Betham keeps title

Press, 3 August 1976, Page 28

Betham keeps title

NZPA-Reuter Port of Spain

Monty Betham, of New Zealand, has retained his British Commonwealth middle-weight boxing title with a convincing victory over Trinidadian challenger, Carlos Mark.

Mark, a tough 30-year-old who has a reputation for absorbing hard punches, gave his 23-year-old opponent a strong challenge for the first six rounds of the title fight, held in Port of Spain, Trinidad.

But in the seventh, the more skilful Betham seemed to find the answer for Mark’s bulldozing After opening a cut over Mark’s right eye, he had virtually free range to hit Mark at will.

At the end of the 15-round contest all three officials gave the fight to Betham by wide margins. Mark, who claimed he was robbed when beaten by Betham in Auckland in 1973, admitted that this time he was well and truly thrashed. jj l got hurt t 0 the extent I did not know what was going on,” Mark told reporters, “but I had the guts and studied the pride of my country and fought on.”