Hogan Kid Bassey By Rob Snell

[Mofo2]

16 August 1959

After-the-Bell Punch

Beat Me, Bassey Says

LOS ANGELES (AP)—The manager of ex-featherweight champion Hogan (Kid) Bassey Friday blamed an after the bell punch for the little Nigerian's downfall last spring. But he said it won't happen again when Bassey meets Davey Moore for the title Wednesday.

"Bassey was in charge of the first fight until the bell ' rang at the end of the sixth round," said George Biddles. "Then he dropped his hands and Moore cut his eye with an after the bell punch."

Moore won the fight and the title when Bassey's cuts forced him to retire after the 12th round. “Now I’am not accusing Moore of being a dirty fighter," Biddles said. "It was up to Bassey to protect himself at all times. "He failed to do so, but has learned his lesson the hard way - losing his title."

However, Biddies admitted that Moore had opened up a cut over Bassey's eye with a sizzling and extremely legal left hook in the early rounds.

"But it was the illegal punch after the sixth that did most of the damage," Biddies insisted.

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THE ENGLISH tavern owner said he is confident that his little African lion will take the title back to England. "I'm not taking anything away from Moore," Biddies said. "He's a good fighter and an aggressive one. "But Bassey is a better workman in the ring and will be ready for him.

"You won't see Hogan bleeding as he was the last time. First, he'll protect himself after the bell and second he'll have an expert in his corner.

"Johnny Villaflor, the cut man from California, is one of the fight game's great experts in his profession."

End

Davey Moore, the pint-sized boxer who won the world's featherweight championship from Hogan (Kid) Bassey of Nigeria here last March, Saturday was an 8-5 favorite to do it again Wednesday night in their nationally televised rematch at Olympic Auditorium.

The scheduled 15-round contest will be telecast but will be blacked out within a 300-mile radius of Los Angeles.

Moore, 25-year-old son of a Kentucky minister, cut Bassey over both eyes in their first meeting and was awarded a 13th round knockout.

But Bassey, born Okon Bassey Asuquo 27 years ago to a tribal chieftain in Calibar, Nigeria, was well behind on the scorecards of all three officials when his manager, George Biddles, halted the fight.

The Initial meeting, which was Bassey's second defense of the 126-pound title, drew a crowd of 7,400 fans and a gross gate of $65,000 at this same Olympic Auditorium. Promoter Cal Eaton was predicting a near sellout of more than 10,000 and a gate between $90,-000 and $100,000 for the rematch.

Biddles, although insisting that Bassey will regain the crown, had hired one of California's veteran "cut men," Johnny Villaflor, to attend to the between-rounds welfare of his boxer. Noticeably absent from the Bassey entourage are the two corner men who were unable to stem the flow of blood in the first fight.

The bout will be the first for both fighters since the title changed hands. It will be Bassey's fourth appearance in Los Angeles and Moore's eighth. Bassey won the title by stopping Cherif Hamia in 10 rounds in Paris on June 24, 1957, in the finale of an elimination tournament prompted by the retirement of champion Sandy Saddler.

The gentlemanly Nigerian, who now lives in Liverpool, made one successful title defense — knocking out Mexico's erratic Ricardo (Pajarito) Moreno in three rounds here at Wrigley Field Apr. 1, 1958. His other showing here, last December, resulted in a 10-round non-title decision over Ernesto Parra of Mexico at Hollywood Legion Stadium.

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