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4 ♦ Bratton, Castellani Have June 18 Date Future of Both Fighters May Depend Upon Outcome Of Chicago Stadium Tilt Johnny Bratton returns to Chicago, the scene of most of his greatest victories on June 18 when he squares off with middleweight Rocky Castellani in a 10 -rounder at the Chicago Stadium. Castellani won a thrilling 10-rounder from the Brat in Madison Square Garden last month and the Brat is out to avenge the loss. Johnny won the last three rounds decisively, but his slow start and Rockys slugging style was too much of an advantage for the Chicagoan to overcome. He lost the split decision. However, Johnny looked impressive in his last two starts. He knocked out Pierre Langlois, French Canadian welterweight, who was ranked 10th by the NBA and then won a decision from Del Flanagan, flashy St. Paul welter who recently won a decision from Sandy Saddler. Bratton knocked Flanagan down in the sixth round for a • nine-count but the Minnesota mauler went on his bicycle for the rest of the fight and The Brat didnt catch him again. Johnny still hopes to get another shot at the welter title which he held for two months in 1951 after winning it by decisively beating Charlie Fusari, here at the Stadium. Slugged Way to Prominence Castellani, meanwhile, has slugged his way to prominence in the middleweight division. One of his recent victories was a 10-round decision over Gene Hairston, who is the No. 2 middleweight at present. He has lost only four fights in 40 as a professional. Rocky is 26 and hails from Lucerne, Pennsylvania. Bratton is in a position where he has to win against Castellani. He- has been offered ,000 to fight Laurent Dauthuille in Montreal but his prestige there would drop if he were to lose at the Stadium. Actually The Brat went into the first fight against Rocky a slight underdog and will be even more of an underdog in the June 18 match. But many ring-wise veterans believe he has the punch and the speed to defeat and even stop the husky Italian if he doesnt leave his fight in the dressing room as he has done on many other occasions. Bratton has always been a favorite in Chicago, but fans support his bouts only when he is fighting a topnotch slugger. That is the case in Castellani. Brattons biggest draw here in recent years was against Kid Gavilan who had given Johnny a thorough beating in New York. Many came to see him get licked again. However, they got their moneys worth since Johnny put on one of his best fights. When Gavilan started his flurries of punches, Johnny stood in toe to toe and made the Kid back off on several occasions. This is contrary to Brattons old style of backing up and waiting for-a-shot. The fight should have proved to Bratton that he hits hard enough to exchange with his foes, thus adding excitement to the fight and rendering his opponent powerless in the flurries. If Castellani wins, he will be in line for a shot against a top middleweight such as Hairston, Norman Hayes, or Rocky Grazi-ano.
