BOXING

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXI, Issue 19035, 12 June 1924, Page 6

BOXING

TO GULL THE PUBLIC.

HOW CHAMPIONS PROTECT TITLES. NEW YORK ACTS. NEW YORK, April 27. Boxing news broke in bunches in of days. Summaris* Tex Rickard will stage a twelverociL'd bout at Boyle's Thirty Acres..' Jersey City, on May 30, between Pacciio Villa, world’s flyweight champion, and Frankie Genaro, American ehampiod. Obic-al decisions are not allowed in New Jersey. Rickard, at the same place, will stage a twelve-round bout on July 4, Independence Day, between BennyLeonard.. light-weight champion of the world, and Mickey Walker, wel-ter-weight champion of the world. * On July 4 Georges Carpentier may meet, Tern Gibbons at Michigan City, Gid’ana—police and politicians pcr.ni'iting—in a no-decision bout of ten rounds, or less. On Monday, September 1, accord>ig to the Press agents, Jack Denip•<=y may meet Luis Firpo at Boyle's Thirty Acres for twelve rounds, or LEGISLATING THE FAKERS The Legislative Committee, which held hearings on the Lord Bill before the New York Legislature, which measure was designed to kill legalised boxing, voted down the bill by 12 to 2. The New York Boxing Commission postponed the announcement of its findings on Tom O’Rourke's charge, before the Legislative Committee having the Lord Bill under consideration, that Tex Rickard “stood in with rhe spectators’* on tickets for the Dempsey-Firpo bout last September. The New York Commission passed a rule that when a bout between a champion and a “logical contender” is advertised the participants shall be within New York State lor ten days preceding the bout, shall be under the control of its inspectors, and shall bo subjected to weighing from time to time. That ten-day rule is more important than appears on the surface. It is designed to prevent a growing and fraudulent practice which works out something on this order. A champion wishing to meet a boxer who would be a drawing card, but who is close, to the weight limit, arranges a match with the challenger. HOW THE TRICK WORKED So far, so good; hut the champion, or his manager, in order to save the champion from the possibility of losing the title, binds the challenger with a secret agreement, backed by heavy forfeits, that the challenger shall conic in well overweight for the class. Au overweight challenger cannot win a championship, but the dear old public does not know that the challenger will carry excess poundage, and buys tickets in advance, at large prices per ticket, on the assumption that a championship bout will be seen. In the end the ticket-buyers see a bout in which nothing is at stake. A couple of months ago Pancho Villa was matched with Frankie Marks, a Brooklyn Hebrew, for what was supposed to be a title bout at the flyweight limit of 1121 b. Villa who was an entirely innocent party, weighed 1111 b at the regulation time of 2 p.m., but Marks weighed 116|lb, hence those who bought tickets in advance were stung. HEAVY PENALTIES. The Commission investigated,, gus pended Frank Churchill, Villa’s manager, for 60 days, suspended Marks and his manager, ’Charlie Cook, for 60 days, and deprived Madison Square Garden of its license for one show, which was inflicting, indirectly, a heavy fine. The Garden was in bad, because investigation revealed that, although Marks was supposed to have posted a large weight forfeit with the Garden promoters, he had posted nothing at all. Churchill trapped himself by failing to claim Marks’ forfeit. One is glad to report that Villa gave Marks a terrific beating, and that Marks did not bet enough out of the purse to pay for losing sixty days of work in the ring. The present New York Boxing Commission is keeping abreast of the times, and is making every effort to baulk Ihe wily lads who try to put something over on the patrons of the game, as well as on rivals in the ring. Hereafter, if the Commission inspectors have reason to believe that either champion or challenger, or both, will be overweight, that fact will be given to the newspapers, so that the ticket-buyers will have due warning. A GLARING CASE. Incidentally, the United States is not the only ’country w'herein the overweight gag has been sprung on a boxer and on the public. The most glaring case of the kind which I can recall was furnished in Australia in 1919 or 1920 by Digger Evans, who was well known in the London ring at various times during the war. Evans returned to Australia with a big reputation, and was matched with the bantam champion. He posted a forfeit to make the bantam limit, but, if I remember correctly, did not come within six or eight pounds of the limit. Of course the forfeit went to the champion, but the extra poundage enabled Evans to win with comparative ease. As they were boxing for a winner’s and not a loser’s percentage, and there was a big house, the loss of the forfeit was a minor detail to the winner.

That Dempsey will box all this year may be doubteu vpry strongly, in view of his recent signing of a movie contract which, his boosters flamboyantly announce, will pay the champion one million dollars. Discussing Dempsey is a waste of time and newspaper space until he starts training again