WRESTLING

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21990, 27 June 1933, Page 9

WRESTLING

VARGA DEFEATS BLAKE CONTEST ENDS IN FIFTH ROUND. One oi\ the biggest crowds which has ever assembled in the Town Hall to watch a wrestling bout greeted Count Varga and "Whiskers" Blake "when they stepped into tlie ring last night. There was an air of anticipation among the 3000 people as it was confidently predicted that the tall, bewhiskered wrestler would produce something exceptional in the way of thrills, but the match scarcely came up to expectations, Varga winning in the fifth round of a fairly quiet contest by two falls to one. The weight of the winner was given as 14.8 and that of Blake as, 15.0. As Blake climbed through the ropes it was seen that he was of most unusual build. Standing 6 feet 6 inches in height, he was remarkably slender in the legs for a wrestler, though his breadth of shoulder gave promise of great strength. What attracted every eye, however, was the bushy beard of .a bright auburn colour, which covered his face. With his blue and black tights covering him from the waist down, it is quite safe to say that no such extraordinary figure has ever been seen before under the glare of the ring lights in Dunedin. Varga was built on the conventional lines of a wrestler. A little over average height, he was broad shouldered and heavy legged, with powerful arms. Early in the contest it was seen that Blake relied mainly on his leg work for his holds. Those long legs of his were marvellously supple, and time after time he them round Vargo from the most unexpected of positions. On more than one occasion as Vargo circled round his towering opponent, Blake threw a leg completely over the Count's head in ah attempt to secure a head scissors, but Vargo did. not appear to be unduly perturbed by this unorthodox style of wrestling. He was content for the greater to keep out of trouble and wait for an opportunity to clamp on his punishing headlock, which, once obtained, he rarely relinquished till he had the slender American in deep trouble. Unlike other wrestlers, when he had thrown his opponent to the. mat with this head-hold, he did not spring to his feet and pounce in to trap the victim once more as he came up. Instead Varga clung to his hold, and wrenching Blake to his feet, threw him again to the floor. Only once or twice did he bother to indulge in a little beard-tugging. Blake brought off a spectacular flying scissors in the second round. Thrown into the ropes as the result of a head--hold, he rebounded back and. leaping into the air, wrapped his legs_ round Varga's body, bringing him heavily to the mat. Varga, who was wrestling barefooted, was also subjected to considerable toetwisting, but apart from some remarkable grimaces, this produced no tangible results, and towards the end Blake abandoned this mode of attack. The first fall came in the third round. Blake had thrown Varga with two reverse head-locks, and was attempting a third when Varga stepped quickly in and clamped on his head-hold. Four times Blake was hurled to the mat, and on the last occasion Varga combined with the head-lock a body press, forcing Blake's shoulders to (the mat. Early in the next round it appeared as if Varga. were about to repeat the performance. Blake had been thrown heavily twice, the second time landing close to the ropes. As Varga came in, however, Blake rose from the ropes and clutched his opponent round the head and shoulders. Turning him rapidly round, he sprang on Varga's back, applying a figure-four scissors. Varga was pulled to the mat, where Blake _ twisted the Count's body in one direction with his enveloping legs while he wrenched hie shoulders the opposite way. Subject to tremendous pressure about the kidneys and with his whole frame contorted- in this unnatural manner, Varga had no option but to.submit. * Varga spat defiantly as Blake glared at him from the centre of the ring in the fifth round, and then jumped in, and gave the enticing beard a vicious tug. Blake retaliated with some hair pulling, but a second later the two were wrestling in earnest. Oncei again Blake fell a victim to Varga's head locks, and a series of these left him powerless on the mat, Varga pressing his shoulders down for the deciding fall. The defeated man failed to rise immediately after the referee had pulled the two apart, and the pair left the ring amid some hooting and booing. PRELIMINARY BOUTS.

H. Wilson (10.7) beat A. M. Miller (10.7) on points. Wilson did most of the attacking, and was particularly effective with a head scissors, but Miller frequently drew the applause of the crowd by the skilful manner in which he extricated himself from these holds. Neither man was able to gain a fall, but, in view of the fact that Wilson was the more aggressive, the referee's decision was a good one. _ ' I''" G. Terry (10.0) beat J. E. Burton on points after a bout that was full of incident. Burton was the stronger of the two, but Terry? who is an experienced wrestler, was too clever. His holds were applied more cleanly, and towards the end of the bout, in, which ne.itb.er secured a fall, he did the greater amount of the attacking. The decision was popular with the audience. 0. Turner (11.6) and L. Coughlan (11.8) wrestled three rounds for a draw, neither man securing a fall. Coughlan was slightly the stronger of the two, but he was not able to finish off the advantages which he gained, and Turner, who; kept his head well, generally got out of trouble before he was in real difficulty. The main bout was controlled by Mr W. Coughlan, and Mr F. Anderson was in charge of the preliminaries. A WIN FOR MAMOS. (Per United Press Association.) AUCKLAND, June 20. With one fall to his credit and a wide margin of points in his favour, Al Pereira. the heavy-weight wrestling champion of Portugal, lost his match with Harry Mamos when he hurtled head-first through the ropes in the sixth round, landing first on the staging and then on the floor in front of the stalls, partially knocking himself out and being unable to climb back into the ring. Pereira made his first appearance here. His flying tackles excited the crowd and they paved the way for the fall he secured in the fourth round by means of a flying body scissors and press.