BOXING

Press, Volume LXXXIV, Issue 25437, 8 March 1948, Page 8

BOXING

BOUT WON IN FIRST ROUND SANDS BEATS ROLLINSON (P.A.) WELLINGTON, March 7. One minute and 55 seconds after the start of his match against the triple Australian champion, Dave Sands, at Petone on Saturday the New Zealand light-heavy weight champion, Doug Rollinson rose from his knee a split fraction of a moment after the word “out” had been counted over him. When the referee, Mr L. Stewart, after speaking to Rollinson, raised Sands's hand as the victor, a section of the crowd of about 4000 began a hostile demonstration. Rollinson misjudged the count. When the referred separated the pair, spoke to Rollinson, and then announced Sands as the winner, there was a moment of stunned, silence followed by protests by a section of the spectators. Rollihson, who takes a few rounds to warm up to his fights, was early staggered by a long right to the side of the face, and appeared to be boxing fiom memory in the next fewmoments. He was clearly an easy target for the Australian, who jolted him with a right to the heart and a left and a right to the head. It was the last blow which sent Rollinson to the mat by the ropes He rose to one knee after the count of five, but “eight,” “nine,” and “out” had been pronounced by the -referee when Rollinson jumped to his feet obviously under the impression that he had taken full advantage of the count and tymed it correctly. Sands carries tremendous power in both hands, and his swift long lefts and rights to the head found the New Zealander with no counter.

Sands meets Jackie Marr on March 27. and Don Mullstt on April 17. “Do I look like a man who has been knocked out?” said Rollinson after the fight. “I thought I had timed it correctly. I have had plenty of experience of counting, and this is farcical.” Tom Maguire, Sands’s manager, said that Rollinson had every opportunity to get up. He thought that the New Zealander had had enough for the day anyway.

ENDICOTT BEATS DORMAN

(P.A.) NAPIER, March 7. Fading in the last few rounds. Noel Dorman. Napier, was knocked out in the last round of a professional bout with Frank Endicott (Australia). Dornan piled up a points lead in the first five rounds, when Endicott began scoring with a right cross. This was the third time the pair had met. In the first bout, Dornan won by a knock-out, and the second bout was drawn.

GUS LESNEVICH BEATS

BILLY FOX (N.Z. Press Association—Copyright) (Rec. 9 p.m.) NEW YORK, March 6 The world light-heavy-weight champion, Gus Lesnevich (12st 71b), knocked out the challenger, Billy Fox (12st 441 b) in 118 seconds of the first round of a title fight at Madison Square Garden last night. After the fight had been in progress for only a minute, Lesnevich, with a flurry of right-handers, sent the challenger down for a count of six. Fox had barely wobbled to his feet when the champion draped him across the bottom rope with a terrific right. Fox rolled to the canvas and was counted out.

It was the second occasion on which Fox had been knocked out by Lesnevich, the only man who has ever downed him for the full count. Fox won his 50 other fights, all by knock-outs. A crowd of 18.453 persons paid 149,519 dollars to”"see the fight.