WORLD BOXING TITLES MAY CHANGE HANDS

Chronicle (Levin), 9 April 1947, Page 2

WORLD BOXING TITLES MAY CHANGE HANDS

— ^ Several, if not all, present world boxing cJiampions may be hard put to it to retain their titles in ttfe summer outdoor boxing season now iooming in the United States, ■ according to leadmg sports writers in America. The only one who looks reas'onably eertain of stajdng at the top is tlie great Joe Louis, undisputed ruler of tlie heavyweights — though even he»may lind himself in trouble before the season is done. In the first few seeonds of their title bout last year Tanu Mauriello showed that Eouis could be liit and hurt. The champion is close on 33 years of age, and it is on the cards that any one of several of the current contenders, though not in the same class as a fighter, may tag him with a solid puneh that could put an end to his long reign. Welter-weight . Ray Robinson and feather-weight Willie Pep, tlie two outstanding title-holders next to Louis, cannot be too confident of their chances against the top men in tlieir j divisions. Robinson, long considered | the best of the welter-weights, recentlyj had a narrow escape from defeat at j the hands of Artie Levine and had a desperate battle to'nvin official recogni- 1 tion as title-holder' in his bout with ; Tonimy Bell. ! Pep has proved mucli too good for ( every man of his weight lie has met ] in tiie last year, but he has lately suf- 1 fered a series of accidents, culminating j in being injured in an air crash. By ! the time he is fit to ffght again he may have lost. the grand form he showed : j last year, and may have his hands full . ! with* some of the other men of his ] weight who have come to the fore in i I i his absence. ] ■ Though he stopped ' ' Blaekjack 'Billv'; Eox in their fight last month,. ! light-heavy-weight champion Gus ( Lesnevicli faces stiff opposition from a i 'strong array of other rivals, headed by : ! Ezzard Charles. Tony Zale, 32-year-old l middle-weiglit champion, no longer has [to contend with Rocky Graziano, who ■ j has lost his licence, but he has two ' even more capable opponents in Jakc 1 :La Motta and Charley Burley, and also i ]Erencliman Marcel Cerdan, after his I ] title. There is still no undisputed ' jlightweight champion. i Bob Montgomerv is recognised in ; New York as champion, while Ike Wil- . iliaius is accepted as top man in other i parts of the world. These two men |inust meet during thc season to settle ] i tlie argument. Scottish .Tackie Patter- , |son, flvweight champion, has shovvn I signs in his last few fights that he has : had his heydaV as champion. There are ; | sev eral men of his weight in England ] and the Continent who look, tD.liav^his-l mcasiire. " ;