Evening star., 1940-05-14
District Ring Unkind
10 Many Proteges
Of Champ S Boss
Petey Not Well Troined
For 15-Round Bottle
Tomorrow Night
BY LEWIS F. ATCHIsON.


If the law of averages hasn't been
revoked, Pete Reilly is due for .
big, fat slice Of good fortune in
tomorrow nights 15-round feather.
weight bout between his entry,
swarthy Petey Scalzo. and FRANKIE
Covelli of Chicago. Coveln is dis
putting Scalzos claim to the Ma
tional Boxing Association cham
pionship.
In the maui and mitten industry
Reilly is known as THE Fox" an
unflattering tribute to his keen
mind, shrewd judgment Of ringmen
and uncanny lunches. You've got
to be a young Einstein to put one
over on him. But in agreeing to .
Scalzo- Covelli argument in our
town Peter is counting disaster, for
Washington has been the reef ON
which the hopes and ambitions OF
no less than three Reilly directed
warriors have come to grief.
The gods may be scowling at
Reilly still, for Scalzo is wearing a
tired-of-it-all expression as he nears
the end of the training grind, while
Covelli is flashing million dollar
form. on their last heavy per-
formances yesterday it wouldn't be
surprising to see Covelli's arm
hoisted at the end of Is rounds and
unbiased observers think he's q
cinch to win if he gets over the
first seven rounds.
Stage Is After Scalxo.
Scalzo made a personal appear
ance at downtown theater Sunday
night and literally laid 'em in the
aisles with his erik pipples" dia-
lect. He has q rich sense of humor,
a streak of showmanship and a
good act and has had several offers
from theatrical agents. One is try
ing to wean him SSrom boxing right
now and Reilly issued instructions
to Trainer Dan Floria to keep him
away from any and all agents. But
the fact that ScalZo is more than
casually interested, plus that weary
training expression, doesn't augur
well for his ring future.
The bleak background for this
sketch is one of broken hopes and
a lengthening chain of mishaps.
First of all there was the night |
Freddy Miller, Reilly's pride and
featherweight champion was batted |
out from under his crown by Petey
Sarron at Griffith Stadium. 1t was
a cruel blow to Reilly, who had be-
come quite attached to the title.
Next came the elimination tour
in which Scalzo lost to Tony
Dupre in in-flooded ring after
having him on the deck early in the
That loss threatened
to blow him clean out of the 1876
pound race.
More Left Handed Breaks.
The scene shifted back to Miller
and an exciting night at Turner'S
Arena where he dropped a hotly
disputed decision to Leo Kodak of
Chicago. The winner got crack at
Joey Archibald, then universally
recognized champion of the division
and the irony of it was that Miller
won more rounds than Kodak, but
match his total point score.
And, as if throwing in another
break for good measure,
the fates frowned on Reilly again
when joey Fernando, lightweight
from his stable, suffered a head in
jury in joust with Norment Quarles
at the arena. There was no imma-
diate reaction as it appeared to be q
mere scalp wound easily closed by |
a surgeons stitches. But six months
later Fernando collapsed during a
bout at Pittsburgh and subsequent
disclosed that Quarles'
hit on the head had started !
the trouble.
After this string of reverses It
would seem that Reilly is sticking
out his neck by permitting Scalzo to
go to bat against Covelli, hungry
fighter who has an even chance of
winning the title.
Fighters Taper on.
Reilly either knew something or
was smart when he refused to send
Scalzo to New Orleans for a So
called title bout with Jimmy Perrin,
but he is putting his foot back into
a mess of trouble tomorrow night.
Scalzo went three rounds with Carl
Guggino again yesterday. Covelli
chased Billy Banks to cover in three
and worked two more with Ray
Lands, Phil Furr's protege who will
make his pro debut on the card.
Ticket sales have been slow. but
Promoter Joe Turner reported a
late rush for reservations today and
expects to have big sale at the
stadium tomorrow night after the
Government checks are distributed.
INTERNATIONAL. LEAGUE.
Jersey City, 4: Rochester, T.