World Welterweight Boxing Title

Chronicle (Levin), 13 July 1949, Page 5

World Welterweight Boxing Title

Received Tuesday, 7 p.m. jNEW YORK, July 11. Defending the world welterweigiit title against Kid Gavilan, at Philadelphia tonight, Ray Robinson gainea a decision 011 points. Gavilan, bv forcing the iight in the first few rounds, took the lead but Robinson, with sharper timing and harder punching,, gained the upper hand and did not lose it. The referee and one judge gave Robinson nine rounds and Gavilan six. The other judge gave Robinson 12 rounds ana Gavilan three. Robinson retains the honourbf never liaving been beaten by a fighter in his own weight. He has, in fafet, been beaten only ohee in his enfire boxing rareer — by.a iniddleweiglit whom he later defeated. . d ' . Robinson seemed to let the ehallenger set the paee in the earlv stages of the fight. In the fourth round Gavilan opened a 'cut over Robinson -s eye anci then began a ferocious assault, slamming a battery of short lef'ts to the body and rights to -Robinson 's bleedmg eye. Ga'vilan tOre into Robinson in the fifth but Robinson took inost of it on his arms. '•Robinson fought back SfCvagely in tne sixth and for the first. time .took command. \The fight developedint.o a slugging matcli of the first order but after the ninth round, the pace began to slow down. The twelfth. was bitterlv fought with a sefibs of fast exchanges but Robinson seemed to' "have the edge which he maintained till the fourteenth. In the last round Robinson swarmed all over Gavilan, smacked him a right that snapped Gavilan 's head back, then got in three more rights to Gavilan 's head, staggered him with a right to the chin and landed two straight lefts to Gavilan 's jaw. It was a torrid batt.le that seemed to please the crowd of 35,000. /