WRESTLING

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26231, 15 August 1946, Page 10

WRESTLING

ATKINS TO MEET McCREADY

Described as the toughest wrestler in Australia for many years, and never known to take a backward step in the ring, Fred .Atkins, Australian champion, will have a hard match when he meets Earl McCready, British Empire champion, in a title match at Dunedin on Monday This will be the first occasion on which these men have met, Atkins having wrestled in New Zealand in 1941, a year in which McCready did not come to the Dominion.

Strong and a great believer in the use of forearm jolts and tackles, Atkins has been Australia’s outstanding matman for several years, and in recent weeks has been more than holding his own against American wrestlers at the Sydney and Melbourne Stadiums. He was brought up on the West Coast of New Zealand, and is a skilled wrestler, absorbing jolts to such an extent that it is difficult to weaken him with such tactics. Using them freely himself, he has amassed ’a remarkable record of successes in Australia.

McCready, wrestling better than ever, is keen to score a win over Atkins, who has come to New Zealand with two fixed intentions. One is to defeat McCready and take the Empire title from him. and the other is to secure a world title match against Jim Londos. Monday’s match is, therefore, arousing widespread interest