THE BOXING NEWS
PRIMO CARNERA vs MAX BAER
HISTORIC BOXING NEWSPAPERS AND HISTORY
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ROCHSTER TIMES-UNION
FRIDAY, JUNE 15, 1934
PRIMO CARNERA vs MAX BAER
World Heavyweight Boxing Title
Won by Californian
It was action from the start in 1934's Battle of
the Century when Max Baer, California titan,
pounded his way to a thrill-packed 11-round
triumph over Primo Carnera, the heavyweight
champion. A foretaste of what was to come is
afforded in this striking photo in the first round
of the championship bout at Madison Square
Garden Bowl, in Long Island City, N.Y., as
Baer, after knocking down Carnera, stands
ready to follow up his advantage.
Above picture is typical of the action in the
thrill-fraught championship bout between Primo
Carnera and Max Baer. This unusual situation
was in the second round. It appears here that
Baer is striking the champion while down. In
reality the Californian is carried involuntarily
forward under the force of the terrific blow with
which he brought the champion down.
"The new heavyweight champion of the world!"
That's Max Baer, who stands smiling, shown in
lower picture, and erect as his right hand is
raised aloft by announcer Joe Humphries to
symbolize the young Californian's sensational
11-round triumph over Primo Carnera. Seconds
and trainers are shown congregating in the fallen
champions corner.
Baer New Champ
Carnera Battered;
Referee Stops Bout
_ New York - (UP) - The heavyweight championship of
the world was back in America today, borne on crashing
crescendo of Max Baer's dynamite fists. Boxing has the
spectacular, colorful figure it has needed since jack Demp-
sey's day. The new champion is a slugger.
_ In 2:16 of the 11th round of last
night's fight, Maxie Baer of Cali-
fornia, smashed his way to a
vicious technical knockout over
the unpopular Primo Carnera of
Italy. And with the final battering
blow, heavyweight boxing was re-
stored to the status it held in the
halcyon days of Johnson, Willard,
Dempsey and Tunney. The sport
today has a champion whom none
denies.
_In all, Carnera was floored a
dozen times.
_If boxing ever had a beaten
champion it was the giant, bat-
tered Carnera in that thrill-rifled
11th round. His nose was broken
and his face bleeding.That 11th Round _Baer, who seemed to have the
fight won in the first round, again in
the 10th, came out for the kill. He
had Carnera all but out on his feet
a few seconds after the 11th gong
was struck.
_Maxie floored Carnera with a
right to the head. Referee Donovan
counted up to "three."
_Reeling like a Saturday night
drunk, Carnera pulled his huge,
drooping body upright and slithered
along the ropes.
_Baer drove a relentless left to
the body. Primo dazed, raised his
fists weakly and picked at Maxie's
head with meaningless lefts.
_Baer smashed over a left which
sent Primo reeling. But he showed
gameness even under this terrific
onslaught. His legs sagging, Car-
nera took a stunning left to the
head.
_Again Maxie lashed out. That
power-packed right caught Primo
squarely on the side of the head.
Down went the champion obviously
out on his feet, Carnera struggled
up again. But Referee Arthur
Donovan led Maxie away and
finally raised Baer's hand in a signal
of victory.
_The crowd of 55,000 was wildly
excited throughout.The First Tip-Off _The tip-off came in the opening
round. After nearly two minutes
of cautious sparring, Baer floored
Carnera with a right to the chin.
Primo was up at once. He beat
a hasty retreat against the ropes
near a neutral corner. Baer
swarmed all over the giant and
drove him through the ropes. Car-
nera weathered the round.
_The second round was as much
wrestling as it was boxing. Baer
cracked over a right to the body.
Down went Carnera.
_Baer, football fashion, was pulled
down on top of him. Hardly had
the tangle of legs been cleared
when Baer popped him again. Once
more Primo went down and once
again Baer flopped on top of him,
deliberately, so it seemed.
_Baer banged out a terrific right
to the head and Carnera toppled
over backwards. This time Maxie
tangled into Primo's legs, tripped
and fell.
_Again in the fifth, Baer looked
like a certain winner when a wild-
ly swung left started a Carnera
nosebleed which continued to the
end. But Baer seemed to be enjoy-
ing himself. He pranced, laughed
and clowned and refused to pursue
the advantage until the 10th and 11th.
_The 10th round was a show all
by itself. As the round started
Primo seemed to be stronger.
_Meantime, Max put on a show.
When Primo barely reached him
with a left flick to the head, Baer
did a Ray Bolger dying swan, sag-
ging his knees in mockery. The
crowd liked that.
