The Waterbury Democrat., 1931-05-23

BAT RECOGNIZED |AS FEATHERWEICHT
 | KING AT LAST
By DIXON STEWART

New York, May Z3-( (UP)- Worlds Featherweight Cham pion Christopher (Bat) Batta- limo to-day was recognized as ruler of his division in fact as well as in name. The rugged little Hartford, Conn, Italian effectively disproved the belief that he was a cheese cham pion" when he scored a con- vincing 15-round victory over Fidel La Barba of California at Madison Square Garden last night.
 An overwhelming majority of the 9,179 spectators who donated $36,- 727.99 to witness the bout expected to see the title change hands-al- most every fistic expert predicted it would-and the 1000 odd Hartford fans who attended the contest pro- fited handsomely by accepting Broadway's 'swise money" betting odds of to against the champion. Bout Is Reminder
 The bout was reminiscent of Bat talino's only previous New York title defense, when the reputedly unworthy champion belied to betting odds to defeat Kid Chocolate regarded as one of the truly great fighters of the day.
 As in the Chocolate fight, Batta- limo won by relentlessly carrying the battle to his opponent and came l from behind to win the unanimous verdict of Referee Kid Mcfarland and Judges Billy Joh an George Kelly. The decision was popular with the spectators, although a ma- jority of newspapermen at the ring side believed LaBarba's cleaner hit- ting, clever boxing and ability to make Battalino miss earned him at least draw.
 Battalino Stronger
 Battalino, easily the strongest and most rugged fighter in his class, was the aggressor from the. start, but landed few clean punches. He did almost all of his scoring during the infighting and often looked like a novice against LaBarba's clever boxing. Both fighters were guilty of frequent clinching but Battalino managed to make it appear that La Barba was the chief offender in this respect, although in reality the cham 1pion forced many of the tieups.
 LaBarba, easily the best boxer in the division and conqueror of all ranking contenders for the title, made the mistake of being overcau- tious. He allowed Battalino to steal the play during the early rounds, came back to badly outclass the champion from the fifth to the tenth inclusive, but lacked to stam- ina to keep pace with his opponent in the final five sessions.
 I,aBarba Disappointed
 The Californian was disappointed keenly by his failure to win, but took the defeat in good spirit. Really. I thought I deserved the decision, he told the United Press, ..but at least I feel that I learned enough to beat him next time. You know I'd never seen Battalino until we weighed in to-day. I'm not kick ing but hope he'll give me another chance"
 Il Battalino was jubilant, not only because of the victory but because of the great ovation he received on entering and leaving the ring. q guess they won't call me a 'chese champ any longer" he said. T re- alized hadn't proved myself when won the title from Routis in 1929 but now that I've won from Choc- olate and LaBarba. who everyone said were the best men in the class. guess they'll admit I must deserve the title. I came through the bout with my hands okay and am ready to meet any and all contenders."