BOXING

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 74, Issue 141, 17 June 1931, Page 11

BOXING

CARNERAS VICTORY KNOCKS OUT REDMOND ISSUE NEVER IN DOUBT DECIDING FIRST-ROUND PUNCH Received June 16, 7.5 p.m. NEW YORK, June J 5. At Brooklyn. Primo Camera (19st 91b) knocked out Pat Redmond (17st 81b), in the first round. Redmond never had a chance. With almost tho first punch Camera lauded a hefty right and put- his opponent down for a count of eignt From then on Redmond was rocking on his heels. The Italian swarmed all over him, never giving him a chance to get set. Carnera pushed the fighting from the bell. He came out throwing his punches and the result was never in doubt after ho connected with the first blow. Jack Sharkey, the Boston heavyweight, originally scheduled to meet Carnera on to-night’s programme, climbed into the ring to congratulate the winner as Redmond’s seconds worked frantically to revive their man.

FREAK OR WIZARD? CARNERA COLOSSUS OF RJNG MILLION-DOLLAR. ‘ ‘ GATES ’ ’ Freak or title prospect? That is the question that American fight scribes have been asking about Primo Carnera, Italian Colossus of tho ring, who lias beaten the Australian, Pat. Redmond. An American reviewer says that a couple of years ago Carnera was cutting stone on the ecclesiastical mosaics of a church in Sequalo, a small town in Northern Italy, and in his spare time ho ploughed the fields, worked as a carpenter, and occasionally appeared as a wrestler in provincial circuses. It happened that Paul Journeo, an old French, heavyweight boxer, passed through Sequalo one day and caught a glimpse of the gigantic Camera. Journee was immediately struck with the idea that Primo had all the physical requirements for success inside the ropes. Now, Primo not only had size, but his agility and litheness in dancing at a village festival astounded the French veteran. He approached the big fellow, and asked him if he know anything about, athletics. A little about wrestling—that was all. Carnera shrugged his shoulders. He didn’t know what boxing meant, so Paul explained enthusiastically. “And with those gloves I can hit. a man in the face?” Carnera asked. “I would like that. I’ll do it.” And so he began a career that within eighteen months became the talk of two continents. Boxing experts are at odds over this man from Italy. Some say he is merely a physical freak; that he cannot box or hit, aud never learn to do either. Others believe he will become the greatest heavyweight of all time. Those who have never seen Carnera can hardly have a clear conception

of the enormous bulk of the man. He has a 56in chest, a 21 in neck, his biceps arc nearly sin larger than th< perfectly-developed ones of Jack Domp Key. He is 801bs heavier than Domp sey. The modem ring has seen noth ing to compare with him in bulk. Yet his speed is almost as surprising as his size. He moves about like a middle weight, and there is an element of grace in his movements that no one would expect merely from observing Primo in repose. It is hardly to be expected that, in the short time he has been fighting he should be a finished boxer. He is not, but perhaps it is as well, for an American critic asserts that if he could hit properly he would knock out any man on whom he landed. In His Early Days Journee wanted someone of experience to guide his protege, so he wired his old manager, Leon See, who soon became a convert and started Primo off against a second-rate heavyweight named Sabilio in .1928, the result being a quick knock-out. For a year he campaigned against men of comparatively little standing, but he beat Moise Bou quillon on points, Marcel Nilles in three rounds, Jack Hornbeck in six, and Stanley in one. Ho had no idea of the use of the left hand, and he could not hit with his right. He won because he was so immeasurably stronger and bigger than his opponents. The weight of his blows was enough. Yet, though only a novice, he was matched with young Stribling, a youthful fighter of several hundred battles. Stribling dropped the giant, but Carnera came roaring to his feet, and started in to get even. The bout unfortunately ended in a foul, and the return ended similarly, Carnera losing to Stribling. Even though Carnera has had some easy marks pitted against him in. the United States, he is said to have no equal as a drawing card in the game to-day. He outdrew even Dempsey by three to one in his gymnasium workouts, and American judges are sure that he will bring back tho milliondollar gates. Maloney won a disputed decision from Carnera in Bostou, but Carnera reversed it when they met again. He met George Godfrey, a deadly hitter, a coloured

fighter of whom most of the heavyweights shied clear. The crowd that saw the fight was the largest and most expensive that ever saw a fight in Philadelphia, with the exception of tho one that packed the Stadium for Dempsey and Tunney. Camera was in the better condition, and although the Italian won on a foul, this match showed that he could take a punch, and one critic stated that tho punches Godfrey landed that night would have knocked out almost any other heavyweight In the business Camera's Meals In training Primo limits himself to two meals a day—but what meals! Up at seven o’clock, he quaffs a cup ol coffee before going on the road. He is back in time for breakfast at 10.30, after indulging in a bath and a rub. The giant starts with two or three grapefruit. Then comes fish, a large steak, a wash-basin of fruit salad, eight slices of toast, and tea with a little cream. This temporarily stifles the craving of his stomach. Such satisfaction lasts for only a few hours. There after, through the rest of the day Primo is continually fighting the desire for more food. Then, at six

o’clock, be is given another chance at tho table. After warming up with a few grapefruit as a starter, Carnera has a doubk omelet of six eggs, another enormous fruit salad—a mixture of sliced oranges, apples, and bananas that would satisfy half a dozen people —roast bed or steak, toast, and tea. This, of course, is the strict training diet. When not preparing for a fight the man mountain really eats to his heart’s content, and that is a sight not to be witnessed twice in a lifetime. ft must bo borne ip mind, of course, that so vast au engine rejuires a maximum amount of fuel. Jack Kofoed, sound American writer, reckons that Sharkey’s style is the kind to give Camera the greatest possible trouble. Sharkey, as a boxer, is one of the best. He has speed and hitting power, and only lack of balance deprived him of the world ’s championship. He may not knock Carnera out, but he may know too much for the Italian. The question will be answered in less than three weeks