“Hurricane” Carter KO’s Italy’s Fabio Bettini in Paris

Feb. 22, 1965 - Rubin (Hurricane) Carter of Trenton, N.J., fighting his second major bout in 10 days, knocked out Italy’s Fabio Bettini, an Italian living in France, 15 seconds before the scheduled end of their 10-round bout at the Palais des Sports in Paris tonight. 

Until then, the muscular Carter had been giving his opponent a bad beating.

Carter, the middleweight contender from Paterson, N.J., dropped Bettini with a right cross for the count of 2 in the first round. Bettini had welts on his side by the second. His face was puffy and red by the third.

In the fifth round, Carter opened a cut under the Italian’s right eye. Then he caught Bettini moving in and knocked him down. Bettini popped up quickly, and the referee was so surprised he let the bout continue without a count.

Finally, in the 10th round, Carter dropped the Italian with a left hook 20 seconds before the bell. Bettini again got up quickly but this time was hit with a right cross that finished him.

Carter weighed 157 pounds and Bettini 160½, but the Italian looked thin next to the American.

Bettini, whom the French press had described as a sacrifice for “The Hurricane,” did not win a round. Carter was never in trouble, shaking off his foe’s punches with disdain. 

For all his dominance, however, Carter did not seem in top form. He was slow to take advantage of his knockdowns and, by the seventh round, was sucking in air through his mouthpiece in long gasps.

The crowd of 5,000 cheered Carter as he left the ring. Ten days ago, he was outpointed by Luis Rodriguez, the Cuban exile, at Madison Square Garden.

Bettini had gone into the ring with two claims to fame: he never had been knocked out, and he held Sugar Ray Robinson to draws in 1963 and 1964. 

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