The Waterbury Democrat., 1944-02-16
This Sporting World
Punching The Bag
By JOHN A. CLUNEY

OSAuHBH udlS OOS
 Sudden like, Waterbury has come up with two most promising boxers who might provide the answer to an oft-reported question, to wit: when is Waterbury going to have a fight show?" Last night, Benny Singleton, Peart street colored boy and Leav- enworth senior, punched his way in- to the semi-finals of the Golden Glove boxing tournament in New York and turned the trick the hard way, via third round knockout over one Claude StarneS of the Flatbush Boys Club. It was four or five con- Secutive wins for the local light weight, who first indicated that he had ring class about two years back in the Silver Gloves tournament at the Boys Club and has since been lucky enough to have a trainer and teacher who knows what the score is in the boxing business, handling Benny like the precious ring jewel he may turn out to be. Next week, Singleton and his teacher, Chuck Williams head for the Ridgewood Grove in N. Y, and the next step thereafter is the world famous Mad iSon Square Garden, where the fi- nalS will be fought by the Golden Gloves winners on Monday, Febru- ary 28th. With two knockouts be- hind him, Benny is confident he will emerge an amateur champion of eastern AAU territory, for he's the most promising lightweight since Buddy Faulkes.
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 The other local fighter is net a Waterburian, except by residence,
 but he works hard in this city as
 an auto mechanic and fights just
 as hard. Also a product of the New
 York amateur competition, Joey
 Nunzio met heavyweight Tami
 Mauriello, when the latter was
 142 pound welterweight, some three
 years ago, but showed at New
 Haven last Monday that he is 8
 fighter from head to heels, for 1t
 was not so much the fact that he
 knocked out taller and heavier
 Clarence Ford, but the MANNER
 in which he went at his job. Ring
 siders were calling him SHORTY,
 but he crowded Ford so fast that
 the latter was almost helpless be-
 fore he could put up any sort of
 good defense. Handled by Mickey
 Dance, and ballyhooed by Bobby
 Kelly, K. O. Nunzio has a good
 chance of becoming real ring att
 traction in this state, and is ready
 for anything that walks, crawls or
 flies at 135 to 143 pounds.
 Ordinarily, Ido not go so strong ly for boy seen but once against an opponent of uncertain ability, but Nunzio seems to have THAT CER- TAIN SOMETHING that Willie Pep showed the first or second time he had the leather mitts on. Three years ago, I was bragging bit about Pep to Pete Reilly, the New York manager who has monopolized the feather champs for 15 years, but he was incredulous, promising to take a look" when he had chance, but adding: "Battalinos do not come along every week." He never found time to take the look until it was too late. The result was the loss of another world champion, though Pete has had more than his share of them, but might have missed the greatest one of all.
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 | Odd and Ends: Under ordinary circumstances, when THE BOOK, meaning professional gamblers on sporting events, baseball, boxing, basketball, hockey and football "gets the worst of it" you can lay 6 to ] that it's very cold night in August However, New York Mirrors Gus Steiger tells of the pasting absorbed by the money men on the Notre Dame-N. Y. U. hoop game last Mon day night at MISC when the Irish won 59 to 53, and all because Ref cree Piccolo Pat Kennedy did not allow Natre Dame player to take two free throws after awarding them to him, when he was fouIed while shooting by Violet guard. The foul was called just as the final buzze1 sounded ending the game, but the crowd rushed on the floor, and, as ND was six points in front, Kennedy allowed the score to stand, complete ly ignoring or forgetting about the POOR OLD BOOKIES who made the game a 6-8 point proposition with Notre Dame favored. If the player fouled had scored one of the two free throws allowed him, the gamblers would have collected both ways. If he made both shots, they would collect the NYU wagers and get a STANDOFF on the Irish money; but as the game ended the Violet packers did not have to pay off. New Haven's Jimmy Kenney, a state amateur lightweight boxing champion of some years back, is the new manager of the Planters Peanut store on East Main street. Kenney boxed and trained at our Boys Club and hopes to move his family to this city once again, fol- lowing appointment to his manager ial post by Owen Phillips, district supervisor for the nationally known peanut corporation. Now that Manager Bobby Gleason has signed for his NBA feather champ, Phil Terranova to defend the title against Manuel Ortiz, world bantam champ, at Los Angeles next month, what about the title" bout that Gleason signed for at Boston against Larry Bolvin on March 10th for promoter I VYa1 Af 1AA