BOXING

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 112, 14 May 1927, Page 23

BOXING

■t "Acncai."

HEAVYWEIGHT FIELD

REVIEW OF THE POSITION

FORTUNES MADE BY CHAMPIONS

The heavyweights of the world have been reviewed by the well-known English referee, Mr. Eugene Corri, who states: —

The more I study the heavyweight position, not only in this country but in America, the more am I convinced that the quality of. the big men, with the possible exception of Tunney, is very moderate. I refuse to believe, for instance, • that Paolini, save for his strength, has any sort of right to try ?° r il the world's title. I will not, have it that he is more than a third-rater Jim Maloney, despite his victory over Delaney, is no wonder. Jack Sharkey is a doubtful quantity, and at the moment we cannot say whether Jack Dempsey is to' be taken seriously. Sn<* being the case, it is in the nature of things that various of our sportsmen, rather than having given up hope that they will yet discover a potential champion, are more optimistic than ever that they will unearth a youngster who, in a twelve-month, will be made fit to take his chances with the best of them. "There never was a period when the way to winning the heavyweight crown seemed to be less difficult. And for this reason Phil. Scott, being the most experienced of our big fellows, has an unexampled opportunity of forcing himself to the front. There are those who are more than doubtful that Scott will make completely good, but it is only fair to do all we can to encourage him in his belief Wat he may get to the top of the tree. 1 "If I were in his shoes I should never cease clamouring for a crack at the men who are after establishing the right to a battle with Tunney. If given the chance, Scott, according to my reckoning, would be definitely out of the running for the highest honours which the ring offers, if he could not beat Paolini. He should at least prove that ho is the equal of Jack Sharkey, and also should have no fear of Maloney. Really, when you come to take stoclf-nf things, there is not a very great deal in the way of heavyweights jii (ho lield. And that is why, within recent days, all sorts of giants have given it out that, if they were sure of support, they would take to the ring instead of pursuing an everyday business career.

"There is one young gentleman, a public school boy, who believes that there is more in fighting than in law, a profession which it was intended he should embrace. Fighting for a living, whatever weight you may be, represents a terribly hard job. In the business of fighting there are more failures than successes. But, with the stories of the fabulous wealth that has come the way of such as Dempsey, Tunney, La Barba (the flyweight champion of the world), and others of the top-notch-, ers, is it to be wondered at that so many of pur lusty youngsters are seriously thinking of making a profession of the ring? To those who have it in them to make good, the trade of--fight-ing offers bigger salaries than perhaps any other calling. And the heavywoight of uncommon capacity may be

sure of making more money than the lighter weights. "Supposing that Jimmy Wilde, say, had been a thirteen-stone man, he would have retired with ten times the fortune that; he built up as a flyweight There is no limit to the earning capacity of a heavyweight champion. Take lunney. Six years ago, when I saw nim in a curtain-raiser at Jersey City, I don't suppose that he was getting more than a handful of dollars. Until he forced himself into a fight with Dempsey, I doubt that he got more than made ends meet. When he defends his title in the summer he will perhaps be worth a million dollars. "Win or lose, he will have enough money to keep him in affluence for the rest of his life. He need never again put on a glove. La Barba, they tell me, though no more than a boy, is rich enough for any purpose. It seems but the other day that I saw him in the Olympic Games; then he was just a schoolboy. La Barba will fight at the Albert Hall for what to most of us would be a tremendous fortune. Micky Walker is no pugilistic phenomenon, but he will get from C. L. Cochran many thousands of pounds to fight Tommy Milligan. When Carpentier was in his 'teens he was earning more money than any Cabinet Minister. Oh, yes, as a commercial proposition fighting is decidedly worth the while for those who have a real flair for the game. "We may rail about the iniquity of big purses until we are black in the face, but the odds are that purses, instead of becoming less, will become bigger. If all goes well with him, Teddy Baldock, long before he is thirty years of age, should be more than a passably rich man. And even Phil. Scott, with all his limitations, has perhaps made more money than he would have done if he had spent his whole life in the fire brigade.

News From Les Murray. In a letter to a friend in Wellington, Les Murray, ex-lightweight champion of New Zealand, who is now in America, states that his shoulder was still troubling him, and that he had decided on a trip to Europe. The tour is to embrace the Azores, Madeira, Algeria, Sicily, Greece, Turkey, Syria, Palestine, Egypt and Italy. He intends to leave the ship w. Italy and visit Pompeii and Venice and then travel through Switzerland and France to England. Murray hopes to start for New Zealand, via New York. He states that Gene Tunney and Billy Gibson, his manager, will be in Londo/n while he is there.

