New York and it was clear Dave Levin was considered to be their World Champion. Promoter Nick Londes of Detroit immediately planned a rematch between Levin and Baba for early July. It should be noted though that until the time of the National Wrestling Alliance in the late 40's, almost all World title claims were fractured and disjoined at best. Some wrestlers would simply claim the name, others would be given recognition by their state or by a specific promoter. At the time of his victory, Levin also shared claims with Ali Baba, Vincent Lopez and Everett Marshall. These champions were generally territorial based on which manager and promoter held interest in a town such as Lou Daro in California, Al Haft in the mid-west or Toots Mondt, Jack Curley and Ray Fabiani in the north-east. Levin's claim was generally legitimized by following the timeline of Jim Londos, considered undisputed World Champion, being defeated by Danno O'Mahoney, who was then defeated by Dick Shikat, who was next defeated by Ali Baba, to Dave Levin who defeated Ali Baba. Though some promoters who recognized different World Champions would simply state that Levin was "the wrestling champion owned by the trust" and "not the real champion or even close to the best."
  Although this was recognized by the New York State Athletic Commission as the World Heavyweight Championship, Levin enjoyed recognition in several states including Pennsylvania, Georgia, Iowa, Missouri, Texas, Florida and New Jersey. In California, recognition was considered as the "Eastern States" World Heavyweight Champion whereas California, Oregon, Washington and Utah recognized their own World Heavyweight Championship (Pacific Northwest) which was held by Vincent Lopez. Lopez was having his own problems with his claim to the World title as his victory the previous year to Man Mountain Dean was disputed due to Lopez allegedly breaking the rules. Lopez cited Levin's title victory as the catalyst to resolve any disputes with Man Mountain Dean who also saw Levin's victory and decided to hold off his own retirement until his no holds barred match with Lopez occurred. Both immediately claimed they would welcome an undisputed title match with Levin after their issue was settled. Levin agreed to come to California, specifically Los Angeles on July 8th, 1936 to discuss a potential unification match. Lopez would go on to defeat Man Mountain Dean and set the stage for a unification bout. During the time between thei
caption: Promotional Picture of Dave Levin in July 1936 showing his impressive physique.
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