N.Z. WRESTLING TITLE

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 603, 4 March 1929, Page 11

N.Z. WRESTLING TITLE

SUNNI DEFEATS DUFTY MATCH AT HAMILTON (From Our Own Correspondent) HAMILTON, Sunday. Retaining the professional wrestling championship of the Dominion last evening, Sunni defeated the champion at Hamilton, Joe Dufty, who defaulted in the fifth round owing to accidental injuries. Mr. F. Williams was referee. A very poor attendance witnessed the match, which consisted of six bouts, each of 10 minutes’ duration, with minute spells. In the first round Dufty obtained a half-Nelson hold on Sunni and victory seemed near. Sunni’s agility, however, averted defeat. The second round was evenly contested. Dufty in the third spell secured a leg and toe hold on Sunni, but once again his opponent slipped out. The fourth round opened briskly. Dufty secured a leg and body hold, but Sunni escaped. The fifth bout, as far as ad’fanta.la went, was Sunni’s. He obtained a scissors and Dufty seemed on the verge of defeat when the pair rolled under the stage ropes. The ringing of the bell stopped the most exciting of the five rounds contested. In the next moment or two Dufty fell off his chair and lay unconscious In rolling off the platform Dufty had struck his head against the edge of the stage, while one of Sunni’s heels had accidentally ruptured Dufty’s stomach. When the bell rang for the final round the referee announced that Dufty had defaulted and proclaimed Sunni the winner. Dufty had recovered sufficiently to apologise to the audience for his withdrawal.