_But Baer soon quit his jesting.
A right to the head and a left to
the body brought the champion
reeling to the floor. When he
reached his feet it appeared that
he had asked Donovan to stop the
fight. Donovan stood between
them a few seconds; then beck-
oned the fighters to continue.False Alarm in 10th _Carnera was again floored and
again arose. For a moment it
seemed that Donovan had stopped
the fight but the bell rang and
they went to their corners. Im-
mediately scores of ringside press-
men yelled "That it!" But nothing
happened and they came out for
the fatal 11th.
_The outcome of last night's fight
opened the gates to a gold mine
for Maxie Baer. He will talk to
boxing writers about title defenses
but his closest associates insist
that the movies will get the first
call. He did one picture, "The
Prizefighter and the Lady," and
it was a success. He wore his
movie dressing robe, with "Steve
Morgan" on the back, into the
ring. As champion, his movie sal-
ary probably will be trebled. Mean-
time there is the radio.
_For Carnera there's nothing
much in sight except wathfull
waiting and a hope that Baer
meant it when he said he would
give Primo a return bout. But
Maxie hadn't been in his dressing
room two minutes before he prom-
ised Joe Smith, manager of Tommy
Loughran, the first crack at the
crown.
_Baer came out of the fight in
apparently excellent condition. Not
so Carnera. Physicians said his
nose was broken. They feared he
had broken a small ankle bone,
and they were to look further for
a possible rib fracture.
_The crowd of 55,000 included
52,000 who paid their way in. They
contributed to a gross gate of $428,
392. It was the greatest crowd
since the first Schmeling-Sharkey
fight.
_Baer, for the first time in mem-
ory of the oldest boxing reporter
present, entered the ring as a chal-
lenger favored in the betting odds.
Final quotes with professional lay-
ers were even money on Carnera
and 4 to 5 on Baer.
Those Last 20 Seconds
When Baer Won Title
_New York - (UP) Here's what
happened in the 20 seconds that
won the heavyweight championship
for Max Baer:
_Carnera, peppered by lefts and
rights, was reeling and dazed.
Baer swung a vicious right to the
head.
_Carnera swayed and went down.
He got up immediately, turned
half around and walked along the
ropes.
_Referee Donovan walked beside
Carnera, whose lips moved slowly.
Donovan stopped the fight award-
ing Baer a technical knockout.
_Donovan announced that Car-
nera had asked him to stop the
fight. Asked what Carnera had
said, Donovan told the United
Pess:
_"I couldn't understand his
words."
_"How did you know he wanted
the fight stopped?"
_"By his motions, his condition,
his gestures - everything."
_Donovan stepped over to the
newspapermen: Carnera said, "I'm
through." Anyway, it didn't mat-
ter because I was going to stop
it then."
_Carnera was later quoted as say-
ing he did not ask Donovan to
end the fight.
VIEWS OF BOUT
ARE GIVEN BY
VARIOUS FOLK
Jeffries Avers Baer Is
Real Fighter - Champ-
pion's Mother Screams
in Joy - Bill Brown
Still Holds to Opinion
_ Burbank, Calif. - (UP) - Jef-
fries, one time heavyweight cham-
pion of the world, scoffed today - as
he did long before the Carnera-
Baer championship match - at re-
ports that Max Baer, the new
champion "was out of condition, a
clown and a bum."
_"I'm all for Maxie," Jeffries
said. "I wanted him to win and
I'm mighty glad he did. This
ought to prove that Max Baer
is a real fighter and a real cham-
pion - and a Californian."
GENE TUNNEY
PICTURES IT
PERFECT BOUT
Asserts Carnera Has Vu
nerable Chin and Limit-
ed Fighting Equipment
- Used Poor Judgment
By GENE TUNNEY
(Written For The Associated Press)
_ New York - (AP) - Max Baer
fought exactly the type of fight
calculated to whip Primo Carnera
and he demonstrated conclusively
what I have felt and said right
along - that the Italian has a vul-
nerable chin and extremely limited
fighting equipment.
_After Carnera's bout with Tom-
my Loughrin, I said Primo would
be a mark for a man who could
show anything like an effective
punch. The Italian himself can not
hit and he is bewildered as soon
as his defense starts to break
down. His confidence was shattered
in the first minute of last night's
fight and it was simple a question
of how long it would last. At the
finish he was obviously ready to
quit and did so.
