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■■■PQMBH BHyflKwHil Charles Favored to Defeat Maxim Consider Champions Punch Too Strong for Challenger IBC Expects to Draw More T ► Than 10,000 Fans; Added 00,000 Coming From TV By BARNEY NAGLER Staff Correspondent The busiest heavyweight champion of all, Ezzard Charles, and the most reticent light-heavyweight champion, Joey Maxim, ■■■PQMBH fight fight for for boxings boxings big- fight fight for for boxings boxings big- biggest prize in the Stadium tonight and the consensus is that industry will bring its own reward: Victory. Charles, making his eighth defense since he won National Boxing Association recognition as champion against Jersey Joe Wolcott here here two two years years ago, ago, is is BHyflKwHil here here two two years years ago, ago, is is L the lumpy favorite* 1 Barney Nagler to 3, and there is no G indication that the price will go in any other direction than up before they climb % into the ring. This is a fourth meeting. Before becom- sl ing champion, Charles subdued Maxim twice over the 10-round route and then, c by way of emphasis, did it again over the E stake distance of 15 rounds. Thats the n distance for tonight and the expectancy is for the bout going the whole way. - The Memorial Day bout, first heavy- B weight title fight ever held on this date, should attract about 10,000 to 12,000 to the a Stadium for a gross intake of more than r 00,000. It will be televised on the CBS r party wire Channel 4 at 9 p. m. CDT. c Expect 50,000 Gross The expectancy had been for a richer gate, with the 20,000-seat Stadium scaled i for a 20,000 gross at to 5 prices. With an estimated 0,000 in the till yesterday, Jim Norris, International Boxing Club president, was speaking in terms of an * 50,000 gross. A surge toward the ticket 1 wickets would have to develop if such an optimistic forecast is to come true. 1 Charles, who has been training for three 1 weeks at the Midwest Gym on the West 1 Side, is expected to scale 182, with Maxim ] at about the same poundage. The challenger from Cleveland has been laboring at the CYo and has boxed a record number of 235 rounds in preparation. It will do him no good. , Charles should retain the championship. ; He is the selection here, simply because he is a better all-around fighter. He may not ; box with the skill of Maxim, but he makes • up for the difference on punching. In addition, he has been an active campaigner. Maxim hasnt defended the 175-pound title since he won it from Freddie Mills in London, January 24, 1950. Since then he engaged in seven fights, scoring five knockouts. The names of his victims read like a Whos Who of second-raters: Joe Dawson, Bill Peterson, Johnny Swanson, Bill Peterson again, Big Boy Brown, Dave Whitlock and Hubert Hood. Defended Title on March 7 at Detroit Such activity doesnt develop the co-ordination necessary for whipping as skilled an operative as Charles, who defended his title as recently as March 7 against Walcott in Detroit. Charles had to come off the floor to win that one, and he did. He came out of the fight with a puffed left ear, but the appendage has healed completely. Maxim has been heralded as a fighter with a newly found punch, but this is regarded as so much buncombe, as served up by his manager, that arch ballyhooist, Mr. Jack Kearns. If he is to score an upset, it must result from his skill as a fencer. Otherwise he is lost. The 29-year-old challenger has registered only 20 knockouts in 75 bouts. Charles record shows 45 in 70 starts. In seven defenses, he stopped five. Only Louis and Walcott went the distance. Charles had to sprint in the last four rounds of the previous meeting with Maxim, in Cincinnati, February 28, 1949, on the eve of Louis abdication and Charles nomination as a contender, along with Walcott. But he had the reserve needed for the late-round splurge and he came through. This is the competitive difference. The champion is down for 40 per cent of the gate, including the 00,000 in video receipts. Maxim is to get 20 per cent. .Should an upset come to pass, a return would be fought in September. Otherwise, Charles next start will be in Pittsburgh in July against Walcott. Maxim, by NBA edict, will have to abandon his light-heavyweight title if he does the unexpected tonight. Otherwise, he is down for an 175-pound defense . against Bob Satterfield, local puncher, here next month. No matter how it comes out, he will still be a champion — of sorts, that is. Judgment of the fight— by a referee and two judges— will be based on the point system. The fighter with the largest number of points on two or more cards wins the decision. The system is based on 10 points for each round, such as 6-4, 7-3 or 8-2. The latter ratio is rarely called upon. A knockdown or two calls for a 7-3 vote. It is 6-4 if the margin is less decisive. Illinois, a member of the NBA, abides by that organizations knockout ruling. If the fight stops, say, between the seventh and eighth rounds, the knockout is listed as in the eighth. JOEY MAXIM , EZZARD CHARLES
