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Show Cerdan Must Be Rated as One Of Ail-Time Top Frenchmen By Lawton Carver Wviw,fco,t.29aj.r Marcel Cerdan was among the three or four greatest fighters ever developed in France. Georges Carpentier, the orchid man wlto was stiffened by Demp-sey, Demp-sey, had a more colorful career, and Eugene Criqui had a touch more all-around class. He flattened Johnny Kilbane for the feather title and lost it on points to Johnny Dundee. But Cerdan probably was a better bet-ter man than the rest, including such as Andrew Routis, who beat Tony Canzoneri, and Marcel Thil, knocked out by Fred Apostoll in his lone American start. They say that the Frenchman from Casablanca, who died Friday in that plane crash on a mountain peak in the Azores, was at his best before he ever reached America. We caught him as he was beginning begin-ning to fade. 4 . 5"" :V'1kitV.nyzij.- ' ' i,I:'; Still he was a whale of a middleweight middle-weight the night he won the title by beating tough Tony Zale so badly that the Gary, Ind., veteran couldn't come out for the 12th i round. He was a little better than all right In his other American fights, too, including the one in which he lost the title last June to Jake Lamotta. Cerdan went eight rounds with a crippled shoulder before tearfully giving up. The respect held for him as a fighter in America, the world's leading nation in producing great fighters, is best emphasized by the fact that Cerdan was favored to beat Lamotta in their return match scheduled for Dec. 2. He fought strictly American style. He was built for the bruising business, with a powerful body,, a tftmWrtacasfee1rfmSerS4fifI. He waded in with a slam-bang rock 'em and sock 'em style, seldom backed up and would take a shot to land one. Idolised In Franc He was Idolized in France and in French Morocco. The night he won the title from Zale at Jersey City in 1946. the French forgot for a moment their post-war tribulations tribula-tions and Paris went into nightlong night-long gaiety with the aid of the flowing grape. He was extremely popular In New York boxing circles as well. He was a good-looking fellow, with a quirk and pleasant smile, quiet manner and the kind of class that makes one man a standout even among his own kind. Beyond that he fought In a way that made you feel you were looking look-ing at a fellow who enjoyed his work. He fought for the love of it as well as for,, the money, which he didn't really need. He was owner of a prosperous cafe and other businesses. Tougk Upbringing That he fought so well was not surprising. H was raised up tough In Casablanca and became the most prominent member of a fighting family. He had three brothers who boxed and his father reputedly was better than a fair hand with his fists. During World War II, while he was in the free French navy, he whipped one American after another an-other while advancing to the interallied inter-allied championship. The 33-year-old veteran of more than 100 ring battles was proud of his prowess and coveted th championship. cham-pionship. Only recently, he said: "This return match with Lamotta is the fight of my life I will win it or die trying." |