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Jack Robby · 02-08-2004, 08:58 PM

THE SCENARIO—Archie Moore receives a hailstorm of criticism from boxing purists and his fellow African-Americans when he by-passes top contender Jack Chase and agrees to defend his title against Jake LaMotta in Madison Square Garden on January 14, 1944. Even so, New York fights fans pile into the arena to see what many regard as the most attractive matchup in the division, between hard-punching cutie Moore and the brawling Bronx Bull, LaMotta.

As an added attraction, Charley Burley takes on Holman Williams on the undercard, with expectations that the winner will be back in the thick of the title picture.

Burley v. Williams

THE FIGHT (undercard)--Early in the first round, Burley sends Williams reeling into the ropes with a hard uppercut. Williams boxes his way out of trouble and scores repeatedly at long range. Burley stays on top of Williams in the second and rocks him with another uppercut. Williams lands several sharp counterpunches early in the third, but a sharp left hook by Burley opens a cut under Williams’ right eye in the middle of the round. Early in the fourth, Williams returns the favor by opening a cut under Burley’s left eye with a right uppercut at close range. Burley fights back, though, and scores with several good punches of his own before the bell.

Coming out for round five, Burley’s cut is still bleeding although Williams’ is not. Accordingly, Burley chooses to box defensively at long range, but still manages to throw and land more punches in a tame round. Burley is not longer bleeding in round six but still chooses to box at long range. Williams decides to press the action but is caught with several sharp counters from Burley. Suddenly, Burley lands a terrific left hook and Williams drops to the canvas. He can’t get up and is counted out in 2:08 of round six!

THE AFTERMATH—Burley’s stunning six-round kayo, coming at a time when he was leading on all three official scorecards, thrust him back into the thick of the title picture despite Moore’s decisive victory over him in their last bout. He immediately challenged Jack Chase, who continues to claim he’s only interested in a title bout with Moore.

Moore v. LaMotta

THE FIGHT (main event)--LaMotta claims he is undertrained for this bout, having had little time to recover from minor injuries he sustained in his fight with Booker. LaMotta came right after Moore from the opening bell, but if he expected Archie to back down he was in for a surprise. Both men landed good punches and the fans were thrilled at the action they were seeing.

Moore surprised LaMotta by working on the inside at the start of round two. He stoped LaMotta cold with a right hook at close range, then was amazed when Referee Arthur Donovan warned him for using his elbows. Moore was nonplussed and soon hurt LaMotta with a hard right at long range. Jake retreated to a neutral corner, where Moore followed up and shook LaMotta with another hard right. LaMotta tried to cover up but Moore rocked him with more blows. At one point it almost looked as if LaMotta might go down, but he grabbed onto the top rope and steadied himself. A hard shot on the top of the head almost caused Jake’s knee to touch the canvas, but he managed to survive the round.

As LaMotta comes out for the third it’s apparent that his left eye is beginning to swell shut. Moore seems to be taking a breather in the first half of the round, but then rocks LaMotta again with a combination and even splits his lip, bringing blood gushing from Jake’s mouth. Moore rocks LaMotta with a crushing right cross to start round four, but Jake returns the favor a few seconds later and manages to hold his own for the rest of the round. LaMotta’s left eye is nearly closed as he comes out for round five, but somehow he seems to be standing up under Moore’s assault and give back as good as he’s taking.

Moore stabs LaMotta repeatedly with stiff jabs in round six. When LaMotta bulls inside, Archie rocks him with hard uppercuts. The action slows somewhat in the seventh as Moore seems to realize that LaMotta can take his best shots and keep coming. LaMotta rushes out at the start of round eight, but Moore rocks him with a hard right. A short time later, the referee warns Moore for holding and hitting. Moore complains but soon is back scoring with hard counterpunches. Near the end of the round a hard left hook has Jake in trouble again.

Early in round nine, LaMotta stops Moore cold with a hard right. Moore tries to keep LaMotta off with his jab, but Jake keeps forcing his way inside. The referee warns LaMotta for rabbit punching. Moore tries to move back at long range, but when LaMotta bulls inside again, Archie stops him with a hard left to the midsection. Moore tries to show Jake he won’t be bullied at close range and as a consequence is penalized by Arthur Donovan for using his elbows.

Archie takes that as an invitation to step up the attack, staggering LaMotta with a fierce uppercut, then following up with a terrific right to jaw. A terrific combination of punches sends LaMotta back against the ropes and opens a serious gash over his right eye. Moore follows up with a series of hard punches to the head. With the blood flowing into Jake’s only good eye (the left now swollen shut), Referee Arthur Donovan steps in and halts the fight at 2:33 of round nine.

At the time of the stoppage, Moore was way ahead on all three scorecards, two of them 7 rounds to 1, the other a shutout, giving all eight rounds to Archie.

THE AFTERMATH—Moore’s stunning T.K.O. victory over LaMotta further solidified his position as king of the middleweights, and the two action-packed battles thrilled the capacity crowd at the Garden. Promoters are unapologetic about making this money match for the title, particularly now that they are faced with the prospect of small gates against either Jack Chase, the defensive specialist, or a third bout with Charley Burley.

Boxing aficionados praise the fact that the best fighters have been getting a shot at the title, but promoters remind reporters that prize fighting is a business, and that “size of the prize” is a function of paying customers in the arena.

