Douglas daily dispatch., 1928-02-11
TONY CANZONERI
Ben BASS
In Is ROUNDS

NEW YORK, Feb. 10 MJ--In one Of
the most vicious battles the new Madi-
son Square Garden ever has seen,
Tony Canzoneri youthful New Yorker,
tonight clinched full claim to the
featherweight championship by whip
ping Benny Bass, bulldog Of Philadel-
pnla IN 10 clashing rounds.
Rarely has the huge garden, packed
to the very caves, seen such a display
OF cleverness, speed and punching pow
er as the Il year old New Yorker
summoned to stave off the rush of the
threshing body-puncher. Never was
such q gathering OF fans treated 10 q
more dogged exhibition OF grit and
stamina and courage that Benny Bass
summoned in the final stages Of his
despairing bid for the title.
For ten OF the Is rounds, Canzonegi
slashed the bunchy-muscled Penn
sylvanian with solid drives to the head
and body. Cody, with the skill Of a
master, Tony stalked about his slower
opponent, beat him consistently to the
punch, and almost closed Bass left
eye.
A volley of left and right hooks to
the jaw sent Bass reeling in the third
session and as he Strengthened up
Canzoneri floored him with crashing
right to the chin. Bass took a count
OF eight and was on one knee when
the bell rang and that was. the only
knockdown of fight that was
Sprinkled with situations where both
boxers, forgetting science for slugging,
battered each other to the very bor-
derline Of insensibility
Not until the match was over and a
doctor was called to the dressing room,
was it discovered that Bass fought
from that disastrous round on with a
dislocated right shoulder and pos
sible fracture in the collar bone about
an inch from the breast bone. The
crowd had left the building, still echo
ing boos Of Bass for his alleged foul
tactics in the early rounds, but at the
same time cheering game, desperate
stand in~the closing five rounds that
nearly turned the fight to the Penn
sylvananian when the injury was dis
covered.
AS early as the eighth round, Bass,
repeatedly warned for low punches that
the crowd believed intentional, began
to strike his stride. His smashing right
hand caught Canzoneri flush on the
chin and Tony smiled. Again in the
ninth, beautifully timed left and right
hooks to the chin spun the New Yorker
around, but he continued to pile up
points.
Gradually the head smashing and
vicious slashing of the body slowed
Tony, apparently more than he real
lied. In the final five rounds, Bass,
raging, tearing midget, crammed
with dynamite 9in either hand, ham,
mered Canzone4i about the ring. Tony
was almost out in the tenth and reel
ing in both the eleventh and twelfth
sessions. A sharp right hook gashed
Canzoneri'S left eye lid in the thir-
teenth.
Throughout the last two rounds Bass
piled in, rammirlg a steady streams OF
belts to Canzoneri's mid-Section Tony
met him at his own game and man
aged to pull the title out Of the fire
of an assault that nearly wiped out the
margin of the earlier rounds.
Canzoneri succeeds to the title va
Gated by Kid Kaplan, of Meriden,
Conn, over a year ago. His victories
over johnny Dundee, champion before
Kaplan, Bud Taylor and host VI
lesser featherweights, gained him the
New York state athletic commission
choice for the title. Bass was the
nominee Of the National Boxing as
sociation, ruling body in 26 states,
through victory last September over
Rel Chapman of Boston.
Al Winkler, Philadelphia stable mate
of Benny Bass, had the better Of
Bobby Burns of New York in an eight
round semi-final, nearly flooring the
local lightweight in the fourth and
fifth rounds. Burns came back to open
q deep cash over Winkler's left eye
in the final session.
Winkler scaled 1872, Burns 1876.
Benny Schwartz, Baltimore, BAN
tamweight, defeated Johnny Green, OF
New York, in an eight round bout. !
Schwartz punished the local youngster
with short left hooks to the body. /
Green weighed 120. Schwartz 118.
Joey kaufman, Ccney Island light
weight, battered out an eight round
decision over Armando Scheckels, of
Belgium. kaufman weighed 1874,
ScheckelS 1876.
n