WORLD BOXING REVIEW
April 1957
Bailey's Beat
By Skip Bailey
That Wily Old Cus
It seems like just about everyone is calling for a Rocky Marciano-Floyd Patterson title bout these days. But strangely silent is Floyd's manager, Cus D'Amato. Seems like Cus is on the same page as Hans Reuter of the Universal Boxing Organization on this one.
Reuter has argued that Marciano must gain status as a contender before he gets a crack at his old title (see my exlusive interview with Reuter on page 22). Cus appears to quietly support Reuter's position but for different reasons.
Earlier this year Patterson defeated then number one contneder, Tommy "Hurricane" Jackson and is scheduled to put the title on the line against current top contender Hal Carter. So Patterson and D'Amato have already satisfied the UBO mandate and they can pretty much cherry pick Patterson's next two opponents from the top five ranked fighters, assuming Floyd can get past Carter.
If Marciano does come back, he'll have to work his way into the division's inner circle. This gives Cus the advantage of time. By most estimates, Rocky would have to win three fights before he'd qualify for a title shot. D'Amato could get a better sense of what Rocky has left before agreeing to put his man in the ring against the former champ. All of this will take at least nine months, and Rocky's not getting any younger. See what Cus is thinking?
Don't get the impression that D'Amato and Reuter has patched up their differences. Recently Cus filed a petition with the UBO to bar Charles "Sonny" Liston from fighting for the title. Liston is currently serving five years in jail after being convicted for assaulting a police officer. Before his recent problem with the law, Sonny was seen as the toughest fighter in the division, and Cus would love to take him out of the picture.
D'Amato's petition also represents a challenge to Reuter's authority and the vialbility of the UBO. It could very well divide the UBO's governing body which up until now has been unanimous in it's policies. If Reuter winds up on the wrong side of a split within the organization he could be seeking employment elsewhere by the end of the year.
Heavyweight Roundup
McMurtry Massacres Holman
In what has to be seen as a major upset in the heavyweight division Washington's Pat McMurtry did a total demolition job on number two ranked contender John Holman via a third round TKO.
Irish Pat dominated the contest from the opening bell. Getting right to work, McMurtry nailed Holman with a series of combinations to the head and body. As the first round was drawing to a close, Pat scored a hard right to the temple that slammed Holman into the ropes.
Thirty seconds into the next round, a McMurtry uppercut sent Holman to the canvas for an eight count. Holman, who offered little offense in the match, somehow survived Pat's blistering attack, but ultimately took a beating in the process.
When the fighters came out for the third, Holman appeared to be in rough shape. His right eye was starting to swell up and there was no bounce in his step. Halfway through the round, McMurtry caught him flush with a powerful hook and John was on the floor for a second time. After the eight count, Holman was pretty much defenseless and referee Johnny Caruso stopped the contest at the 2:19 mark.
When the UBO ratings are issued at the end of the month, you can expect Holman to drop sharply in the rankings. McMurtry is an impressive young slugger who has decent boxing skills. He's someone to watch!
DeJohn Stiffs Pastrano in Three
In another upset, tough Mike DeJohn overpowered classy Willie Pastrano in the third round to score a knockout over the tenth ranked New Orleans native.
Pastrano, who was the favorite among the large contingent of Italian-Americans who attended the match at Boston Gardens, looked impressive in the first round. Quick feet and a snapping jab kept DeJohn off balance and set up some effective crosses to the head.
When the round concluded, it appeared that Willie was going to give the Syracuse slugger a boxing lesson. But in the second, DeJohn effectively cut off the ring an neutralized Pastrano's speed. For much of the round, Mike clinched and scored a few telling body shots.
DeJohn continued his mauling tactics in the third and bulled Pastrano into the corner. A cross followed by an uppercut hurt Willie, and DeJohn unleashed a barrage of punches which sent Pastrano down for a ten count.
This was Pastrano's second loss in a row. He lost a ten round decision to John Holman earlier in the year and will be dropped from the rankings as a result of this defeat.
Taking nothing away from the powerful DeJohn, Pastrano gave away too much in size to his opponent. DeJohn had a height advantage of three inches and scaled in twenty pounds heavier than Willie. As a result, he was able to out-muscle Pastrano.
It's a shame. Patrano is a young, talented boxer. He's just not big enough to compete in the heavyweight ranks.
Moore Crowns "Emperor" in Three
With the issues he's facing from Hans Reuter and the UBO, Archie Moore is finding it more difficult to match up against quality heavyweights. Since the UBO refuses to give Archie a ranking, most of the division's talent see no advantage of fighting him.
Thus, enter Cordell "Emperor" Jones who brought a less than impressive record of 13-28-6 into the ring with him in a scheduled ten rounder with Moore at Pittsburgh's Civic Center.
Jones really didn't belong in the same arena let alone the same ring with a boxing legend like Archie. Moore put him down twice in the third and once more in the following round. After the last knockdown, Jones had nothing left and the contest was halted at 2:44.
Watching the fight, you got a sense that the Old Mongoose was somewhat frustrated. He half-heartedly punched Jones around the ring for three rounds and then out of boredom put him away in the fourth.
It's obvious that Moore's not going to win his battle with Hans Reuter who insists that Archie make a choice between continuing as the light heavy champ or giving up his title belt to campaign in the heavyweight ranks. Look for Archie's hand to be forced within the next month.
Rademacher Decisions Whitehurst for Second Pro Win
Olympic Gold medalist Pete Rademacher scored an eight round win over veteran Bert Whitehurst at Sunnyside Gardens in a less than inspiring performance.
Whitehurst, who has decent boxing skills, used his hand speed to pop his jabs and nail Pete with a number of left hooks. Unfortunately, Bert has less punching power than a flyweight. Neverthless, he did hurt Rademacher a few times, but the former Olympian was never in any real trouble in the match.
For his part, Rademacher had Whitehurst in dire straights several times in the course of the contest but was unable to put together a finishing attack.
Watching this fight, several things came to mind. First, Pete's performance underscores the fact that there's a big difference between amateur boxing and the pros. Second, Pete would have been demolished by Floyd Patterson. He ate a load of Whitehurst's jabs and displayed a weakness defending against the left hook. Need I say more?
The Grapevine
Rocky Marciano will be meeting with Hans Reuter soon, and they won't be talking about the weather. Look for a major annoucement concerning Rocky's comeback plans before the month ends.
There's a lot of excitement accross the pond when it comes to British heavyweight boxing. Joe Erskine's recent technical decision over Henry Cooper resulted in a vacant Commonwealth crown. Lurking in the backgound is rough Dick Richardson who meets former British champ Joe Bygraves in late May. And don't discountthe Blackpool Bomber Brian London who will be facing Italian champ Franco Cavicchi next month. One of the above will be facing Euro champ Ingo Johansson before the end of the year.
See you next month!