 Dave challenged for the World Title at Houston, Texas on 2 December 1959, against Joe Brown but was forced to retire in the fifth round with a badly damaged eye.He fought Brown again, this time in London on 18 April 1961, and lost a bitterly contested duel that many fans thought he had won.By way of consolation Dave knocked out Brown in six rounds in a third meeting, but only after the American had lost his World title.