[Cap]

Good Match at the Gardens

Pittsburgh – About two thousand men and boys braved the storm and were rewarded by seeing a first-class boxing card at Duquesne Gardens last night. Promoter Tom Fogarty’s main event featured Bob Pastor 181½ and Joe Baksi 196¾ in a ten round eliminator in Jimmy Johnston’s Championship Tournament. Pastor, the favourite, was coming off a streak of 8 wins and was expected to overcome Baksi’s advantage in size with his own proven skills and speed. From the get-go this seemed to be the case as he jabbed his opponent’s head as though it were on a spring, but in the closing seconds of the round Baksi shot out his own left hard and caught Pastor squarely in the mouth. In the next frame, both men attacked in earnest, dishing out and taking terrific punishment. Pastor had given up his usual stick-and-move strategy to try and beat Baksi at his own game. It was a mistake. Round after round they slugged it out, with Baksi landing the heavier blows, wearing Pastor down. In the sixth, Pastor caught a short right uppercut and went down hard. Referee Harry O’Rourke started the count and reached seven when Pastor regained his feet and retreated until his head cleared. The last four rounds were give and take, with Baksi having an edge in all of them, busting Pastor up inside. When it was over few were surprised to see the ref raise Joe Baksi’s arm in victory. Pastor’s record fell to 22-3-4 with the loss, while Joe’s improved to 21-2-0 with 12 knockouts.