[1980-08-05-Joint Promotions] Johnny South vs Ringo Rigby

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[SAMS]

1980-08-05
Joint Promotions
Johnny South vs Ringo Rigby
Bedworth, Warwickshire, United Kingdom
★★★

South was sporting the most unfortunate combover and looked like somebody’s 45 year old librarian dad had just rocked up to the ring. While both men weren’t afraid of pushing the boundaries of the rules, South certainly had the edge in taking liberties. He repeatedly got in a cheap shot or an attack after the bell but without it feeling calculated like a Rocco, Breaks or McManus. 
This certainly was pretty excellent for about two rounds. Rigby showed off his quickness, and he certainly had the advantage, being the lighter man by a good 2 stone. Despite the weight disparity he was able to get the early lead and whenever he was in trouble would find some clever way to escape or turn the tides.
Things kind of lost their way in the middle part as the chippiness from both men increased but it felt more and more that Rigby faded. South was doing the right things but he didn’t have the force of personality to get it across to the crowd in the way I think he intended and they were unusually muted at times. But things never went completely off the rails to dampen the match too much.
The final round picked up as South increasingly went for broke to level things and Rigby had enough in the tank for a final flurry and a neat sequence at the end had him drill a few nice forearms before getting a diving rolling cradle for the 2-0 victory. 

[tcg91]

Another good World of Sports contest. Rigby reminded me of a very green late 80s Owen Hart, he's got nice flashiness and smoothness on the mat, a bit rusty at times but that is what makes him "real" and all of his action never feels forced. On the other hand, South seemed a lot like a Dick Slater, as he used his size but was also not afraid to get his hands dirty on the mat. However, they were lacking the personality to get this to next level, as the crowd was never 100% into it. It was quite original to start a few rounds with Rigby still selling on the floor, it was an interesting dynamic. It was a good match all along and a clean finish never hurts
***1/4