Las Vegas Sun-Times
August 5, 1957
Machen Escapes Early Disaster-Takes Controversial Split-Nod From DeJohn
By Jimmy Gardner
Fourth-ranked world heavyweight contender Eddie Machen bounced back from a first round knockdown to earn a highly controversial ten round split-decision over Syracuse slugger Mike DeJohn.
At the opening bell, DeJohn came out aggresively and caught a rather placid Machen with a powerful right cross. As Machen was clearing his head, he was hit with a sharp combo that was followed by a crippling left hook which sent him to the canvas halfway through the round.
After taking a tough eight count, Machen was obviously hurt but was able to weather the storm until the bell ended the round.
When the fighters came out for the second, Machen still appeared a little groggy. Sensing that his opponent was in trouble, DeJohn began to open up on Eddie.
The young slugger was a little too overanxious and left himself open for Machen's precision counters. At the 1:45 mark, DeJohn took a wicked combination and pitched to the mat for a mandatory eight.
Mike bounced up when referee Marty Denkin reached four, but that might have been a mistake. Rather than taking the time to clear his head, DeJohn moved right back into the mix.
Using his speed and snapping jab, Machen worked DeJohn into the corner and with ten seconds remaining in the round, tagged Mike with a hard right which resulted in a second knockdown.
DeJohn apparently was able to shake off the effects of the knockdowns and for the next four rounds seemed to get the upper hand over his more experienced opponent.
Machen had difficutly keeping DeJohn away from him. Although his jabs often found their mark, they seemed to be a minor inconvenience to DeJohn who bulled his way inside to work Eddie's body.
With his jab having limited success, Machen resorted to continued hitting and holding whenever his defenses were breached. Several times he was rocked by DeJohn's blows and near the end of the fourth it looked like he was about to be floored by a nasty overhand right.
While Eddie seemed a little disconcerted at times, he did start to come on strong near the end of each round which may have had some effect on the judges' scoring.
By the seventh, DeJohn seemed to tire slightly and was less aggressive. At that point, the impact of Eddie's persistent jabs began to show in Mike's face in the form of a swelling about the right eye.
For the remainder of the match, Machen used this to his advantage. DeJohn became increasingly winded and suffered from impaire vision thus allowing Machen to dictate the pace of the final three rounds.
When the judges' cards were read, their finding, a split-decison in Machen's favor, was greeted with boos and catcalls from the capcity crowd at the Rivera Hotel and Casino.
Joe Ware scored it 94-93 in Machen's favor while Mike Prestoni had a similar tally that gave DeJohn the nod. Judge Billy Campanella's score of 96-93 for Machen seemed to be far from reality and was the source of considerable controversy when it was announced.
Granted it was a tought fight to score, and while I gave the edge to DeJohn, it could have gone the other way without any argument from me. Nevertheless, let's hope that Campanella is forced to have an eye exam before he judges any more fights.
DeJohn and his cornermen were extremely upset by the outcome, and there were threats that the Nevada Boxing Commission would be called upon to review the contest.
After scoring an upset knockout of Willie Pastrano earlier this year, DeJohn seemed to be on his way. Unfortunately, he was matched against Archie Moore in May and was taken out in seven rounds.
He hits hard and appears to have potential. Still, his conditioning is suspect as he's prone to tire in later rounds. In addition, he tends to get overanxious when he has a hurt opponent and takes too many risks.
Machen was fortunate that he had an inexperienced foe in the ring. A more savy boxer might have had the patience to take him out after that first round knockdown.
For boxing fans, Eddie remains somewhat of an enigma. He certainly has the skills, but seems indifferent at times when he's in the ring. Early this year, his attitude most likely cost him a title shot against Floyd Patterson when he took Hal Carter too lightly and dropped a decision.
While the outcome will be maked as a "W" for Machen, you have to wonder what impact his performance will have upon his world ranking. If he's to remain among the top contenders, he needs an impressive win against a quality fighter.