Bill Speary Rules Favorite to Defeat Mike Raffa in 10-Round Go Tonight

Speary ranked ON EXPERIENCE, SPEED

The number one featherweight contender, Billy Speary of Nanticoke, Pa., today was rated a 6-to-5 favorite to defeat Pittsburgh Mike Raffa when they step into the ring tonight at Convention Hall for 10-rounds or less of fighting.

Speary, who sends off punches like offensive, was accorded an edge in experience in speed but the power which Raffa packs in his right hand made the Cauliflower Gentry cautious of going overboard for Billy, whose only defeats is turning pro came in non-title go at Baltimore against Champion Harry Jeffra.

Both fighters will have heavy stakes in tonight's bout.  Speary risks the more.  Raffa has more to gain. The Nanticoke fighter is in line for shot at Jeffra's crown at Wilkes-Barre and a defeat at the hands of Raffa would explode his designs on the purple in his face.  Raffa, on the contrary, can scaled the fistic heights by defeating Speary and thereby winning a place among the top-ranked battlers in his class.

And put on a more material basis, the victor in tonight's battle stands to pick up a pretty piece of change by coming back here  in another show at the new sports arena.  The glory is there for the fight, sure, but the doe ri me is there, to.

Both fighters worked out here yesterday and appeared fit and ready to go.  Raffa was pronounced in the best shape of his career by manager Ray Foutts, who has had his boy working out in New York under Trainer Ray Arcel.  Speary's mouthpiece, Joe Netro, radiated  confidence and regaled the hangers-on at the Elks Club with talk of Billy's impressive drills.

See Also Speary vs. Raffa