Evening star., 1951-01-12
Charles Aiming
AT Quick Kayo
.0f0n1a Tonight
Heavyweight Champ
Roted 5 to ! to Win;
Seats in Big Demand
BY the Associofed Press 4

as sharp as a razor, plans to ruin
Lee Oma's Cinderella ambitions
we'll before the gong sounds for
the 18th round in their title bout
tonight at Madison Square Gar
den.
~ IF Jimmy Braddock was able to
do it and If Joe Walcott was able
to come close. then maybe I can
do it, is the way the 34-year-old
Oma sized up the situation.
But it looks like a case of "too
II and too late" for the clown
Buffalo challenger. The cham
+ .on. risking his title for the sixth
time, should chop down Lee some
where between the eighth and
18th rounds.
Charles Heavy Fav0rite.
The oddsmakers rate the i'm
proving champion a to l choice
to win and a 9 to favorite to
halt Oma within the 15-round
limit. There was only a light furry
of betting.
Despite the light wagering, in
terest in the scrap has picked up
considerably and choice ringside
seats are selling at a premium. A
crowd of 10000 and a gross gate
of al least $65,0O0 was anticipated
by the promoting International
Boxing Club.
The 10 pm. bout will be broad
cast by ABC and telecast by NBC.
TN Washington. Radio Station
WMAL and TV Station WNBW.)
Charles. who has won his last
81 fights, IA of them by knockouts,
appeared to be in top form when
he ended his training yesterday.
Charles More Confident.
His September triumph over
Joe Louis has boosted his conf
dence and has made him a better
fighter.
But, as usual. he refused to make
any pre-flght prediction.
I'm just going to fight to win,'
said the Cincinnati Negro. I've
never seen Oma, but if fight my
best I think it will be good enough.
Oma can't run away and Win"
Those close to the Charles camp
confidently declared "Snooks will
cut him down. Oma may be able
to move his head away but he
won't get away from those body
punches"
.Oma says he has no intention
Of running too much.
There's no use Kidding" Lee
said. "I've slowed up a bit. I'll
have to do more fighting and use
more power"
Manager Tex Sullivan says Oma
will be told to go all out for the
first 10 rounds.
Expect Oma to Pile Up Lead.
I'VE figure maybe Lee can pile
up a big lead in that time to make
up for the later rounds if his gas
runs out" Sullivan said.
The big question is Oma's
stamina or lack of it. The hand
some challenger, fourth-ranking
heavy in the world, never has
gone beyond 10 rounds. He's
really trained for his first title
shot like never before. But it's
doubtful that one long training
grind can make up for years of
dissipation.
Oma has peculiar boxing style
IN which he keeps his hands
down and walks away from op-
ponents. AS he backs off, he oc-
casionally tries to sneak over a
right-hand punch with plenty of
weight behind it. Charles, how
ever. solved Jersey Joe Walcott's
puzzling style and takes a heavy
blow. He sampled Louis block
buster and didn't drop and Oma
doesn't rate with Joe as puncher.
The challenger has won is of
his last II starts. losing out on "a
knockout to Bob Satterfield. He
made up for that loss by out
pointing Satterfield in a return.
His overall record shows 81 vic
tories, 26 losses and three draws.
He's kayoed % opponents but has
suffered Is knockouts himself in
an in-and-out career.
Charles. well ahead of Louis
record of defenses. has stopped so
per cent of his opponents. His
last loss was on July 25, 1947,
when he dropped a disputed, split
10-round decision to Elmer Ray.
He knocked out Ray in nine
rounds II months later. |
Braddock earned the Cinder-
ella label when he beat Make
Baer for the title as a 10-to-1
underdog. Walcott came close to
duplicating that stunt in his first
bout with Louis, also at 1O-to-1
odds