WORLD BOXING TITLE

Taranaki Central Press, Volume IV, Issue 455, 24 June 1937, Page 6

WORLD BOXING TITLE

LOUIS NEW CHAMPION Fury Of Negro’s Attack Press Association— Copyright. New York, June 22.. Joe Louis defeated James Braddock, holder of the world's heavyweight boxing title, by a knock-out in the eighth round of a 15-round bout at Chicago to-night. Braddock Was carried unconscious to his corner, bleeding profusely from cuts on the flace and nose. Braddock came out fighting, but Louis quickly staggered the champion with a right to tae jaw and two rights over the eye, opening a cut. Braddock suddenly whipped a. right uppercut to the chin and Louis went down. However, he w<as up before the count. The champion chased him to the ropes and pounded -,m on the body with both hands. It was Braddock's round. The second round opened with Braddock again rushing Louis to the ropes, but the advantage was only temporary. His blows were wild and Louis drove his right to the jaw, staggering him, and in the last fewseconds of the round had Braddock wobbly from a two-fisted battering to the head. Louis won the round. The third round opened with Louis effectively jabbing with his left to Braddock’s face. Louis suddenly leaped with a right to .the body and a left to ithe face. The contender shook the champion with a sharp right to the jaw just before the bell, winning the round. In the fourth round Biladdock ended Louis’, cautious boxing with a left to the- face and a right to the bony, angering the contender, who proceeded to tilt the champion’s head' back .with stiff rights and lefts which made Bfladdock miss many blows. Louis won another round.

Braddock’s eyes/ were slightly puffed as be came up for the fifth round. He jabbed Louis’ nose, causing it to bleed. Louis hooked a left to the jaw .and stepped' out of range of Braddock’s right swings. The contender then proceeded to jab Braddock s face and punish him severely with rights to the body, winning the round.

In the sixth round Braddock was badly shaken by a left to the jaw and two rights .to the chin. Then he heedlessly walked into Louis, who drove lefts and rights to the body and head, re-opening the cut over Braddock’s, left eye. Similar blows staggered the champion and bruised his lips, but he stood flatfooted, vainly -trying to counter his opponent’s vicitus blows. Louis took the round. Braddock threw his fists la bout wildly .in the seventh round, while Louis cut him to ribbons with straight left jabs and rocked him with a right uppercut to the chin’ Braddock was now fighting back '? indly, Louis’ left always struck Braddock’s face, while the -tottering champion was- incapable of retaliating. Braddock drove his right feebly to the head before the heli, but he was. plainly defeated.

The end came, after seventy seconds in the eighth round. Louis opened cautiously, stabbing his left to his opponent’s face and keeping out of range of Braddock. He rocked the champion with 'a short right to the jaw, and followed by another r! Bt to the jaw, flooring Braddock, Whom his seconds carried, after the count, unconscious Ito his corner. The attendance was 50,000 .and the receipts amounted to £140,000. A Meteoric Career. The career of Louis in professsionoxiug is a metearic one. Until 1934 he was known only for hi s amateur successes, having won the chamPionship of America from Stanley -vans. His first/ professional contest in July, 1934, when he knocked Out Kiaiken, brought him £lO. In rapid succession he then defeated Camera, Levinsky (in one round), Poreda, Patsy Peronne, Uzcudun and at .Brown, the last of these beingtoe only opponent he did no t knock out with his -terrible punch. in bepember, 1935, he met the ex-world champion Max Baer. Two hours beMarth he fisht he ma,Tied the negress Maltha Trotter. When the ceremony was over he kissed his wife and said; " Now rve a date wHh fellow Baer.”

-Louis disposed of Baer i n four ‘ounds, the match being stopped on e ical advice and Louis declared ictor by a technical knock-out. He followed this up by -defeating Paollno to 2i minutes, this being the flrit line the Spaniard had been knocked out. Jn January, 1936, he beat. Reyzlaff. in 85s. Then came the sensational anticlimax on June 19, ]aat yeai . when Max Schmeiling (world champion, 1.930-32) knocked: out. Louis' in -the twelfth round at Yankee Stadium, New York. Louis’ favourite recreation is sleep-ng-r-12 hours at a time. He eats

enormously, a typical meal being 51b of steak, 3 fried chickens or 12 pork chops, followed by ice-cream. Every day he reads the Bibie for at toast an hour, mainly the Old Testiment. He says that when he has maij-e £200,000 he will buy a country estate land '‘live the lite of a gentleman.” From 25 contests in 18 months he. secured £74/000—43.000 of this in his fight with Baer. Louis has done much to help his mother, brothers and sisters. Rags to Riches. James J. Braddock, the IrishAmerjcan hgavy-weight boxer, was born ip, 1906 ,st Manchester, where his father was a policeman, but went to live in America Six feet three inches in height, he is ,(powerfully built, in New York he worked ae a dock labourer, but trained. as a boxer in the evenings. His three brothers were boxers, but he stuck to his work at the docks, married, and has three children. A dispute with one of his brothers, whom he fought and defeat, ed, drew attention to him, and he was engaged as a sparring partner for leading boxers. In 1928 he fought Pcit-e Datzo, former world welterweight champion, and- broke his jaw. But he was -tften beaten by ordinary fighters. He had so much trouble in getting engagements in 1934 that he went back to the docks, but was for a time in receipt of relief. Then he knocked out Corn Griffin, and defeated Art Latky and the formidable coloured boxer John Henry Lewis. This led the New York Commission to nominate him to meet Max Baer, the world heavy-weight champion. The fight, took place in June, 1935, and Brad-dpck won the championship on points in fifteen rounds. Of the £40,000 gate money he received only £oooo, but- he won the opportunity of earning £200,000 in the. ensuing twelve months in exhibition matches ind the like. He was at once given a contract by a thdatrical manager for film, stage and radio appearances, which, it was estimated, would yield him >at least £lOO,OOO. Thus, in a year he had risen “from rags to riches.” Braddock said that all through his fight with Baer his thoughts were of his- children. He knew that if failed he would not have ztanother chance of making the money he had always wanted to give them a good education.