AMERICAN BOXING
RANKING OF CHAMPIONS CARNERA DISCREDITED HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE CONTENDERS.
Champions and others are placed in order of merit in a review of boxing in America in 1931 by James P. Dawson in the “New York 'Times,’’ which reduces the year’s activities to an orderly account of results. He declares that Primo Carnera has been discredited as a heavyweight championship contender. The knock-out victory of Max Sehmeling over Young Stribling last July 3., in Cleveland’s ring encounter for the world’s heavyweight championship, stood, out prereminently in the year’s boxing. When Sehmeling knocked out Stribling within 14 seconds of the end of the 15th and last rounds the German lad who holds the heavyweight title did something no other boxer had been able to dp in the long career of Stribling, spanning 10 years and covering more than 300 ring battles. -i 1 There came criticism and complaint with the action of Referee George Blake who intervened to save the Georgia- challenger from what might have developed into serious injury. The complaint was based on. the. premise that, notwithstanding Stribling’s helpless condition when he arose from a knock-down after being subjected to. a steadv- battering from the sixth round, the referee should have been moie indulgent, thus preserving a record that had been perfect , in. respect to knock-out setbacks theietofore. BLAKE ACTED WISELY.
, Blake, hoiyever, was not interested, m the : preservation'of records, or the prevention of humiliation. He was- interested in ensuring a fair, .square light for the title' and preventing the i infliction of permanent injury tp one of the bout’s principals. --He acted ■ as wisely as he, did. fearlessly;; j . The victory certified the claims, made, on behalf of Sehmeling; stamping the German lad- as; eminently- qualified; to wear: the mantle of ring monarch, at least among the ordinary lieavyweighfs of ; the day. But the bout, aside from its explosion of Stribling’s. proud boast created no other record. It was a financial failure, suffering by comparison with other history-making, events. Berried to. New York, rejected- .-in Chicago, and shifted in the emergency, to thp. bout failed to draiv. Bpt 30,9y0 persons paid to see Schmeiing in his first defence of - the, title-.. 'The gross receipts amounted to- 349,41.5; dollars and the pet receipts were' 265,345 dollars. Sehmeling collected 160,138 dollars, and. the Madison Garden Corporation, which conducted the fracas, sustained a' of about 50,000 dollars, a far cry’ from the- re T cord gate of; 2,656,660 dollars attracted to ’ the second Dempsey-Tupney bout, and the "fortune of 99-0,445 dollars Tunney pocketed for the famous Chicago battle of the long count.
BOUT SERVED ITS PURPOSE. Nevertheless, in, receipts the Cleveland battle was- easily - phe year’s gest event. And, in’ results, it served its purpose, for, it established vSchmeling’s right to the crown, whichhad been disputed since the night the German had; won on a foul-from Jack Sharkey in 1930- Sehmeling was matched to defend- the crown in Sqp-. telpher against Drimo. Carnera, but this bout did" not materialise because’ of an eye injury the champion sustained. -.
The heavyweight class held plenty of- action without producing exciting results, otherwise. Sharkey’s position as challenger suffered when- he permitted the oyer-grown middle-weight, Mickey Walker, to hold'him to a dr.aw. and' was not particularly enhanced when an outburst of temperament, in a critical, situation almost caused him the loss of his bout with Camera.
Camera was exploded, as a dangerous contender for the heavyweight title when he lowered his colours to Sharkey, although’ the- bout, and; anotherwith Victoria Campqlo, proclaimed, the. Venetian giant a remarkably fast and: altogether game ring man. Campolo’schampionship bubble: burst when- the., South American giant was knocked, oufc. by Ernie Schaaf and later by’ Camera. * Tommy Ldughran proceeded along the even tenor of- his way, conquering Max Baer, Schaaf, Campplp, Joe Sekyra, Johnny Risko and Paulirip, but much of his good work was minified by _ his surprisingly defeat , at the hands of King Levinslty. Schaaf appeared to be the. best of the younger heavyweight-crop, Jack Dempsey. retupied to New York as -a referee in the Maxßaer-Tom Heeney bout. Recognition as heavy- i weight champion was. withdrawn from Schmeling by the New York. State Athletic Commission but, on the wellestablished basis- that championships are won and. Tost only in the ring, the German was recognised elsewhere. OTHER CHAMPIONS ACTIVE.
Champions in other divisions . were remarkably active. The most' notable illustrations were supplied by. Christ 1 topher (Bat) Battalino and Tony Canspneri, world’s weatKorweight. and lightweight champions, respectively. Each titleholder defended; his. title three times. Battalino eonquerer Fidel la Barba, Freddie Miller and Earl Mast-ro, removing the only active challengers for his title, and, later, with his more recent knock-out of Al Singer satisfied everybody that he is a true champion. Canzoneri twice conquered Jack (Kid) Berg and added Kid Chocolated scalp to his belt in. three stirring defences of the ligfhtweight crown. Al Brown, Panama lad, defended his world’s bantamweight title against Pete Sanstol and Ewgene Huat. The flyweight title remains: disputed. Midget Wolgast, recognised in' this State defended the title against Ruby Bradley at Coney Island, while; Frankie Genaro, National Boxing Association champion, recently lost his crown when he was defeated by Young Perez in Paris.
I The welterweight championship was (shuffled from. Tommy Freeman, to Young Jack Thompson, to Lon Brouillard, in bouts which saw Thompson regain the title quickly only, 10 lose it again. Mickey Walker voluntarily surrendered his world’s middleweight crown, providing an incentive for activitv among 160-pounders, which did not develop. Maxie Rosenbloom. made, another defence of his light-heavy-weight championship against Jimmy Slattery and then ran out of opponents. 1 DEATH OF FINE BOXER. W. E. Grant, whose death through an ininry while helping to lift Jplfwie to release a comrade, was ‘'aniipdnqed' by the Royal Air Force recently,«was I a Hawke’s Bay boy who was an un- 1 commonly good boxer. Jimmy fllab- 1 by, the great Australian middleweight I
sparred with him once or twice,-and considered him the cleverest schoolboy boxer .he ever saw. Grant joined the Air Force in 192 R, and won the - middle-weight championship of the.: Air. Force.' following year, when E. S. Williams, another New Zelander, beai G. R. Beamish, of the 1930 Brit-, ish Rugby team, for the heavyweight title. He. was at the Air Force Training School at Dighy, Lincolnshire, with 1. L. S. McNicol, well-known Welling-' ton footballer, and G. R. White, a Hawke’s Bay player whp represented the, Air Force against the ArnrV and-: Navy, at the same time as Lance] Jarman, of- Christchurch, was at the) Netheravon College in Wiltshire, and, “Buster” McHardv, who was killed* m l a crash recently, was at the Grantham j Hiving School) Grant was auite aj fair footballer' and qricketer, but. he inherited' boxing skill from his father, j wjio was an amateur in hi?. young days, and later a referee, once, controlling a fight at the National Sporting Club, London. J
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Hawera Star, Volume LI, 20 February 1932, Page 10
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1,153AMERICAN BOXING Hawera Star, Volume LI, 20 February 1932, Page 10
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