MARCEL CERDAN IMPRESSES BOXING WORLD

The real surprise wasn't that Marcel Cerdan defeated Mickey Walker to win the IBF Middleweight Title. It was the way that he did it. After two fairly even rounds, Cerdan landed a devastating right hand that knocked Walker into the ropes. Sensing that Walker was badly hurt by the punch, Cerdan unleased a ferocious series of punches that had the defending champion on queer street. Referee Elmo Adolph finally jumped in between the two fighters with 25 seconds left in the 3rd round and saved Walker from a certain knockout. Marcel Cerdan's arm was raised in victory and he became the IBF Middleweight Champion of the World. Boxing fans in Cerdan's native country of France jubilently celebrated their hero's accomplishment. But with this victory, Marcel Cerdan's fame is growing worldwide. Movie star handsome and a gentleman outside the ring, "The Casablanca Clouter" has proven that he can be a beast inside the squared circle. After the fight, Cerdan expressed gratitude to Mickey Walker for the opportunity to fight for the title and said that he would gladly grant him a rematch. Cerdan also expressed an interest in facing WBU Champion Harry Greb.

Meanwhile, in other boxing news, IBF Heavyweight Champion Larry Holmes completed the first leg of his European tour by winning a 15 round unanimous decision over Italian Champion Francesco Damiani to successfully defend his World Title. Damiani had his moments during the fight and exhibited alot of courage, but he proved to be no match for the speed and skill of "The Easton Assassin". Two of the ringside judges scored the bout in Holmes' favor by the score of 147-135, while the 3rd judge scored it 146-137 for Holmes. This is the first time that Holmes has been extended the distance in his professional career and he now sports a record of 20-0 with 19 KOs. Now it's on to Hamburg where he will defend his title against German champ Max Schmeling. Max owns an impressive professional record of 14-0, but he has yet to fight outside of Germany. This will definitely be a major step up in quality of opposition for "The Black Uhlan."

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