Karl Mildenberger ~ 'I Had The Formula To Beat Cassius Clay'

[Bill Paxtom]

February 3, 1966

Festhalle ~ Frankfurt, Germany

Promoter .... 'Empire Boxing Enterprises'

Attendance ....... { 13,000 } 'Sell-Out'

{#5} Karl Mildenberger ~ 47-2-3 {17 KO's} ~ 6 1 1/2' ~ 196 1/4 lbs. ~ {Age; 28 years, 2 months}
vs.
{NR} Eddie Machen ~ 47-6-3 {29 KO's} ~ 6' 0" ~ 192 1/4 lbs. ~ {Age; 33 years, 7 months}
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Karl Mildenberger is now ranked #5 WBA and #7 Ring Magazine. Karl will be facing his most
experienced American opponent in Eddie Machen.

Karl is now on the thresh-hold of earning a Championship bout with Cassius Clay.

Eddie Machen has not fought in 9-Months, since fighting to a 10-Round Draw with Elmer Rush
on May 10, 1965. Eddie has fallen out of the World Top 25 ratings.

Eddie has gone {0-2-1} in his last '3-Bouts', and registered his last win on February 17, 1964
when he scored a {KO 1} over Duke Sabedong.

The fighters signed for this bout on January 5, 1966 > so both have had ample time {4-Weeks}
to prepare.
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~ The Skinny ~

Bruno Mueller {Manager} has brought in American Boxing Trainer from New York {John Pomponio}
to help improve the technical skills of Karl Mildenberger.

John Pomponio >
"I have never seen another fighter world as hard as Karl. He wants to improve in every Gym session."

Also, The Mildenberger Camp has brought over 'Bobcat' Bob Stallings from New York to be Karl's
sparring-partner.

Karl Mildenberger >
"I'll win a Decision. All I have to do, is stay outside and use my right-jab, and stay away from his
strength, which is in-fighting."

Eddie Machen >
"If that 'old-man' Dave Bailey can drop 'Milde' 3-Times, then I'm sure that I can too. Once I get
inside his jabs, I'll rip him up inside."
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~ Mildenberger Wins Another Odd-Bout In Germany ~

Karl Mildenberger defeated American - Eddie Machen by 10-Round Decision at the Festhalle in Frankfurt.

Though the #5 WBA-Ranked Heavyweight won, it was another odd-bout for the 'highly-ranked' German.

Both Mildenberger {196 lbs.} and Machen {192 lbs.} fought on relatively even terms drung the first
2-Rounds Mildenberger. The German using his southpaw-stance boxed carefully as he used right-jabs from
the outside, while the American moved in close, and attempted to land combinations to the body.

In Rounds 3 and 4, Machen fought like a 'caged animal', as he would unleash fast '3-Punch' flurries on the
inside, and then back into a shell.

But as each time that Machen appeared to gain control, Referee - Gerhard Seewald would move in, and call
'Break' and pulled Machen off for no reason at all. Each time that the Referee called 'Break', the packed house
of { 13,000 } hissed with displeasure.

In Rounds 5 and 6, Machen started to gain control, as he raked the German on the inside with a series of hard
'left-right' combinations to both the head and body, and swung the bout in his favor.

In Round 6, the Referee was completely in the wrong, as he pulled-out Machen after he landed a hard flurry
that had Mildenberger on the complete defenside. The Festhalle spectators voiced their disapproval with
loud boo's directed at the Referee.

In Round 7, the pattern followed the same, but during one exchange, Referee - Gerhard Seewald moved in
to pull off Machen, but the American flung his elbow and caught the Referee in the head, knocking him backwards
and down to the canvas at the {1:00 Mark}.

The action was halted, and Gerhard Seewald was helped to his feet and out of the Ring. After a 5-Minute
break, a replacement Referee {Helmut Betram} was brought in.

When action resumed, both fighters traded with fair punches to the head and body for the next 2-Minutes,
until the end of Round 7.

Coming out for Round 8, Mildenberger fought more aggressively, and started to use his powerful right-hand
to pepper Machen backwards. As Machen was forced to the back-center Ropes, Mildenberger unleashed
'2' powerful left-hooks to the head, and dropped Machen near the Ropes.

Machen was down briefly, and was up at the '1-Count'. But Mildenberger gained control, and used his sharp
right-jabs to clearly dominate the Round.

In Rounds 9 and 10, it was Mildenberger who landed more punches, as he scored with 'long-range' right-hands,
as Machen stalked but who was unable to establish an effective offense.

The Ring Official scored the bout for Karl Mildenberger { 97-94 } or 5-3-2 in Rounds.