arizmendi faced lou ambers on february 24, 1939, losing in an eleventh round technical knockout in madison square garden before a disappointing crowd of 8,837. a physician examining arizmendi's eyes believed the gashes he had received during the bout were too serious to allow him to continue the bout. arizmendi had completed all his previous bouts. ambers, hoping to obtain another shot at the title, had fought viciously through the bout. he had drawn with ambers on june 7, 1938 at olympic auditorium in los angeles, california. in one of his best performances against a reigning champion, one reporter gave four rounds to ambers, as many as four to arizmendi, and three even. overcoming a 1-3 odds deficit, arizmendi may have nearly dropped ambers in the second with a right cross.