Evening star., 1951-03-14
Crowd Of 10000
Expected With
Gate
Chicago Negro Rules
FL Fovorite, Says
He'll Win by Koyo
BY the Associated Press

CHICAGO. Mar. 14.-Frugal
Charlie Fusari, boxing's most elig-
ible bachelor. and Johnny Brat
ton, former teen-age playboy,
tangle in a test of youth at Chi
cago Stadium tonight for the well
terweight crown.
However. there will be some
jewels missing from the diadem.
The National Boxing Assocla-
ton will recognize the winner as
champ. New York, England and
Sugar Ray Robinson won't.
Robinson was automatically
stripped of his welterweight title
by the MIA last month when he
won Jake La Motta's middle
weight belt. Robinson still claims
both titles.
Start Elimination Series.
So tonight's brawl, scheduled
for Is rounds, is another one of
those version" affairs. It lights
the fuse to a series Of elimina-
tions which eventually will pro-.
duce a welterweight champion
with unanimity Except for Rob-
inson's vote, of course).
(The fight will be broadcast
and telecast in Washington
over Stations WTOP and
WTOP-TV at 10 PM
The processing could take quite
some time. Only by a stroke of
luck in these days of aging title
aSpfrantS are Fusari and Bratton
young enough to remain unwith-
cred by the time lapse. Fusari is
Is and Bratton, 23.
Tonight's winner must deposit
a $4,000 guarantee to risk his title
against Cuba's Kid Gavilan
within As days.
New York will recognize that
winner. Within 80 days, England's
champion, Eddie Thomas, is sched-
uled to fight the Gavilan- -Bratton-
or-Fusari winner. The winner of
this one presumably will satisfy
every one as the world welter-
weight king. Robinson's claim
will be officially ignored by all.
$55,000O Gate Seen.
The sponsoring International
Boxing Club looks for a crowd of
around 10000 tonight with a
gross gate of $55.000. Each bat
tier will get 27la per cent of the
net gate plus $500 teleyision fee.
Fusari expects to carry 1857
pounds at the weigh-in at the
Illinois State Athletic Commission
Office. Bratton plans to come in
a half-pound lighter at 146. The
welterweight limit is lat, pound
age that Robinson probably will
never try to make again.
Bratton, Chicago's Southside
Negro who now rides bus after
being chauffered through a bank
roll in limousine, rules a 81
faVorite tonight.
Bratton is confident of winning
by a knockout. The Negro is a
fine boxer and a sharp hitter as
attested by his record of fatten-
ing his last three opponents with
in three rounds.
In the past. Bratton always
proved as good as he wanted to
be. Until he met Beau Jack jan
uary %. 1948. he had 3S fights,
lost only 10 and had never been
knocked out. Jack made him
quit in. the eighth round with a
broken jay. Six months later,
Bratton was back in the ring.
He had IA fights, losing only two,
before he ran into Ike Williams
and another eighth-round broken
jaw January 20, 1850.
Comeback Starts Poorly.
Bratton waited nine months
before starting a second come
back. That started poorly as he
dropped a 10-round decision to
Holly Minis. He knock out John
ny Cesario, but again lost a 10
rounder to Minis. Then followed
spectacular knockouts over Lester
FELTON,, Sam Mastrean and Bobby
Dykes to give him tonight's title
shot.
Fusari was an in-and-outer last
year when he won three and lost
three, one a 15-round defeat by
Robinson in a welterweight title
bout at Jersey City.
The blond Italian, who likes
(See FIGHT, Page C-4.)