Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-03-21
Three Cards Listed
Within Eight Days at
Turner'S and UIine' S
By George Huber


ThereIl be q fight in Wash
ington next week for the patron
age of fight fans.
In one corner will be Vince
Mcmahon, who has been in the
boxing promotion business for
q little over a year at Turner's
Arena. He will present Floyd
Patterson, against an opponent
yet to be named on the night Of
Tuesday, March 80. Patterson
Is the talented boy who has
rocketed to a ranking place
among neutrality-suspicious. since
turning pro after winning the
Olympic middleweight title with
q flrst-round knockout. It will
be his first appearance in WASH
ington.
In the other corner will be
Gabe Menen DEE, one-time
matchmaker and later promoter
at Turner's Arena. He'll go at
Uline Arena this time with a
match between Middleweights
Holly Minis and Jesse Turner
Saturday night, April 3. Minis is
Washington boy, a ranking
middleweight, who fought for
Mcmahon at Turner's Arena
only last week.
Both Fights Due to Be Good.
Both fights figure 10 be good
ones, and who gets the most
business may depend on who has
the most friends.
Mcmahon also is going all out
In this competition for fight bust
ness by planning still another
show the following Tuesday,
April 6. featuring Featherweight
Gene Smith, also a popular local
boy.
That will give Washington
three fight shows within eight
days. Also of interest to fight
fans-and enough to give them
their fill of boxing during that
Stretch-will be the Bobo Olson
Kid Gavilan middleweight title
fight in Chicago, which will be
on televiSion Friday night, April
2, the night before the Menendez
card at Ullne Arena.
Ahearn's TV Bout April IA.
Not to be forgotten is the tele-
vision fight to be promoted by
Goldie Ahearn at Turner's We'd
nesday night, April IA. Princi-
pals for this have not been an
nounced. Mcmahon will not pro-
mote a fight of his own that
week. ~
The fight promotion by Men
endez on Saturday night is a
television bout-blacked out in |
Washington-with the financial
backing of the cigar people.
Even if only a small crowd
shows, Menendez is sure of a
profit. Mcmahon is promoting
strictly on his own.
What put Mcmahon in the
business of competing with Men
endez is that Mcmahon about a
year and a half ago purchased
the Turner's Arena business
from Menendez' wife. the former
Mrs. Joe Turner. Mcmahon put
on his first show late in Febru-
airy, 1853, after there had been
no boxing in Washington since
the preceding April. span of 10
months. Mcmahon has had II
shows since then.
Menendez Comeback.
Menendez got back in business
by putting on a cigar-Sponsored
TV fight last October at Uline
Arena. He also had a fight there
last December S, and the fight
there April will be his third.
Mcmahon appeared somewhat
nettled, but made no public COM
plant, at finding Menendez
back in the fight business after
Mcmahon thought he had bought
him out.
When Menendez came back
with his second show last De-
cember, Mcmahon ran a COM
pleting program at Turner's
Arena the preceding Tuesday.
same as he plans next week.
Menendez's first fight at Uline
Gene Smith VS.. Bill BoSSio-
drew 1852 customers and a gate
of $2,579, getting no COMPETE
ton from Mcmahon. The second
Uline show-Carmine Fiore VS..
Phil Kim-drew 633 customers
and $1,573, with competition
from Mcmahon.
Mcmahon Counters.
Mcmahon that same week,
presenting two 10-rounders feat
uring Holly Minis and Gene
Smith against nobodies, drew
938 customers and $2,179.
Not exactly in the middle in
this fuss between rival promot-
ers, but still an interested on
locker, is Goldie Ahearn. Until
this winter he promoted his
Wednesday night beer sponsored
televiSion fights at Uline Arena.
He found that hau too vast for
the small crowds that turned
out, and this winter has shifted
to Turner's renting the place
from Mcmahon whenever he
gets a fight assigned him.