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Marciano, Floored in Second
Round,
Stops Moore in Ninth to Keep Title
CHAMPION
DROPS OPPONENT 4 TIMES
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Moore Down
Twice in Sixth, Saved by Bell in 8th,
Then Marciano Wins in Ninth
By JOSEPH C.
NICHOLS |
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Rocky Marciano had the hardest time in his entire career beating
Archie Moore at the Yankee Stadium last night. The Brockton
Blockbuster, the holder of the heavyweight championship of the
world, knocked out the 38-year-old Moore in 1 minute 19 seconds
of the ninth of a scheduled fifteen-round bout, but before he
did he was in desperate danger himself.
The contest, witnessed by a crowd of 61,574 fans, was one of
the most savagely fought, thrilling duels in modern prize ring
history. The heavily favored Marciano's superb condition, that
and nothing more, enabled him to subdue his crafty and
courageous challenger.
Moore, the light heavyweight champion, gave an exhibition of
boxing skill that, even in defeat, was almost as thrilling and
moving as the display of awesome power that eventually brought
the victory to Rocky.
The 31-year-old Marciano, undefeated in a career of
forty-eight previous clashes, was the strong favorite to win, at
odds of 4 to 1. Moore made a most commendable bid to upset these
figures before the combination of Marciano's heavy wallops and
sheer fatigue prevented him from going on.
Before he went out, Moore enjoyed the satisfaction of cutting
up Marciano with short sneak lefts and sneak rights, of
befuddling him completely with adroit and clever feints and
footwork, and of dropping him with a right-hand punch, a
circumstance hardly expected by the sympathizers of the
strong-jawed Marciano.
Moore contributed one of the great surprises of the fight by
scoring the first knockdown. There were five knockdowns in all,
Moore going down four times. In the second round Moore sent the
champion to his knees with a beautifully executed right-hand
sneak punch....
.... The fight was originally sceduled for Tuesday night, but
was postponed because of the imminence of Hurricane Ione. The
postponement only served to help the gate, according to Jim
Norris, president of the International Boxing Club. He announced
gross receipts of $948,117.95. |
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