BOXING.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 431, 13 February 1909, Page 12

BOXING.

tßt Mp.ncunT.) That Bill Squires >is a back number musta at last bo realised by tho Australian public, and suroly a glimmering of this truth must now bo breaking upon "Bill" himself. Tho man in tho street has stuck to tho Newcastle miner right loyally, (indeed, nearly every, body has done so), and truth to tell, Squires has thoroughly deserved the support. Hβ has'been n sound performer, .within his limits—an honest straight goor—and altogether ' a credit to tho ring, but, like many another, he has Jagged superfluous on the field, and can no longer bo taken seriously in , first-class boxing company. \ * , Lang's victory ensures him his tour with John Eon as sparring partner. It is likely that ho will be taken to' America and matched with Al. Kaufman,, tho rising young "heavy," who is tho white man's hope of regaining the big title from the Ethiopian. Promoter Dβlanoy is managing for Kaufman. ,He is a ( young Californian, 23 years of ago, .over 6 foot in stature, and 14 stono odd in-weight, and is rapidly pushing into the, front rank of the poor lot of bie men now in action in the States, Veteran Tom Sh'arkey.is-also talking of picking up tho white man's burden, and, in default of a better man, of, getting in the game again to capture that title, ■ Thus the ex-man-of-warsinan: "I said the other day that I would never fight a negro. Now I am boiling-over with rago because a black man holds the title. That won't do for Tom Sharkey. I'll go out and try to win the title back from him. I'll be ready in'three months to fight him to a finish. I picked the-winner at that. Burns is too small for a champion. No man five feet seven high has any business in tho ring with a fellow like Jack Johnson. From tho first time I {jaw tho pictures of the Burns-O'Brien.fight I felt that the first big who' fought Burns would whip him. There is no use expecting Jeft'rios to come out of his retirement. He is stubborn, and he won't break his word. Who is there left then' to fight this negro? Not a single man, and that's why I'm. coming back.i If Jeff, would agree to como out and go after J, Johnson, I'd step aside and let him fight. -But a white man must-hold tho championship." •• A. J. Soanlon, who will-be remembered as ' representing Queensland in the Australasian championships held in tho Opera House some seasons back, has gono over to the professionals'. He fought for the ,- Queensland mid-dle-weight title and a purso of, £50' on. January 20, at the new Stadium in Brisbane. His opponent was the) negro, Joe Walcott, who i led on points up to the nineteenth v round, when ho was ousted on a foul, and the match , was awarded to Scanlon. W. J, Elliott, the Dominion's champion feather-weight, was scheduled to meet VDealor". Wells'at-the, Gaiety, Sydney, on 1 the night of .Tuesday Wst.--" , ''< - Jimt JerEnesrfho"lds-"f6rtb , j on tho present 1 boxing position:— "Tommy Burns has his price—3o,ooo dol1* Y ~ ns O as ', s °W his pride,-the pride lof the Caucasian race, Bums was mad— monoy mad. ',Tho whito champion worshipped at tho shrine of Mammon. The dolUre he coveted are his, but : at what a prico!" "For the first timo in the'history, of the pnzo ring a" negro holds' the title of > all titles—the heavy-weight championship of the world. . Tommy Burns as a climax to'a ring career that has. been'anything but brilliant, has now allowed the' black shadow—Jack Johnson—that has, been hovering over the hoavy-yroight throne for>' so many months, to finally descend upqn'-tho coveted orown and titlo. Tho Canadian'never will bo forgiven by the public for allowing the title of the best physical man in' the world to bo wrested from his keeping*by a member of tho,African Taco.' The same people who have been condemning Burns for heretofore refusing to meet Jaok Johnson, will be the first to condemn him for having allowed Johnson tq wrest the supremacy away from him. Jaok Johnson is now the - champion, and as such is entitled to all the glory that his victory over Burns may bring him. The fact that Johnson is a negro cannot bo held against him by the followers of the boxing gamo, Tho_ time, to .draw tho colour line is at tha timo that,a challenge is issued. As I havo said before, all men are the samo 'oolour after tho eong sounds. Tommy'Biirns's .mistake, the one great mistake of his career, was in allowing Johnson the opportunity to fight for tho titlo. I rofused timo and again to meet Johnson while I iWas holding tho titlo, oven though I k:icw I qould boat him. I would never allow a nog/o a chance to fight for 'tho world's" championship, and I adviso all other champions to follow-the same course. Tommy Burns has been vastly overrated as a fighter. This has always been' my belief, yet I never realised the Canadian's shortcomings so thoroughly until I listened to the returns of tho Australian battlo. Before the bout was on half a minute, Burns was lying on his baok in tho ring. The battlo was practically over when Johnson landed this punch. Think of Burns succumbin;; fiom one wallop from tho man who had allowed Marvin Hart to stay with him for twenty rounds 1 It was apparent to me that tho fight was as good as over when I heard that Tommy was on his back in tho opening round, with tho roferee counting oft him. The beat man won, 'and I cannot for the life of mo see who Johnson is going to fight now. Ho looks to me to be a heavyweight charrpion out of a job. Judging from tho'cabled reports, though, Australia presents a good field for Johnson,; and he may ho able to pick-up something there All night long I was besieged with telegrams asking tae to ro-entor the ring. I answer them now as I have ,'answored them hundreds of times": 'I havo fought my last fight.' " • j The above is striking—striking and stupid. It is stupid becauso it is so very, very different from what Jeffries said bupoius the figlvt, unless his reported remarks have been much, "Amorioanisod," A Sydney journal, which has earned a reputation for tempering justice with justice, probably put things far past the mere babble of words when it printed tho following :—"Tho Americans are marvellous people. Threo months ago, they wero calling to Tommy'Burns-with one united call to drop his nonsense about the colour lijic, and face Brother Johnson like a man. Jim Jeffries called in this' regard as loudly and as persistently as any of them. When the U.S. heard that Tliomns was really poing to meet tho Man tlioy were pleased. They started forecastitiK the result of the event, and many of their forecasts favoured tho white champion, Jim Jeffries, for examplf, went into details on the subject, and f,avo Burns the decision six weeks before the fight on his superior footwork, his infiehtinp ability, pntl his gameuess, Now tlii> ficklo Jnmes is sayinsr something verv different. Of » verity, N. Brusso spoke sooth when ho remarked after the Johnson chastisement, that "Americans have, no use for a beaten man." They are tho world's worst sportsmen. '