WORLD'S BOXERS

Evening Post, Volume XCVII, Issue 56, 8 March 1919, Page 10

WORLD'S BOXERS

INTERNATIONAL LUNCHEON

A luncheon was given at the Savoy! Hotel on 13th December to the boxers of the world's Services who. had fought and won and lost in the, two, days'. battle at Albert Hall for, the* King's trophy. The gathering, which was pre-' sided over by Major-General Feilding ] (writes. B Bennison in the London Daily Telegraph), recalled the nighty we had in pre-war times, when after men had fought for the honour and -glory of our .'Varsities, they sat round,to eat and sup together—winner and loser the best of chums. The occasion was after the heart of the Corinthian. .• Here were phgilists of-all the'countries, who had fought against each other as perhaps they will never fight again, and who by that wonderful thing we call goodfellowship were rhade into a perfectly" happy family. It seemed all incredible, and yet it was all' very natural. There is no vice .in the .fighter, though he be a professional, if he-would fight fair.'Side by side were Jimmy Wilde, and Joo Lynch, the American.. Lynch on Wednesday was pummelled by Wilde ; he left the ring with a nose all askew. Yester-' day Wilde and Lynch delighted to exchange autographs. Our light heavyweight champion, Dick Smithy with an eye blackened, was the immediate companion of the man responsible for his discoloured "optic". Major-General Feilding, *in toasting the teams, paid a warm tribute to their splendid sporting qualities. "Never before in the history of the world," he said, "has such..;a,, boxing tournament been held as that which has just been concluded., It was a tournament symbo^ lical of the great war which brought men from all parts of the world to fight in the cause of right and justice. You men have taken part in' an epoch-making event, and one that never will be forgotten. It: brought the English-speak-ing races together to engage in. a great national sport." ' Captain Bruce Logan, the old amateur boxer, oarsman,' and all-round sportsman, the captain' of the British Army side, and Sergeant' Jim Driscoll, trainer, in a few well-chosen words, replied. Lieutenant-Colonel E. M. Cox, captain of the American team, set up a round of applause by declaring, "We of the American team believe Jimmy Wilde to be the greatest boxer the world has ever seen, or will ever see. He is a most wonderful boxer, and it has given us the greatest possible pleasure to see him in the ring. We have seen such & gathering of champions which we may never see in any competition again, and you have honoured us by inviting us to come over and compete for such a history, making trophy as that presented by the King of England. I consider that Mike O'Dowd is our greatest fighter, but as he is no speech-maker, I would ask Sergeant Eddie M'Goorty to say what O'Dowd would like to say for his comrades." <

■ "Everybody has fought like men," said the world-renowned M'Goorty. "I was not successful, as you know, but I would like to say that I could not have lost to a better fighter or a finer sportsman than Billy Weils, who sits here on my right." Lieutenant-Colonel Ronald Campbell laid bare tho lessons which boxing taught, and, like the enthusiast that: he is, looked forward to the day when, through the medium of the Services, the sport would be practised by every strong, manly man It has been proved that boxing was a great national asset; by the encouragement of it, it would buildup that which we all strived aftei^—an Al nation. Boxing was arranged for making better men, harder and > fitter men, and developing qualities of sacrifice and self-control. Ten years ago boxing in England was nearly stone dead.' ' People were doing their best to stop it, and were saying that boxing was nothing but a scramble. Such an idea had been exploded, and it might very well be that out of the Imperial Services Boxing "Association will spring, a World's Boxing Government, whose rules had only to do with chivalry. "And," continued Colonel Campbell, "I'see no reason wKy in the near future boxing competitions between the countries should not be possible, _ are inter-county football matches. And now, as to those who fought at Albert Hall, I would say that no men could have played a greater and cleaner game. You are, every one of you, the greatest fallows I have met. And as for Jimmy Wilde, he may be the flyweight champion, but he is a heavyweight champion as a sportsman."

Commander C.'C. Walcott, R.N., who, together with Colonel Campbell, had most to do with the making of the Albert Hall tournament, extolled the virtues of boxing, paid the warmest tribute to the professional, insisted that the sport should be legalised in this country, and advocated a system by which the schools, the universities, and the Services would be linked together for the development and betterment, of the game. ,