02-08-2004, 08:58 PM	#18 (permalink)
Jack Robby Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 20 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0x in 0 posts	THE SCENARIO—Archie Moore receives a hailstorm of criticism from boxing purists and his fellow African-Americans when he by-passes top contender Jack Chase and agrees to defend his title against Jake LaMotta in Madison Square Garden on January 14, 1944. Even so, New York fights fans pile into the arena to see what many regard as the most attractive matchup in the division, between hard-punching cutie Moore and the brawling Bronx Bull, LaMotta. As an added attraction, Charley Burley takes on Holman Williams on the undercard, with expectations that the winner will be back in the thick of the title picture. Burley v. Williams THE FIGHT (undercard)--Early in the first round, Burley sends Williams reeling into the ropes with a hard uppercut. Williams boxes his way out of trouble and scores repeatedly at long range. Burley stays on top of Williams in the second and rocks him with another uppercut. Williams lands several sharp counterpunches early in the third, but a sharp left hook by Burley opens a cut under Williams’ right eye in the middle of the round. Early in the fourth, Williams returns the favor by opening a cut under Burley’s left eye with a right uppercut at close range. Burley fights back, though, and scores with several good punches of his own before the bell. Coming out for round five, Burley’s cut is still bleeding although Williams’ is not. Accordingly, Burley chooses to box defensively at long range, but still manages to throw and land more punches in a tame round. Burley is not longer bleeding in round six but still chooses to box at long range. Williams decides to press the action but is caught with several sharp counters from Burley. Suddenly, Burley lands a terrific left hook and Williams drops to the canvas. He can’t get up and is counted out in 2:08 of round six! THE AFTERMATH—Burley’s stunning six-round kayo, coming at a time when he was leading on all three official scorecards, thrust him back into the thick of the title picture despite Moore’s decisive victory over him in their last bout. He immediately challenged Jack Chase, who continues to claim he’s only interested in a title bout with Moore. Moore v. LaMotta THE FIGHT (main event)--LaMotta claims he is undertrained for this bout, having had little time to recover from minor injuries he sustained in his fight with Booker. LaMotta came right after Moore from the opening bell, but if he expected Archie to back down he was in for a surprise. Both men landed good punches and the fans were thrilled at the action they were seeing. Moore surprised LaMotta by working on the inside at the start of round two. He stoped LaMotta cold with a right hook at close range, then was amazed when Referee Arthur Donovan warned him for using his elbows. Moore was nonplussed and soon hurt LaMotta with a hard right at long range. Jake retreated to a neutral corner, where Moore followed up and shook LaMotta with another hard right. LaMotta tried to cover up but Moore rocked him with more blows. At one point it almost looked as if LaMotta might go down, but he grabbed onto the top rope and steadied himself. A hard shot on the top of the head almost caused Jake’s knee to touch the canvas, but he managed to survive the round. As LaMotta comes out for the third it’s apparent that his left eye is beginning to swell shut. Moore seems to be taking a breather in the first half of the round, but then rocks LaMotta again with a combination and even splits his lip, bringing blood gushing from Jake’s mouth. Moore rocks LaMotta with a crushing right cross to start round four, but Jake returns the favor a few seconds later and manages to hold his own for the rest of the round. LaMotta’s left eye is nearly closed as he comes out for round five, but somehow he seems to be standing up under Moore’s assault and give back as good as he’s taking. Moore stabs LaMotta repeatedly with stiff jabs in round six. When LaMotta bulls inside, Archie rocks him with hard uppercuts. The action slows somewhat in the seventh as Moore seems to realize that LaMotta can take his best shots and keep coming. LaMotta rushes out at the start of round eight, but Moore rocks him with a hard right. A short time later, the referee warns Moore for holding and hitting. Moore complains but soon is back scoring with hard counterpunches. Near the end of the round a hard left hook has Jake in trouble again. Early in round nine, LaMotta stops Moore cold with a hard right. Moore tries to keep LaMotta off with his jab, but Jake keeps forcing his way inside. The referee warns LaMotta for rabbit punching. Moore tries to move back at long range, but when LaMotta bulls inside again, Archie stops him with a hard left to the midsection. Moore tries to show Jake he won’t be bullied at close range and as a consequence is penalized by Arthur Donovan for using his elbows. Archie takes that as an invitation to step up the attack, staggering LaMotta with a fierce uppercut, then following up with a terrific right to jaw. A terrific combination of punches sends LaMotta back against the ropes and opens a serious gash over his right eye. Moore follows up with a series of hard punches to the head. With the blood flowing into Jake’s only good eye (the left now swollen shut), Referee Arthur Donovan steps in and halts the fight at 2:33 of round nine. At the time of the stoppage, Moore was way ahead on all three scorecards, two of them 7 rounds to 1, the other a shutout, giving all eight rounds to Archie. THE AFTERMATH—Moore’s stunning T.K.O. victory over LaMotta further solidified his position as king of the middleweights, and the two action-packed battles thrilled the capacity crowd at the Garden. Promoters are unapologetic about making this money match for the title, particularly now that they are faced with the prospect of small gates against either Jack Chase, the defensive specialist, or a third bout with Charley Burley. Boxing aficionados praise the fact that the best fighters have been getting a shot at the title, but promoters remind reporters that prize fighting is a business, and that “size of the prize” is a function of paying customers in the arena.