The win was considered an upset against the talented Denner, and elevated Goldberg's standings as a world bantamweight contender. Denner was ranked fourth in the world among featherweights at the time of the match. Goldberg knocked Denner to the mat in the fourth round, and achieved a large margin in points scoring, despite giving up six pounds in weight as well as many as five inches in reach. Goldberg defeated Joey Archibald, former World Featherweight Champion, on July 21, 1942, in Toledo, Ohio, in a ten-round points decision. The important win was considered an upset over such a skilled opponent, and made Goldberg a boxer to watch. On December 14, 1942, Goldberg impressively knocked out Lou Transparenti in the fourth round at Arena Gardens in Detroit. Transparenti, a quality opponent, had competed unsuccessfully for the World Bantamweight title against Lou Salica in March 1941, and had performed well in the first ten rounds, holding the favor of the crowd. Ironically, Transparenti had convincingly beaten Salica just one month earlier, but in a non-title bout. Goldberg defeated Tony Olivera on April 30, 1943 in ten rounds at Legion Stadium in Hollywood. Though outweighed, Goldberg defended Olivera's attack with fast counterpunching to the body and head. By the sixth and seventh, Olivera had adjusted to Goldberg's unusual southpaw stance and had opened a slight margin in points. In the last three rounds, Olivera used his leading southpaw left to score to the stomach and face of Olivera, gradually building his point's margin enough to win the close decision. There were no knockdowns in the bout between the two well matched competitors. The bout spotlighted Goldberg as a serious contender for the World Bantamweight Title. Goldberg had formerly drawn with Olivera in July 1938. Goldberg was ranked third in the world among Bantamweights prior to the bout. On November 23, 1943, Goldberg lost to Manuel Ortiz in a fifteen-round decision for the World Bantamweight Championship at Olympic Stadium in Los Angeles. Goldberg had defeated future champion Ortiz on August 5, 1938, in a four-round bout in Los Angeles when both were preliminary fighters just starting out in the professional ranks. Ortiz, now a formidable opponent making the eighth defense of his title, would hold it for eight years, defending it twenty one times. In a decisive win, Ortiz won by an average of twenty points in the judges scoring. For the first five rounds, both boxers felt each other out, aware of the potential threat in their opponent's gloves, though the pace disappointed the 10,000 fans in the stadium, which was full to capacity.