Billy Papke, the middleweight fighter of Illinois, tonight defeated the French champion, Georges Carpentier. The Frenchman quit after the seventeenth round.
At the weighing in at 3 o'clock in the afternoon Papke exceeded the middleweight limit. Carpentier was under weight. The Frenchman's manager immediately claimed the title of middleweight champion. He said : "The fight will proceed as arranged, but it will not be for the title which now belongs to Carpentier".
"It was the hardest fight of my career" said Papke, after Carpentier, the idol of the French sporting public, threw up the sponge.
It was evident from the first few rounds that Carpentier was no match for Papke, whose infighting tactics completely baffled the Frenchman. But he fought with great pluck and determination. At the end of the eighth round Carpentier's right eye was closed. He fought warily after that and kept away from the American as much as possible.
In the fifteenth the Frenchman came back quite strongly, and in both that round and the sixteenth he gave a good account of himself.
Papke opened the seventeenth with a terrific left hook to the jaw which floored and practically finished the Frenchman. Carpentier gamely got to his feet and managed to drag out the round, but obviously he was unable to continue and after a brief consultation with his seconds gave up.
Papke recieves $5,000 for his end of the purse, with certain other emoluments. He had to pay a forfeit of $1,000 to Carpentier for overweight.
(Associated Press)
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*this video originally appeared on the YouTube channel of Steve Lott, who has allowed it to also be on this YouTube channel for use on the Classic Boxing Society blog or various posts, as the original title was 'This Day in Boxing...'
Steve Lott's YouTube channel is highly recommended for all classic boxing fans as is the official website for the Boxing Hall of Fame, Las Vegas which Steve is president of..
https://www.youtube.com/user/BoxingHOF
