The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-06-01
IDOL OF FRANCE IS BARELY ABLE
 TO LEAVE RING
Marvel Of St. Paul Com plete Master From
 Start To Finish


 bons of St. Paul, Minn., the only boxer ever to stay the limit with Jack Dempsey, restored himself to standing as a contender for the worlds heavyweight championship today, when he decisively defeated Georges Carpentier, ring idol of France, in their 10-round interna- tional contest. It was decided be- fore capacity crowd of 27,000 to 30,000 spectators in the sky-blue arena on the edge of this little re- sort city.
 Gibbons, winning from start to finish, perfect master of the situa- 2 tion at every stage of the battle, had his French foe staggering and groggy half dozen times, and Car pentier's refusal to battle possibly saved him from a knockout.
 Carpenter, bleeding from the mouth, and blood dripping from cut over his right eye, limped from the ring between two of his seconds, a thoroughly de- feated boxer. The Frenchman declared he twisted his right ankle in the ninth round when he slipped on wet spot in the ring, during q lively exchange at close quarters.
 Falls From Ring
 He was able to walk to his corner of the ring unassisted, but fell Imply into the arms of policeman when he at- tempted to descend from the ring. He was carried up the aisle and out of a the crowd to his dressing room. .s..s Carpenter withstood a shower of left E hooks and right smashes that were meant to end the contest half dozen times, because he continually retreated, hung on in the clinches and forced Gib- bons to chase him. Carpenter was in such desperate situation in the sev- enth round, reeling and groggy from solid blows to the chin that his man. ager, Francois Descamps, scrambled from the corner to the floor of the ring just outside the ropes and began yelling to Carpenter in excited French, to be careful. Carpenter also was tottering at the end of the eighth, ninth and tenth rounds.
 Fights Perfect Battle
 Gibbons fought perfect fight, fight he evidently planned before starting He beat his foe to practically every punch, but the stubbornly retreating Frenchman kept well covered, always | E backing away, and would not yield to a | finishing blow.
 The St. Paul boxer figured that he was Carpenters master before they had finished the first round. He had no difficulty in connecting whenever he started a blow and he smashed the Frenchman's body and head with per fectly timed left hooks, interspersing them with jolting right crosses to the chin.
 Gibbons had a perfect defense for
  a punch which Almost laid Jack Demp- sey low in the famous Battle of the Century, in 1921. Carpenter vainly tried to conect with it and succeeded in landing with it effectively only once dur ing the ten rounds. This was ill the | fourth, when he flashed it over with the speed of serpent's tongue. It caught | Gibbons flush on the chin. He went i back on his heels. evidently hurt, but | Carpenter did not follow it up. Gib- | hons quickly recovered, however, and at no other time during the gruelling ten rounds was he in danger.
 Thoroughly Beaten
 There did not seem to be a possible chance that Carpentier would survive the tenth round. He was thoroughly | beaten, reeling and staggering around the ring, but clung desperately to Gib- bons in the clinches and deliberately | ran away in the open, so that the St. Paul boxer was unable to whip over q finishing blow.
 Under the laws of Indiana, no de- eision was permitted at the end of this afternoons bout but the newspaper critics at the ringSide were unanimous in their opinion that Gibbons won every one of the ten rounds, including the fourth. when Carpenter momentarily | hin, with his riOhf
 When Carpenter dropped to the | floor of the ring in the middle of the ninth round, after the exciting mixup he pointed to his handlers that he had injured his right ankle. He gamely struggled to his feet, however, mo tioned to Gibbons to come on, while tEe Frenchman retreated, limpins.
 Suspected Trap
 Gibbons evidently thought that Car pentier was attempting to entrap him. The St. Paul boxers face broke into smile, and he kept at safe distance for a few seconds, refusing to give his op- ponent an opportunity to sneak over another punch with his right. The crowd booed and yelled for Carpenter to fight, but the Frenchman merely looked to his corner for advice. Even when he responded for the tenth round, Gibbons fought cautiously, ever suspect ing that Carpenter was feigning in- jury. The tenth round was a slaughter, Gibbons landing when and wherever he pleased
 The vim, viSor and vitality radiated by Carpenter when he entered the ring was in sickening contrast to the bat tered wobbly and limpy Frenchman who departed some forty minutes later.
 Embrace Each Other
 Carpenters entrance came in the echo of the cheers. greeting his adver- sary. With as much gladness as two long parted buddies would show at q reunion, Carpenter almost embraced Tommy at their first meeting. The af- lection caught the marvel of St. Paul amidships, but he recovered quickly and threw his arm about the Frenchmans shoulder They chatted for a moment. But when Monsieur DescampS spied Tommy, the salutatiOn was different. Gibbons had his hands bandaged in vio- latiOn of instructions of the referee. Carpenter came into the ring with bare hands. The sight of the band ages threw DescampS into a spasm of | calculations. No. no, no, no.' he screeched and started pulling at the tape himself.
 Tommy good naturedly permitted the unraveling, finishing it himself while Monsieur leaned on the ropes watch ing. He found time to give a few of | the ringside patrons a few lessons in French.
 Both UncOncerned
 Two more uncOnCerned gladiatOrs | probably never stepped into such q sit rEba Of hofh hovarc