TITLE REGAINED

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23895, 24 August 1939, Page 11

TITLE REGAINED

AMBERS BEATS ARMSTRONG NEGRO FREELY PENALISED NEW YORK, Aug. 22. (Received Aug. 23, at 7 p.m.) Lou Ambers regained the lightweight title by outpointing Henry Armstrong in 15 rounds of wild slugging. Armstrong was penalised in five rounds for low punching. A crowd of 35,000 saw one of the most gruelling brawls ever staged in New York. Blood flowed freely from both long before the finish, but there were no knockdowns. Although Ambers put up a great twofisted fight it is doubtful whether he would have become the first man in history to recapture the lightweight crown from the man who took it from him if Armstrong had not been penalised for fouls in the second, fifth, seventh, ninth and eleventh rounds.

The men were in perfect shape when they weighed in. Armstrong scaled 9.9 and Ambers 9.8 J. They greeted each other cordially. Armstrong said: " I heard you sing on the radio. You were swell." Ambers said: "Your poetry is pretty good stuff, too, Henry." Edie Walker, one of Armstrong's advisers, knocked out a process server who attempted to serve the champion with a judgment fbr 2752 dollars. MANAGER'S ALLEGATION "THE TITLE STOLEN";, NEW YORK, Aug. 23/ . (Received Aug. 24, at 0.15 a.m.) Armstrong's manager alleged that the title was stolen and that one of the boxing commissioners stated before the fight that Armstrong would lose six rounds on fouls. Armstrong's manager said he would ask the Governor to investigate the commission. Armstrong complained that Ambers continually stuck his thumbs; in his eyes. Ambers's manager announced that he was not claiming the welterweight title.