Minneapolis Spokesman

Page 8, Minneapolis SPOKESMAN, Friday, November 27, 1953

At The Ringside
BY VIRGIL OVERBEA

CHICAGO

Kid Gavilan - A Real Pro

In sports lingo, the athlete who always comes through when the chips are down, no matter what the odds may be, is called "an old pro." When the stakes are highest he is at his best.

One such athlete of today is Kid Gavilan, the greatest welterweight champion of the world. In non-title bout after non-title bout, the Hawk has looked anything but a great fighter. He has looked listless to the extent of even losing one once in a while.

When his title is on the line, however, Gavilan is all business.

When Carmen Basilio, a lightly regarded challenger, floored the champion in their recent title bout, it looked like curtains for him because of weight trouble. Pacing himself well, the Kid came back, however, and scored a victory.

As a result of this fight, most fans including this ringsider, concluded that Gavilan had slipped and could not make the welter limit.

How wrong we were!

Against Johnny Bratton, admittedly the class of the division outside of Gavilan, the Cuban Kid was superb. In the early rounds he barely outscored the challenger despite the beautiful job of countering and slipping punches Bratton was doing.

The Kid patiently bided his time as he vainly sought openings that were not there and as he attempted to slug and found only the wind, Bratton, a picture of a glamorous physical marvel, was a classic boxer at this stage, yet he was trailing the champion.

Despite Bratton's agility and beauty, he still was fighting the champ's fight, not his own. In the eighth, Gavilan finally found the opening he was seeking. In a split second he landed, and that was all to the fight. Bratton remained on his feet, but he no longer put up a battle after that.

Gavilan probably will prove a very worthy opponent for middleweight champion Carl (Bobo) Olson in the spring. In fact, it would not be too surprising if the Hawk should win.

When one compared Gavilan with the men he faces in the ring, one wonders how he can win. The Kid is a spindly-legged character with none of the svelte "V-man" ideal physical traits. He is not the sweet looking fighter that Bratton is.

Yet, despite all the odds apparently against him, the Kid is a real pro when a fight must be won. He probably can whip any middleweight or welterweight active today.

Two Good Fights Coming Up Joe Louis and Wedded Bliss

Two good fights and the Joe Louis marriage question take the spotlight during the boxing lull of today. On the fighting front welterweight challenger, Carmen Basilio, who wants a return bout with champion Kid Gavilan, will face Johnny Cunningham, a nonentity, in a 10-round bout Saturday, Nov. 28, and Norman Hayes and Ernie Durando, two fair middleweights, clash for 10 rounds Dec. 2 in Detroit.

Basilio should have no trouble winning from Cunningham in Toledo, O, although Cunningham owns a non-title victory over lightweight champion Jimmy Carter... Both Hayes and Durando want to return to the challenger status. Hayes should prove too clever for his foe who packs the harder wallop.

Is Joe Louis married? This ringsider believes that he is, although the Brown Bomber told him and other reporters that he is still single. It is unbelievable that Joe would tell Truman K. Gibson Jr., of the IBC he was married, even as a gag. Anyone knows that Joe probably is always welcome to the best seats in any arena today for a boxing show, whether he is single or not.

"The Joe Louis Story" On Film

For boxing fans who would like to recall the old great Joe Louis of 10 and 15 years ago this film will recall vivid memories as they see once more the fights with Max Schmeling, Max Baer, Primo Camera, and others. They also can compare his form of those days with his last appearance in the ring the deplorable Rocky Marciano brawl.

Otherwise there is little substance to the film-particularly to fans who would like to feel the drama behind the second Billy Conn and Jersey Joe Walcott fights or the tragedy of his comeback. The International Boxing Club and Mike Jacobs have little in this flick.

Despite its shortcomings-it really depicts his first wife, the former Marva Trotter of Chicago, in a very sympathetic light-the picture is one you probably will want to see. Hilda Simms of Minneapolis plays the Marva Louis role.

If you are looking for some untold secrets of Joe Louis' life, you won't find them here. Coley does a good job of recreating Joe. The simplicity of the film is good, the story is shallow, and the memories recalled are many.