Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-07-04
ROUT OF STR|BL|NG
PROVES HIS WORTH
Master After First Three
Rounds, Gets Technical
K. O. in 18th.
BY EDWARD J. NEIL,

OLEVELAND, July A. The
Nations proudest holiday,
~ independence day, found
a black browed, smiling
young German perched high on
the heavyweight throne that has
come to be a traditional American
possession, acclaimed on all sides
for the first time the true ruler
of the kingdom.
Many of the faithful who saw Max
Schmeling win his crown from Jack
Sharkey last June on a foul while re-
clining in a New York ring, were none
too sure of the even-tempered foreign
er's fighting ability. But those of the
clan who peered down from the vast
reaches Of the magnificent new Cleve-
land Municipal Stadium last night will
nsver doubt again.
Schmeling took one of Americas fin
est heavyweights, Young Bill Stribling.
from Macon, Ga, and in Is rounds OF
his first title defense hacked and ham,
mered and hewed the handsome South
erner into bleeding, stumbling, punch
soaked caricature of the trim and per-
feet young athlete who answered the
opening gong. And about half min
ute before the end of the fifteenth
round, when it seemed the Georgian
would stagger through to the finish and
evade a knockout, Schmeling turned
loose his final blast. Fourteen seconds
before the final bell would have sounded
Referee George Blake, from Los Angeles,
was forced to halt the hopeless struggle
and award Schmeling the victory on a
technical knockout.
Bitter Dose for Georgian.
It was a bitter end, for Stribling, to
a. gallant, courageous stand, but in one
sense it was as much vindication for
him as the stunning victory was for
the German. Just as the faithful and
the critics during the past year have
doubted Schmeling's fighting ability, so
has Stribling'S courage at times been
maligned But last night, If he got
nowhere in particular with his fighting,
at least he did turn in a masterpiece
of bravery, logged courage under a
biistering, cutting fire that probably
weight campaigning today.
For the first three rounds, Stribling
was at his best, tall, lean greyhound
of boxer. fast. tricky, and an accu-
rate, dazzling puncher. The stolid Ger
man marched into him, half-crouching.
weaving a little and Stribling' nailed
the champion with every punch in the
book. He tossed Schmeling around in
the clinches, kept him off balance, and
peppered him with rights until the Teu-
tons eye began to swell and the Strib-
ling fanciers sat back in anticipation
of a pleasant, interesting evening.
Schme1jnp smiled and took his NM
ishment, never faltering, never chang
ing his battle plan mite, crowding
forward, punching short and hard with
jolting smashes to the body, curling
hooks to the head. Stribling let him
have the left. drilled him with the
right, and still he came on.
Strib Falters in Fourth.
Stribling started to falter in the
fourth as Schmeling swept on like a
rising tide beating against shore. A
short hook to the face brought blood
from StriblingS nose. He wavered.
And from that point on, with the ex-
ception of one desperate, failing rally
that carried the eighth round for him,
Stribling slipped back. His right eye
lid was cut in the seventh, his left in
the tenth and he barely made his cor
ner erect as the gong ended that round.
His lips were smashed, his nose cut
and his blood-smeared face was CORY
mask. Grimly he took his beating as
the German, increasing his pace as the
battle wore on, hammered him about
the body, drummed On the battered fea-
lures. But badly as Stribling was hurt,
the dramatic ending in the fifteenth
round came as surprise.
Schmeling caught the Georgian with
q short left hook and right cross to
the chin with the fight only seconds to
go and down went Stribling in a heap
in his own corner. He sprawled on
the canvas almost under the lower rope
and he barely reached his feet at the
count of g. Schmeling tore into him,
halted for second as he senscd the
and looked pleadingly at Referee Blake.
Instantly the Pacific Coast official
stepped between them and lifted
Schmeling's hand in token of victory.
Is a Financial Failure.
While the battle was fighting sue
cess, it was anything but money
maker for Madison Square Garden of
Ohio promoters of the affair. There
phitheater on the Lake Erie shore that
was built to hold 10000. The gross
receipts were estimated at S325,000. and
if a recheck does not boost that figure
the Garden probably will stand loss
OF between $4,000 and 100000.
The corporation, with Schmeling now
an accredited champion, has an oppor-
unity to wipe out that deficit this Fall
with a match between Schmeling and
der contract fer the bout. The con-
test may be staged here, in the same
stadium, September II.