DEFEAT OF STRIBLING.

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 191, 13 August 1931, Page 7

DEFEAT OF STRIBLING.

Badly Beaten in Fight for Title. (Special to the “ Star.”) CLEVELAND, July 3. Max Schmeling, of Germany, proved his place among the heavy-weights tonight. In the big stadium at Cleveland, before 35,000 spectators, the German stopped W. L. Stribling, of Georgia, near the end of the fifteenth and final round, when he knocked him 1 down with a terrific right-hand punch with only thirty seconds to go. • Stribling, dazed and badly battered, struggled to his feet and threw his weary arms desperately around the German, who began to rain a fusillade of rights and lefts to the Georgian’s head and body. Before this last attack Stribling stood so helpless and so badly beaten that the referee (George Blake) awarded the fight to Schmeling on a technical knock-out, with just fourteen seconds to go. A Terrific Beating. By his all-round work the German proved his place at the top as Gene Tunney’s successor, a worthy holder of the title he won from Jack Sharkey on a foul just a year ago. Schmeling gave Stribling a terrific and relentless beating that had the Georgian dazed and bloody through the last nine rounds. Stribling's face w r as battered to a gory pulp. His nose and mouth were cut and bleeding, and he only held his own by clinching and wrestling as he struggled wearily to certain defeat. Through more than one round after the sixth it looked as if Schmeling would score his knockout, as he had Stribling almost out on his feet, and barely able to hold on until the bell gave him just strength enough to carry on again. Finish Sudden. The finish was sudden, unexpected and decisive. Stribling appeared certain to survive the fifteenth as he came up fresher than he had looked in some rounds, and started an offensive of his own. He was just about holding his ! own when suddenly, with less than a minute to go, Schmeling nailed him a smashing right to the chin, and Schmeling can hit with the force of a battleaxe when he gets a clean shot at his target with this right. He caught Stribling on the point of the chin and he fell face forward, with his battered face in the resin. He was practically out, but at the eount of nine he finally staggered to his feet, too helpless to make any defence except through clinching. His complete helplessness finally reached such a state that the referee was forced to call Schmeling away from his fast and furious attack and lift his glove in token of victory. Loses First Rounds. Stribling started by taking the lead through the first five rounds. All this time the stolid German plodded and plugged along, forcing his way, but doing no damage. All this time Stribling was scoring the greater number of punches and showing the greater speed and better boxing skill. But he was making no headway. He lacked the aggressiveness to follow up any lead he might establish. He was merely jabbing and tapping, missing his harder blows which Schmeling either blocked or ducked. Then, in the sixth round, the German began to increase his pace. He had Stribling’s nose cut and bleeding, and his mouth showing signs of wear and tear from inside punching. Through the seventh. eighth and ninth rounds the German surged in like the surf at high tide, lie was not

only outslugging Stribling and beating him to the punch, but he was also outboxing him. Stribling Withers. As Schmeling increased his pace and his aggressiveness, Stribling began to wither and fade away and it never seemed possible that he could go another round after the whaling he absorbed in the tenth. But he had too much ring-craft and cunning to be beaten so quickly. He had never been knocked out before, and he was giving all he had—no longer to win, but to escape the dreaded and almost certain knockout. Stribling had no longer any semblance of attack. He was merely trying to last out the fifteen rounds by using every known grip and clinch to stay on his feet and tie up the German, who was now throwing rights and lefts with power and accuracy whenever he could break loose from the pythonic grip which so often tied up his arms.