IN THE RING

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 153, 26 December 1931, Page 6

IN THE RING

BY "AeNEAS"

A GREAT LIGHTWEIGHT

TONY CANZONERI

WON TWO WORLD'S TITLES

i Tony Canzouofi, who knocked out Al - Singer in such a hurry to got th,e world's lightweight championship, is a real fighter with a fighting record; writes j Robert Edgren in. the "San Francisco Chronicle." He is the kind of fighter ' Jack D.empsey admires...,..., Tony was born in New Orleans, home town of that great lightweight of days long ago, Joe Mandot. He is Italian-American-—a combination that has provided a large percentage of the title holders and good fighting men in recent years. Canzoneri is remarkable as the only modem champion who has held both the featherweight and the lightweight world championships. Only one other lightweight, champion ever held the featherweight title. That was Frank Eriie, perhaps the cleverest lightweight of'them all. When Frank was a little fe'Uow he leaped into fame : - by def eating'the great George Dixon, featherweight champion; in a 20-round bout at tlie feather limit -of those days—l22lb ringside. ... ,'-.' . It.was something of a feat to beat Little Chocolate,.who. was considered almost invincible." Just how much !of a ijeat-it was may be noted from the fact "that-Erne beat Dixon on 27th November, 1596, and lost'to Dixoii in 25 .rounds less, than a year later, 7th- April, 1897. 'Ertio.woii the'lightweight championship .froiii IJid Lavigne less, v than' three years after lib' had grabbed the feather-;!3rd-JuTy," 1899.' Many bf .'these! ehainpionship .battles between' very clever fighters aeeustomed.to fights of twenty rounds or more were won on decisions. . . : It was a different, and a better style of fighting than; the hurly-burly style ■ that started with Philadelphia six-round no-decision bouts, that demanded rushed action and little of anything else. Erne's, class was.shown "in his fights with such'ring masters as George Siddons, Solly Smith,' Jack Skelly, George ; Dixon, Young Gr.iffo, Jack Downey, Mari j-in Flaherty, George Lavigne, .Dal i Hawkins, George ''Elbows" M'Fadden.,; • a'nSJoe Gang, any of whom ;inight be a 1 i champion among the'fighters of to-day.' Terry M'Govern was. another 'old-' timer who collected world titles, who; won both the bantamweight and the: featherweight crownsj and who might have been lightweight champion if he had had the chance. , Terry knocked out the great Joe Gansat his bi?st,"butbe- . fore Gans became-' lightweight' titieholder. ' . ' ' . ' { ' . : *" " ; Terry knocked out Erne when' Frank : was lightweight, champion, but the title did not go with the fight because Erne: made 1261b for. M'Govern —the lightweight'limit, then being 1331b—and because of this weight concession by .the: champion the title was not'at stake; ■ Tony Canzoneri won his title from- \ Benny Bass when the New York;Cqm- ! mission'officialiy recognised.this match for 'the ' championship/ This was on; 23rdi'February, ;1925, and he; held the : honQur: less than a year, losing it on 28th 'September, 1928, on another 15----round "decision, to Andre Itoutis. Tony was growing, and had a hard time keeping at the weight in the lighter class. He Went on fighting as a lightweight, and the next year beat Eoutis in a 10----round "bout. . ; "He beat Fernandez twice. Fernandez knocked out Al'Singer before-Singer Weahie, lightweight champion. Canzoneri'liad'one chance for'-the title against Samtny Mandell, but Sammy was at his best'and going his fastest, and won on points. Knocking out the man who knocked out Mandcll wipes that point dcfeat,ffom the slate.

Blay's Winning Way. Among his recent -victims Bobby Blav numbers Billy Grime and "Blucy" Jones, both ex-lightweight champions of Australia. Grime, according to an exchange, was far from satisfied with tho decision against him, while Jones considered that he would have done much better had he hot weakened himself by being forced to scale 9st 91b ungside Blay still wins, howcvei, and he has now'won four in a lino at Broken Hill, where he is the local idol'

Sydney Stadium Closed. The management of the Sydney Stadium, once the venuo of a world's chim pionship fight, his closed its doors tern poranlj Lack of fhst class attrac tions, the Christmas hohdajs, and tho rederal Elections aro said to have been i the causes, and rather th n stago miei lor bouts to thin crowds the manage ment has pronounced its intention of waiting until its American importa tions arrive, when it is hoped that all the champions that havo recently been, and still are, in. New Zealand, will be on hand and willing to listen to reason |rJ?he Stadium will probably reopen on 16th or 21st January with a bout be tween Jack Carroll and "Kid" Garcia.

Lunch Wins a Match. Tom Lunch, the wiestler with whom George Walker had so many bouts, is ndw in Australia, and ho put a win to his credit recently, whei he beat Walter Browning, at Leichhardt Stadium Each wrestler secured a fall, Lunch gaming the last m the sixth round, Browning failing to continue

Brilliant Veteran. Jimmy Hill, the formei brilliant featherweight champion of Australia, whom Wellington enthusiasts "will re membei foi his gallant display against Reg Trowern a low years back, is going quite well in Ins efforts to make a "como back." He socred an easy win over Harold Costello at the Bris-' bane Stadium two weeks back, and as a result was immediately. .; matched again; Hill must be now around his forty years of age mark;

A Longer Count. - Dave Barry, the referee who put the notorious-count of fourteen on Gene Tunney, swung' a longer -count of: two bandits in- Chicago recently^ "The referee of ' the Dempsey-Tunney battle at Soldier Field was 'driving along a West Side boulevard when he saw two men. slug a third'in Union-Park, says tin American paper.: !"!Fourtee"n-Couril; joined the battle, swung several rights ■ana: lefts and*'the' assailants fled.>Theh Barry learned tlie 'y'lctim. of the assault was a bank' mess'eiige'iy and' that l^e had saved the .£SOO payroll of a bottling 'works.- :.-■'■ •■ '■_■■■' '•/•"'•'v •' ': / ■