Griffith Retains World Title

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31112, 15 July 1966, Page 15

Griffith Retains World Title

-c (N.Z. Press Association—Copyright) NEW YORK. E. Griffith outlasted his challenger, J. Archer, to win a majority decision and retain his world middle-weight boxing title over 15 rounds at Madison Square Garden yesterday, United Press International reported.

The fight was Griffith’s first defence of the title which he won from Dick Tiger in the same ring in April. It was his fifty-first victory against seven defeats. The referee scored the bout 7-7-1, with seven points for each man, while the judges scored 8-7 and 9-5-1 for Griffith. In one of the finest fights in recent years, Griffith started quickly and wore down his taller and heavier opponent with sharp footwork and a telling left hook. There were no knock-downs in the bout but both fighters were staggered during the match. The 28-year-old champion buckled Archer’s knees in the fifth round with a left hook and a solid right Heads Clashed A nasty cut opened over Archer’s left eye when the two fighters banged heads accidentally near a neutral corner midway in the eighth round. Archer fought defensively to the end of the round before his seconds could work

on the wound and he was still groggy in the ninth. But for the remainder of the bout, he was more aggressive and had no trouble pacing himself for the 15 rounds, the first time he had gone the championship distance in his career.