The Wilmington morning star., 1941-02-15

Roanoke Rapids Boxers
CAPTURE Open cam Title

w OWN
Lightweight Championship -
Dodging, ducking and hitting at long
range or close-in, Jack Turner, 13f
FOUNDER of Roanoke Rapids, won
a decision over Junior Byrd, 1876.
pound Lumberton scrapper.
Turner lodged and twisted away
from most of Byrd's offerings and
in turn pounded the Lumberton's
boys face with hard rights and
lefts. Byrd was almost an equal
match for Turner in the opening
round, but the second heat found
the Roanoke Rapids pupil of Coach
Lonnie Blackwelder hitting hard
and often. He brought blood to
Byrd's nose in this round and at
one time had the Lumberton boy
practically hanging on the ropes.
However, Byrd was game. HI
came in for more punishment il
the third round. He managed to gel
in several good rights, but Turner
was still lodging and twisting. His
floorwork was perfect and his
punches came near to being so
When the end came Turned had
piled up enough points to win by
a good margin.
Welterweight Championship-Phi
Hulk, 14S pounds of Roanoke Rapids,
fought one of his well-known bouts
in which he waited around for the
opportunity and then grabbed it to
knock out J. D. Wells, $50, of Roa-
noke Rapids, in one minute and "a
seconds of the seconds round.
Wells came out like a whirIwind.
He connected with several good
and lefts to the head and
body. Hulk, the stylists, trotted back
and bounced right into the fray
with plenty of speed. He used a
right uppercut to good advantage.
Wells rocked Hulk with two hard
at first.
In the second round Hulk came in
with a right to the head. Wells went
down but bounced back up. Another
and he went half way through
the ropes. He came back and Hulk de-
livered a left to the body and a wal
right to the head. Wells went
down. He tried to get up but fell flat
and that's where the count of ten
got him.
Middleweight championship This
turned out to be as close a fight as
there was on the card. Bob Moore,
100 pounds, of Roanoke Rapids,
came through with a decision over
Vance (Red) Beard, 1856, of Lumber
ton.
The first round was as close as
one could be. Moore got in some long
rights but they carried little power.
Red, n of the popular fighters of
Wilmington tournaments, was miss
ing on his hard right, but was hit
ting hard and fast in close.
Moore managed to get the better
Of the bargain in the second session,
He connected with three good right
punches to the face. Beard kept wad-
ing in. He hit Moore some mighty
wallops about the middle.
In the third round, Beard was the
better of the two. He gave Moore
some punishment about the body,
w%alloping away with rights and lefts.
He still missed several sizzling long
ones, while Moore was able to get his
right to the head in for some good
ticks. The bout ended with both slug
gins away in the middle of the ring
The judges split on the decision, but
awarded it to Moore because Of his
advantage in the earlier rounds.
Light Heavyweight Champion
ship-Big Tom Newman, 173, OF
Roseboro, won the light heavy
weight championship on a forfeit
from Jesse Butler, ITS, of Lum-
berton.
Before the fights got under way,
the tournament doctor ruled that
Butler, who dislocated a shoulder
in his bout with Johnnie LasSiter
Thursday night, was not in con-
dition to fight due to the injury
to the game battler.
Newman won on a forfeit and
with a t.k.o. over Julius Farrior,
in the semi-fnals.
Heavyweight Championship
Edward (Tiny) Taylor, 220 pounds
of Wilmington, packing a might
Ter wallop than last year, scored
a t.k.o. over Charles McNeill, 230
pounds, of Lumberton, in 10
seconds of the second round.
Taylor absorbed two of Nc
Neill's hard rocking rights in the
opening round and came in to give
the Lumberton boy his hardest
rights and let's to the body. Near
the end of the round, Taylor con.
nected with a long sizzling right
and Mcneil went down. The ref
cree counted to six and then came
the bell.
Mcneil wasn't ready for any
more punishment when the Sec
ond round rolled around. But Tay-
lor gave him plenty. He rushed
him to the ropes and started pour
ing in his rights and lefts for all
they were worth. With Mcneil
hanging on the ropes, Referee Bill
Rhodes stepped in pushed the Viii.
mington boy away and awarded
Taylor the match on a technical