WRESTLING

Evening Star, Issue 23369, 12 September 1939, Page 4

WRESTLING

WRIGHT HOLDS BHU FINDER TO DRAW INDIAN'S CLEVER DISPLAY In a match devoid of showmanshij but marked by some of the cleverest straight wrestling seen in Dunedin for along time, Bhu Finder (16.4) was held to a draw at the Town Hall last night by Rube Wright (17.3), the Indian taking a submission fall in the fifth round with his favourite Indian crab, and Wright evening up in the last round with a fall obtained from a head scissors and armbar. The Indian entered the ring in bare feet, wearing a yellow turban, and a more evenly proportioned and muscled wrestler has rarely been seen here. Wright held a big advantage in weight and also in height, and it was his greater strength that sapped Bhu Finder’s resistance itftthe last couple of rounds and enabled Wright to finish on level terms. For five rounds, however, the Indian out-generalled and out-man-oeuvred Wright in everything the American did, seemingly being able to produce a hold for every move made by Wright. Introducing variety and well-applied holds to his work, Finder kept Wright on the defensive, the former being equally facile in scissors holds and in arm and leg work. In the first round he cleverly somersaulted out of a hammerlock, and there was scarcely a counter Wright used that Finder did not break by some novel means, his fast and sure moving having Wright guessing. The American essayed elbow jolts in the second round, but the Indian brought him down with a flying mare and then rolled on Wright’s muscles and worked on a Japanese fingerlock, Wright countering with his specialty, the head-scissors, his best hold to date, but the Indian was too slippery and got out of it. Towards comers the American was evening up with forward chancery holds. In the third round Finder was stirred to response by Wright’s elbow jabs, but the former’s jolts merely paved the way +he aeroplane scissors. Wright countering by locking his opponent’s leg. Tmaer broke the hold by securing a short-arm scissors, and when he went for a double leg-dive Wright made a 4 cl’-tch at the ropes and put on a body scissors just before the gong. The Indian won the fourth round by a ume margin, and the most entertaining incident was the see-saw effect produced when each held double leglocks simultaneously, the referee having to break them when a stalemate was reached. The first fall came in the fifth round. Wright applied a reverse headlock and reverse wristlock very effectively, but Finder countered with a Japanese stomach throw-, and very quickly manoeuvred Wright for his Indian crab, a variation of the Boston crab in that he stood on the back of his opponent’s thighs, pulled the latter’s toes up under his own knees, and then, with a fierce clutch at the chin, almost brought Wright’s head back to his feet, the latter quickly submitting. Wright appeared to wrestle with more vigour from this stage onwards, and the Indian, on the other hand, slowed down, though still very skilful and smooth in his defensive moves. Wright did not appear near to a fall, however, until the eighth round, when he sent Finder spinning round the ring with headlocks and jolts, finally taking the equalising fall with a head-scissors and armbar. THE PRELIMINARIES. W. Fitzgerald (11.4) and R. Fitzgerald (11.0) wrestled a draw', each taking a fall. The latter pinned his brother with a figure-four scissors and body-press in the second round, and W. Fitzgerald took his fall with a reverse body-press. _ „ . L. Coughlan (13.9) beat E. Swam (13.12) on points in a lively and vigorous bout in which no falls were re- * corded. H. Stevens (11.4) and H. Vient (11.0) Wrestled a draw, neither securing a fall. F. Reach (10.7) beat R. Richardson (10.3) by one fall, obtained in the third round with a forward body-press. Mr Frank Anderson refereed the professional contest, and Mr Colin Turner the amateur bouts.