LIKE OLD-TIME PRIZE FIGHT

Chronicle (Levin), 17 June 1946, Page 8

LIKE OLD-TIME PRIZE FIGHT

Tieports received from London state that tlie bout for tlie cpiser-weight chaiupionship between Gus Lesnevich, of America, and Freddy Mills, of Eng- ; land, was oue of the most sensational ! and gory encounters seen in the country siuce ihe old davs of the prize ! riiig. It was a eontest that will live !in the meniorv of the 12,000 spectators. j Mills has never fought better and I • don 'L thiiik he ever will again, states : (ieiard W'alter in the Xews Chronicle. jAfter surviving a territic hammering i in the second round, wlien he took four ' counls — of six, eight, and nine twice — ' he recovered to raise our liopes by as giand a display of pluck as I have | ever seen. Had he possessed a punch !of the power of the American, he must ; have won. For tliree rounds Lesnevich was lighting with his left eye comi pletcly closed. : Mills had opened a cut under the eye ia the fourth round and the wound swt'lled until Lesnevich 's sight was eiit irely obscured by the time he came up for the seventh round. JMills had his op|iortunity tlieit. He seemed to apprcciat e the fact and lio was delinite|y the dii-lator from tlie fourth round until Ihe nintli. Helpless Target He was cool enougli at tliis Aital stage. lle broke, th rough his opponent 's guard with well-tinied lefts to ihe face and at, times he had the American verv anxious. Yet Lesnevi.'h all thruugh was the better ring jM'iieral. lle was clevor enough to pre-vi-ut tlie Knglishnian landing a tinisliing blow. Itven wlien his eye was useless to liim Lesnevich stood'oiit ns the better buxer. I don 't believe Mills would' have done so well as he did had (he American not sutfered tliis liandicap. Xoihing, how ever, can detract from Mills' rcallv courageous bid for a title which no 1 >ri I isli-born boxer has held siin-c M.iko McTigue, tlie Irishman, beat 1'al I ling iSiki 2-"5 vears ago. How A1 i 11s survived that second round must. have beeu a mystery even to himself. He just stiyid a helpless target for a rain of erushing ]>iinches. Few men would have wealhered sucli nn attar-k. He aciually came up for the third round aggr'essively. He anmzed me by taking a'll Ihe honours in the round iminediately following that iu which he had beeu so decisivelv outclassed. Final Thrilis fl'he last few rounds were packed wilh Ihrills. -Mills' gloves were glis(ening with the blood that poui'ed from his oppoiienl 's daiuaged eye and the breasls of lioth men were dabbled red. l-e.snevicli, who had takou a lot of luinishmeiit in the tenth round and jopked all over a ioser, caught -Mills with a right hook to Ihe jaw. The Lnglishniau wont down for seven. As l.i' s! aggcred to his i'eet anollicr hook Mcid tiim (lo\yn for nine. Yet again he got up, his eyes glazed, and Lesnevich sent over a right-hand punch which crashed Ihe Hiiglishmaii tlut on his baek. Almost as tlu; timekeejier began to count the referee sigualled ihe end. Lesnevich said afterwards: ' ' Tlierc isn't a light heavy-weighl 111 the world eould have taken what JMills took irom me in the second round aml then coiue iiack for more. "