Commenting on Grime's quest for tho featherweight title in America, the New Zealander says:—"One thing he will have to do here is to fight hard and punch hard all the time. The people in America will not stand for "stalling." If Grime can knock over a.couple of men he will make good." "Tom Heeney went very well against Paolino in Madison Square Garden recently. Nearly all the papers gave their verdict in his favour, but the Spaniard got the decision. Tom should be able to make a lot of money as ho is very popular with the crowd who consider that he got a "raw" deal. He may meet Harry Wills next summer in the Polo Grounds." Otago Contests. The Otago Boxing Association will hold a tournament, probably about the end.of this month, and if its programme is carried out it will be a most interesting one. The programme provides i|r two professional . matches. Hector Leckie is to meet Tommy Griffiths in a 10-round bout, and Johnny Leckie, wh.o is regarded by Archie Leckie as the bost pupil of the family, will make his first appearance as a professional in a contest with Harry Gunn, of Timaru, over 10 rounds. I understand that j

all the competitors mentioned aboy» have signed the necessary articles.Tunney On His Next Fight. Gene Tunney, -world's heavy-weight boxing champion, expects to meet either Jimmy Maloney or Jack Sharkey in_ a title bout next September, he saia, in discussing Maloney Js victory over Jack Delaney. "Maloney is a rough, rugged fellow: who knows the game," said Tunney. "Sharkey, too, is of an aggressive type. Those boys ought to stage a whirlwind battle. I hope they do; I hope also that there is a decisive winner. Of course' Jack Dempsey is still in the running, but he hasn't made his position positive yet. The way it looks now it will be Maloney or Sharkey against; whom I will defend my title in September. Delaney and M'Tigue are all right as light heavy-weights, bat the old saying, you know—a good big man can beat a good little man—still holds good as a*general rule." Tunney admitted that either Sharkey or Maloney was big enough and good enough to have a good chance to grab his' title. "But," he added, "I'm quite certain that neither can defeat me." Northern Asociation. , The annual report of the Northern Boxing Association states that there has been a loss on the past year's workings of £424. During the year the association ran the provincial amateur championship tourney, and staged (to! 31st Ma:.h last) eight, . professional bouts. An Auckland team was sent to the New Zealand championship tourney at Napier, at a cost of £114, and one of the team, F. Taylor, was successful,retaining the bantam-weight title. A number of amateur bouts were staged in conjunction with each, of the professional matches, and financial and managerial assistance had been given to various gymnasiums boxing clubs, and colleges for the benefit of amateur boxing. The balance-sheet showed that £1189 had been paid during the year for professional purses and expen.-es, £183 for amateur trophies, and just on. £100 in/ subsidies to trainers of amateurs^ and donations to amateur organisations. The accumulated fund at the close of the year stood at £2260. - Tommy Griffiths' Record.

Tommy Griffiths, who will take part in a feather-weight contest at Napier on the 18th inst., is one of the cleverest boxers turned out in Otago. fie joined the professional 1 ranks leas than two years ago, and since then has had eight fights, of which he has won five, drawn two, and lost one. As an amateur he won 46 out of 49 contests, losing the other three. He won the first Otago championship as a fly-weight an. 1921, and won again in 1922. ' The full list of the other amateur championships in the bantam and lightweight division standing to his credit is as follows:—Mid-Canterbury championship, (at Ashburton), 1922; South Island championship (at Timaru), 1922--New Zealand championship (at Auckland, 1922; Otago championship (at Dunedin), 1923; South Island championship (at Ashburton), 1923: New Zealand championship (at Dunedin), 1923; Otago championship- (at Dunedin), 1924; New Zealand championship (at Wellington), 1924; Otago championship (at ■ Dunadin), 1925: .Centre championship (at Invercargill), 1925; New Zealand championship (at Christchurch), 1925. > M'Donald and Casey Again. ' . Though they have not yet Bigned up, both Lachie M'Donald and Harry Casey have agreed to fight in Christchurch on the percentage basis, and' the match is to take place in King Edward Barracks on 3rd June (says the Christchurch "Sun"). Casey is still on the West Coast. This will be theif fourth meeting- .■•■'..