LOUIS FIRPO.

Auckland Star, Volume LIV, Issue 110, 10 May 1923, Page 8

LOUIS FIRPO.

LATEST BOXING SENSATION. HIS DEFEAT OF BRENNAN. Louis Firpo, the sensational heavyweight from the Argentine, is the boxer iof the moment. He weighs 215 pounds | in good condition, and is said to possess ! a punch that would fell an ox. He looks i more like a wrestler than a boxer, pos- '. seseing enormous shoulders and neck. JHe has a striking appearance. He ie square-jawed and has bold dark eyes and black curly hair. Hie face ie pale, rather than sallow. He is the high • bred Castilian type, with the body of a J giant. J Firpo's sensational defeat of Brennan, • who was considered one of the most formidable contenders for the world's heavyweight championship, has been the cause of lifting Firpo to a position of prominence in the boxing world antl ranking him as probably the most for- ! midable fighter known since Dempsey I stepped into the ring against Jess Willard some years ago. NO "8008 ,, THIS FIRPO. "When Firpo came to New York," it is said, "he made quite a name for himself, and the Spanish colony took him up and attempted to guide him through the rough seas of matchmaking and put him wise to what was what. They might just as well have saved themselves the trouble, as Firpo was far from being a boob, who could be fleeced and discarded. ' It would have been more like it if he had taken the Spanish Colony up and showed them the way to go. He could speak no English, but he was the politest fellow you ever saw. He raised hia hat so high when he met you that you expected him to shout 'hurray.' Before he was in New York a week there were dozens of ecouts running all over the place giving him cheap publicity and making him the talk of j tVs town. When he walked down the street, his handsome massive figure and striking appearance made everybody stop and take a second look. That's Firpo,' the public would say. 'He's going to fight Dempsey.' A FINANCIAL GENIUS. "Firpo got in touch with a camera man and soon collected a lot of moving flght pictures on the cheap. He sent them down to the Argentine and sold them at enormous profits. If ever a wise guy came to New York, it was this Firpo. There wasn't anyone in the town that could keep pace with his genius for high finance. He was more talked about than the President of the United States. He was taken everywhere: feted and treated to dinners, suppers, receptions, and no one ever saw him pay for a ticket. All the shrewd clever boxers and managers who had been spending money to get into the limelight were standing on the sidewalk wondering how he put it over. "HE HAD THE GOODS." "He had the goods,, however, and in ths three contests that he had while he was in the States he won in convincing style. He had them in the open air, so that he could get the picture rights and sell them in South America. The public down there paid up two and three dollars to see him on the screen. All the same, he showed them what he was made of in the ring. A little slow to begin, but after three or four rounds he is :*, whirlwind and possessed a right hand that meant sleep, perfect sleep, if it (landed. There-were those in New York who will bet even money that he can beat Dempsey if he can get through the first four rounds. A NATIONAL HERO. "When he wont back to the Argentine a national holiday was declared, and people paraded the strets waving banners with 'Firpo, the next world's champion,' written on them. He became the raga. Like the pastry-cook who named his confection after the great Napoleon, the business people of Buenos Aires named collars, socks, ties and cocktails after Firpo. Tt was Firpo hats and Firpo boots. Firpo this and Firpo that. Gee? They would have made that guy President if he wanted the job. "Nearly all the contests in Buenos Aires are now promoted by him, and he is reported to have cleared 125,000 dollars for his fight with Tracey. He got away with Traeey in four rounds, not a bad "days work,'eh? Now that he has knocked out Brennan he will certainly pet a crack at Dempsey, as he ha« completely gripped the public imagination. Even his Spanisli friends talk of the day when he will meet the champion of the world, .Tack Dempsey."