_I was not surprised Baer failed
to finish Carnera in either of the
first two rounds. The big fellow
has amazing stamina and showed
he is really game under fire, al-
though he used very bad judgment
in not taking longer counts when
he was down three times in the
first round. A fighter is entitled
to all the count he can get under
such circumstances and it was
ruinous for Primo to leap up at
once and stumble into another suc-
cession of hard blows.
_I would say on the whole that
Baer fought a perfect fight, show-
ing rare confidence at all times
and proving himself a terrific hit-
ter. He did not waste time and
energy trying to box Carnera.
Italy Is Disappointed
_ Venice - (UP) - In countries abroad
there were a lot of people who
thought Max Baer would be world
champion heavyweight boxer to-
day, but Italy there was only
surprise and disappointment.
_Italians from men and women
had expected Primo Carnera would
crack down on Baer.
_Even Premier Mussolini, as he
escorted Chancellor Hitler of Ger-
many around was glum, whereas
yesterday he was happy and smil-
ing, awaiting an Italian victory
across the sea that would further
impress the Nazi chieftian. Thou-
sands of people in all towns waited
up all night to learn the result,
sitting at cafes. it was not until
long after dawn, because of the
time difference, that the news-
papers appeared with the story of
the fight.
SATANICAL JOY
FOR MAX BAER
IN REAL FIGHT
Boxes Under Compulsion
but When Forced to
Unleash Lethal Wallop
He Does It With Relish
_ New York - (UP) - Max Baer is
heavyweight champion of the world
today because he takes a satanical
delight in fighting, but boxes only
under compulsion.
_ The California fighter's slashing
right hand blasted the heavy-
weight crown off the head of
gargantuan Primo Carnera of
Italy, in the eleventh round of
their bout at the Madison Square
Garden Bowl by a technical knock-
out.
_ As a fight it was unlike any-
thing in championship history.
_As a fighter, Baer slugged his
way into the records as the most
puzzling, exciting and demoniacal-
ly joyful champion of modern
times. It was sometimes agon-
izing to his backers but it was
fun to Baer.
_Baer knocked the first corner
off Primo's crown in the opening
round. His snake-like right arm
whipped under the champion's
guard; his fist thudded with ter-
rific force against the champion's
heart.
_Almost any other slugger - a
Dempsey, for example - would have
ended it a few seconds later when
Carnera tumbled, almost rolled, to
the canvas under a sizzling right
to the face. Or a boxer would have
cut him to shreds.
_But not Baer. For the next 10
rounds he did almost everything
not expected in a champion except
that - with studied regularity - he
popped his smashing right against
Carnera's heart and jaw.
_In those 10 rounds; Baer ap-
peared able to end the fight al-
most anytime before the 11th but
he didn't.
_He drove his seconds frantic by
periodically taking the best that
Primo - a stronger but much clum-
sier fighter - could send at his chin;
(and liking it). He stood with
guard down, laughing at Carnera.
_He danced a foolish little jig
pretending that he was getting
more resin on his shoes, then belt-
ed Carnera on the chin, then put
on a skit in which he (Baer) pre-
tended to have a sudden attack of
weak knees.
_He fought with a devilish, incom-
parable joy. There were only
flashes of the Dempsey savagery
in his spirit, although no one but
Dempsey at his best, could hit
harder. There was nothing of the
cold, methodical boxing of a Tun-
ney.
_It was a mood peculiar to the
specie Baer; a mood that one
moment found him crouching low -
tantalizing Carnera into uncovering
that long, swollen left cheek and
the next found him laughing and
wading foolishly into range of
Primo's best punches.
_ A striking example came in the
third. Baer suddenly straightened
up. His lips spread in a snarl. His
eyes narrowed. Snake-like, that
lethal right hand shot out against
Primo's jaw.
_ The champion staggered. His
thick legs folded slowly, like a tree
falling. Baer waded in. He swung
at the bleeding champion's face
with all the delight of a gamin
hurling mud at a high hat. He
turned away laughing as Carnera
fell.
Sports Editorial
By JACK BURGESS
_ MAX ADELBERT BAER of
Livermore, Calif., is the new
heavyweight boxing champion of
the world. Primo Carnera of
Venice, Italy, is the dethroned
champion. Congratulations to Max.
Sympathy to Primo.
_ To American's, the pleasing phase
is that the title is returned to the
United States, after having re-
posed in Germany and then Italy.
_ Max Schmeling won the title
sitting down and lost it standing
up. Primo Carnera won it stand-
ing up and lost it standing up. He
was "out" on his feet, victim of a
technical k.o. by order of referee
Arthur Donovan.
