Young Stribling W10 Martin Burke: In the opening bout of the second round, Burke fought the favorite on even terms through the first four rounds, but Stribling’s superior quickness and power began to tell in the fifth.
Burke began tiring in the sixth, carrying his hands low as Stribling began to pocket rounds by increasing margins. The King of the Canebrakes’ windmill style cost him in the ninth, as he was docked a point for a shot to Burke’s groin, but won by scores of 98-92, 97-92 and an oddly close 95-94.
Fred Fulton W10 Tommy Gibbons: In a battle for the highly sought-after heavyweight bragging rights of Minnesota, Gibbons became the highest-seeded fighter to get eliminated to date.
After the much larger Fulton opened with a strong first round, the St. Paul native’s superior speed seemingly took over in the second and third. But Fulton landed some heavy shots in both frames, particularly in the second, which slowed Gibbons enough to make him an easier target for the Rochester Plasterer.
Nearly half a foot taller and 40 pounds heavier, Fulton’s slower jab landed more frequently as the fight went on, preventing Gibbons from utilizing his superior boxing skills.
Already well in the lead, Fulton punctuated the upset by dropping Gibbons with a thudding overhand right in the ninth. Only Gibbons’ guile helped him make it to the final bell, though he never tested Fulton’s often-suspect jaw.
The three judges mysteriously ignored referee Frank Cappuccino’s directive to deduct a point from Fulton after the big man landed a hard right to the face several seconds after the bell ending the fifth round. The mix-up didn’t matter, though, as Fulton, the No. 30 seed, prevailed by scores of 97-92, 98-92, 97-92.
Jack Sharkey WTech6 Erminio Spalla: The Boston Gob came out with uncharacteristic fire, dropping Spalla with an uppercut seconds into the fight.
Sharkey battered the European champion around the ring for the rest of the first and half of the second, until the wobbly Spalla stumbled face-first into his tormentor, opening a gash over his right eye with the resulting head butt.
Referee Denny Nelson ruled the cranial assault unintentional, and Sharkey kept piling up points, if no longer threatening to finish Spalla. The cut reopened several times, finally worsening to the point that Nelson called the fight in the sixth, leaving the outcome up to the judges with Spalla on his way to winning the round. Sharkey got the truncated win by scores of 49-45, 48-46, 49-45.
Primo Carnera KO5 Bill Brennan: The much-mocked Carnera scored the night’s second upset, his ponderous lefts and clubbing rights overwhelming KO Bill after nearly five hard-fought rounds.
Carnera did damage with several overhand rights in the first, then got outworked during the next three rounds. Still, as Fulton had done against Gibbons, Carnera used his size and strength to steadily immobilize his smaller foe.
Less than a minute into the fifth, another overhand right dropped Brennan to one knee, where he repeatedly shook his head in an apparent effort to clear it before rising at the count of seven.
A left hook raised swelling under Brennan’s right eye, and a right to the gut had him gasping for air. A pair of brutal left hooks sent Brennan – who held a 39-37, 39-37, 38-38 edge through four rounds -- to his knees again, where referee Kenny Bayless counted him out with three seconds left in the fifth.