He was discharged around August 1943. His only child had been born in 1942, not long after he married his wife Barbara. In his boxing retirement, around 1945, he bought a neighborhood tavern, "Dudy's", and invested in two racehorses. After a year of ownership he thought of selling the bar and moving the family to Florida. Death After his Army service and boxing retirement, on November 21, 1945, Davis was drinking beer at his bar Dudy's in Brooklyn's Brownsville neighborhood around 2:45 a.m. New York had been suffering a crime spree as the number of police serving in World War II had diminished those available on the street to fight crime. Davis was in the process of selling the bar, and was with the new owner Arthur Polansky, a bartender, and an off-duty cop, when four armed robbers walked in. Earlier that night, the armed men had robbed five other taverns. Davis punched one of the robbers in the jaw for speaking rudely to Polansky, and was shot three times, but still tried to chase the other three who sped off in a waiting car. During the short pursuit, he was shot a fatal fourth time, and died outside the tavern at the age of 25. He was buried in Brooklyn's Montefiore Cemetery, leaving his wife and two-year-old son. On November 22, 1945, a headlined article about his death, including a photograph of Davis, was on the front page of The New York Times. Selected fights |- | align="center" colspan=8|4 Wins, 6 Losses, 2 Draws |- | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Result | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Opponent(s) | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Date | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Location | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Duration | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Notes |- | Win | Jack Sharkey, Jr. | Apr 2, 1938 | Brooklyn, NY | 8 Rounds | |- | style="background: #dae2f1"|Draw | Jack Sharkey, Jr. | Jun 20, 1938 | Woodhaven, Queens | 6 Rounds | |- | style="background: #dae2f1"|Draw | Jack Sharkey, Jr. | Sep 16, 1938 | New York City | 6 Rounds | |- | Win | Tony Canzoneri | Nov 1, 1939 | New York City | 3rd Round TKO | Former double world champ |- | Win | Tippy Larkin | Dec 15, 1939