EMPIRE MAT TITLE

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLV, Issue 21210, 3 December 1938, Page 18

EMPIRE MAT TITLE

Earl McCready in South Africa VIEWS OF GEORGE PENCHEFF South Africa Is now the arena for the wordy battle concerning the British Empire title which was waged in New Zealand up to about a year ago. Earl McCready, to whom most New Zealanders are prepared to concede the honour, has arrived in the Union with the intention of giving the local contender, Johannes van der Walt a chance to substantiate his claims but, as the men are in different “camps" as were McCready and George Walker for so long in this country, it remains to be seen if and when the match between the Canadian and the Springbok comes off. Meanwhile an entrant into the vocal lists has been George Pencheff, the Bulgarian who became a naturalised Australian and who has wrestled in New Zealand in two different seasons. In a letter to the Cape Times, written as he was leaving for England, Pencheff claims that he won the title off Douglas Clark and lost it to van der' Walt, whom he recognises as champion. However, let his letter speak for Itself: “I saw in the Cape Times an article about Earl McCready, the Canadian heavyweight wrestler, in which he claims the British Empire championship. “First of all I wish to say that the men McCready says he wrestled for the title never held the championship. The only recognised British Empire champion was Douglas Clark, the Englishman, and McCready has never wrestled him. ‘‘Not For Championship” “I wrestled Clark for the championship and beat him and McCready has never wrestled me for the title. He says he beat me in New Zealand, but that was not for the championship. “The facts are that I wrestled McCready three times in New Zealand two years ago; two of the contests were drawn and the third he won by a sheer fluke. “McCready says he. beat me by slamming me so hard that I could not continue; that’s his story. Here’s mine:— “I was winning on points in the first five rounds and McCready was

hardly off the mat. Then I went to drop-kick him, missed, and hit the top rope which flung me back on to the mat; I landed on my neck, knocking myself out. That is how McCready got the decision. Too Late “In my first drawn match with McCready, at Timaru (New Zealand), we were hardly on the mat; the second match was a draw of a fall each, at Greymouth. “I only wish I could have stayed on here to settle the matter with McCready. He was supposed to arrive four months ago, but now he shows up just when I have got to leave South Africa. All this time he has been stop•ping in England for seven months just for four matches; in the same time in England I had over 100 matches. “I am sorry to write this about McCready but he should not go around claiming championships which don’t belong to him. If McCready wishes to ask me any questions I am ready to answer him. “In my opinion van der Walt is officially the British Empire champion because he beat me for it; if McCready beats van der Walt—which I don’t think possible—l will then acclaim him the Emipre champion, but not before. “Another thing. When John Spellman issued a £lOOO challenge to van der Walt or any other wrestler I got up at midnight in Durban to send off a telegram to Johannesburg offering to wrestle Spellman for £2OOO aside. Mr Spellman did not accept. Scarcely World-beater George Pencheff’s record in New Zealand in 1936 hardly makes him out to be a world-beater. Of eleven matches he won three, drew one and lost seven. His three matches with McCready were all won by the latter —the first by a fall, the second on points, and the third through Pencheff being put out of action. Pencheff did not wrestle Clark in New Zealand and, even if he beat the Englishman in Australia (which we doubt) little importance could attach to the fact. Clark’s “title match” with Tom Lurich in Sydney was won by Lurich, who also won a return match. Clark had one bout in New Zealand, against Cowboy “Reb” Russell who beat him by straight falls in the second and fourth rounds. It was just too bad for Pencheff (or was it?) that he had to leave South Africa just as McCready arrived.