_ It was not a great fight, as the
history of world title bouts go. On
the contrary, it was lop-sided.
From the first round until the
finish in the 11th, Carnera was
outclassed, outpunched, outgen-
eraled.
_ Predicated on the round-by-round
description the inference is drawn
that either Baer is a great fighter
or Carnera was a grand palooka.
Frankly, for my part, I would elide
the "great" and the "grand" and
leave the nominatives unadorned.
_ The official record book of box-
ing says that Baer is an extraction
of German, Jewish and American
parentage. The Associated Press
today says: "Baer is of German,
Jewish and Irish extraction." It's
the first time we knew there was
a strain of Irish in Max but the
combination of Semitic, Celtic and
Teutonic seems to have been a bit
too much for the pure-strained Latin.
_ TITLES of heavyweight cham-
pions have been won and lost in
sensational or colorless events in
the last 20 years. Going back to
April 5, 1915,, at Havana, Cuba,
Jess Willard, a giant, took a
dubious title from Jack Johnson,
Negro, in 26 rounds. Film pic-
tures, used for the first time
showed Johnson lying on the can-
vas and drawing his arm over his
eyes to shut out the glaring sun.
_ Then came the Willard - Jack
Dempsey bout at Toledo, Ohio, on
July 4, 1919. It is somewhat com-
parable to the Carnera-Baer bout.
Willard stood 6 feet and 6 inches and
weighed 255 pounds. Dempsey
stood 6 feet 1 1/2 inches and
weighed 190 pounds. There was
a 65 pound difference in weight.
_ Last night Carnera weighed 263
and stood 6 feet 6 1/2 inches while
Baer weighed 210 and stood 6 feet
2 inches. There was a 53 pound
margin. Dempsey knocked the
Giant Willard cold as a mackerel
in three rounds; in fact, murdered
him almost in the first and beat
him so badly he was unable to
carry on the third. Another in-
stance of a smaller man licking
a larger one.
_ Gene Tunney, dilletante boxer,
cut Jack Dempsey to ribbons on
Sept. 23, 1926, in ten rounds at the
Sesqui-Centennial in Philadelphia,
winning the title and exactly a
year later again outpointing Demp-
sey at Chicago. Tunney retired
undefeated.
_ Max Schmeling of Germany
won the title from Jack Sharkey
of Boston on June 12, 19330, at
New York on a foul in four rounds.
Sharkey won it back on June 21,
1932, in 10 rounds in New York.
That was on points and there was
a rancorous dispute.
_ Primo Carnera, another giant,
won the title from Sharkey by a
K.O. in six rounds in New York
on June 29, 1933.
_ The title was held by Carnera
for 50 weeks, one of the shortest
on record.
_ Baer, with some of the charac-
teristics of Dempsey, who has
taught him much, may retain the
title several years as there appears
none on the heavyweight horizon
capable of seriously challenging
him.
52,268 Paid;
Gate, $428,392
_ New York - (UP) - The "gate"
for the Carnera-Baer fight was
announced today by Madison
Square Garden as $428,392.80
gross receipts, with 52,268 paid
admissions.
_ Net receipts, with federal and
state taxes deducted, totaled
$361,357.29. It will be split as
follows:
_Milk fund - 10 per cent of the
net, or $36,135.72
_Carnera's share - 37 1/2 per cent
of the remainder, or $122,057.08
_Baer's share - 20 per cent of the
net, less milk fund deduction, or
$65,044.31
_Madison Square Garden - The
rest. ($138,120.18)
GIRL JILTED BY
_ _ CARNERA IS SAD
_ London - AP) - Miss Emelia Ter-
sini, the raven-haired young wait-
ress who saw to it that Primo Car-
nera collected none of the proceeds
for the battering he took last
night insisted excitedly today that
"Baer didn't fight fair."
_ "He tried to make Primo look
foolish," exclaimed Emelia, who
didn't exactly see the fight being
some 3,000 miles away. But she
stayed up until after 3 a.m. to
read the results on a ticker.
_ New York lawyers at the in-
stance of Miss Tersini tied up Car-
nera's share of the proceeds, since
the recent heavyweight champion
for some months has owed her $15,
000 she was awarded in a breach
of promise suit.
ROCHSTER TIMES-UNION
FRIDAY, JUNE 15, 1934MID-DAY STANDARD
FRIDAY, JUNE 15, 1934
PRIMO CARNERA vs MAX BAER
PRIMO CARNERA vs MAX BAER
Historic boxing newspapers and articles.
