The Waterbury Democrat., 1944-03-29
This
Sporting
World
Just a Few Lines
BY JOHN A. CLUNEY

Ills week SO4 QucSCIOll Ia ACBAAN
to boxing was answered last night
at Hartford by Large Looie ViscuSi.
promoter of the weekly bouts at the
old car-barnS and manager OF Will
lie Pep, worlds featherweight cham
pion, uncrowned in As states, in
Guiding his own. The question
was: Who will be Pops first OPP
ponent since he joined and left
the United States Navy?"
The answer Is LEO FRANCIS
OF PANAMA, deciSively defeated by
Mike Della Of Los Angeles no later
than last Monday night in Hol-
yoke. According to the United
Press, Francis, whose record Is not
listed in Nat F1iescher'S bible" OF
the ring, was near the knockout
stage no less than three times.
Therefore, on the face of it,
Willie Pep should not have too
much trouble, though Della, the
easy winner over Francis, Is quite
a lightweight, according to re-
ports from the far west. IN addi-
ton to that, one can hardly ex-
pect Pops handlers to toss him
in with real, good fighter, even
though the tariff will be SO, S.
and $40 ringside, all Of which goes
to the American Red Cross, the
boxers purses having been under
written by Hartford people who
wish to see the ARC get every
dollar possible.
Right now, Pep himself, to say
nothing of his manager, is not
sure Of what he can do inside a
ring where he has not been since
last June, when he made a sucker
out of Sal Bartolo in his own back
yard, Boston; where Bartolo re-
Gently won the worlds 126 title
from Phil Terranova.
The Pep-Francis bout is at 1856
pounds according to announce
ment though Willie Is supposed
to be heavier than that right now,
having scaled 148 a week or so
ago. No one can get an accurate
statement as to his current
weight. Francis scaled 1873 for
Della last Monday in Holyoke.
The Panamanian appeared at
New York's Garden once or twice
when first brought to this coun-
try.
V V v v v v v
Waterbury's Joe Nunzio, a knock
out winner last night "a of S last
bouts by KO) will be on the Red
Cross card April 4th in a six-round-
er; with Lefty LaChance Of Lis
bon, Maine, to meet Charles
(Cabby) Lewis, the lad who
trounced LaChance in Providence
a few weeks back; Earl Roys of
Bristol VS.. Jack Leslie of Flint,
Michigan, the blond bomber who
made New York's Joey Saddler quit
at Hartford just a week ago. Two
heavyweights will meet In another
six round go.
v v v v v v v
ODDS AND ENDS-Because of
an automobile accident, the Utah
University basketeers, beaten In the
MSG invitational tournament by
Kentucky, got chance to get in
another tourney in the middle west;
win 1t then come back to New York
and defeat Dartmouth last night
1910 overtime: gaining a national
championship game with ST. Johns
Of Brooklyn in Red Gross benefit
tomorrow night. The Arkansas
entry in the Chicago tourney with
drew when an assistant coach was
killed and two players badly injured
in an auto accident. on the way to
the site of play. Utah got the call
to fill out the schedule in place Of
Arkansas: won top honors then
came east AGAIN to meet and beat
the five-time ELL champs from
Hanover, New HAMPSHIRE . Two
Waterbury boys, Billy Brown and
Jcev Nunzio were winners last night
in Hartford. Brown decisively de-
feated Billy Campanelli Of Worces-
ter: while Nunzio the kayo kid,
stopped George Mckinney for the
second time in two starts against
the colored lad Brown is headed
for the Navy, Nunzio for the Army.
Both are married and have chill
dren Darn nice gesture Of
Brookside's Bert Bowen handing out
two $25 war bonds last night for
the two high singles in the last two
games of the Brookside-French
match. The boys on the latter team
could have Won 'em, too, If their
pinfall was high enough, though
Valunas and zaza wound up with
Uncle Sans paper . Waterbury's
Willie White put up his BEAUT1-
Full silver trophy against SIS bill
that he would beat his bunk-mate
100 games of ping-pong without
ONE loss. To date he has won SO
straight, but almost dropped one
when his rival, who can play the
game fairly we'll, had Willie 20-1S