Dispufe Over All World's Boxing Championships Except One

Manawatu Times, Volume LVI, Issue 7106, 15 March 1933, Page 10

Dispufe Over All World's Boxing Championships Except One

ryfSßgg 7-1 MONG the visitors to England this year will be Q iSfnlj&O Ben Jeby, a former newsboy of New York, who VSHfiTwr was one of those who wrecked Len Harvey’s bid atVSBB?IHBl for the world’s middleweight boxing title when the Cornishman made his first and only visit to the United States (wrote Geoffrey Simpson, in the London “Daily Mail ’ recently).

The plan is for Jeby to fight twice in London and also in Paris. He will arrive as champion of the world, according to the New York Athletic Commission, but there is going to be some difficulty in labelling the bouts in which he takes part. Everyone in Europe recognises Marcel Thil, the Frenchman, as the champion. He won the title from Gorilla Jones, the negro, who was the champion established by America in succession to Mickey Walker, whereas Jeby’s claim is based solely on a recent victory in a middleweight competition organised by the New York Commission. New York’s reasons for nominating a new champion when the previous American holder has been beaten by a European are known only to the New York Athletic Commission, but these anomalous situations will recur as frequently in the future as in the past unless something is done to bring all the boxing nations together under one controlling body. Even the United States are hopelessly divided on this question of world titles. The New York Commission was once all-powerful, but in recent years there has arisen an authority whose rulings arc accepted in a far wider sphere. This is the body known as the United States Boxing Association. Ibis not only governs 28 States to the New York Commission’s one, but lias a working arrangement with the Internat.ional Boxing Union, which operates on the Continent. Much jealousy exists between the two bodies. ‘The champions nominated by the United States Association arc in most cases repudiated by the New York Commission. The result is complete chaos. Contradictory statements affecting the championship titles arc cabled almost weekly to Europe, In Great Britain the position is similar. The British Board, of Control has many differences of opinion with the International Boxing Union. Jackie Brown, for instance, took the European flyweight title from Lucicn Popesco, of Rumania, fairly and squarely. I attended the fight and there was

no question that the Manchester man won by the proverbial “street.” But the International Boxing Union declared that some rule or other in its book had not been complied with, and it announced to the world that Popcsco was still the champion.

Since that time Brown has won the world’s championship at Bst by beating Young Perez, of Tunis. The International Boxing Union agreed that this was so. The United States Association, too, acknowledged Brown’s right to the championship, but New York countered by nominating Midget Wolgast, of New York, to the throne. Apart from Jack Sharkey, the holder of the heavyweight championship, there is hardly one world title-owner who is universally recognised. Any champion who visits London, Paris, or New York is at once regarded with suspicion. ‘ls he genuine?” is the question that is Tom Watson, the new featherweight champion of Great Britain, is the latest victim of the muddle. His trip to New York to meet Kid Chocolate, the Cuban, for the world’s 9st title, at the invitation of Madison Square Garden, was promptly vetoed by the New York Commission. “Let him do some fighting in minor clubs before he starts thinking about the world title,” said the New York Commission. . . Later, the New York Commission departed a little from this attitude following representations by the Garden people. If Watson w’ould make the trip the commissioners would “look him over” in trailing, and if they thought him good enough they would let him box for the championship! As Watson won the British title from Nel Taricton, whom the United States Association graded second in the list of world featherweights, this is very nearly the week’s best joke. Obviously, something must be done to remedy a situation that is making a farce of boxing. I suggest that the sports legislators call at the earliest possible moment a round-table conference, the. object of which would be the formation of a World’s Championship Committee to control and regularise the titles. All the countries should be represented,. preferably under a chairman wjtli no financial interest in boxing, and it should be their business to receive .and approve challenges and to ndminate the matches. The public would welcome such a committee and so would promoters, who, as things are, are like so many Alices in Wonderland.

Continental Soccer. The intense interest which is taken in Association football in Austria is indicated by the fact that a vast audience assembled in the huge Konzcrthaus, Vienna, a few weeks ago, to hear Hugo Meisl, manager of the Austrian team which was beaten by England, at Stamford Bridge, give his impressions of the match. Meisl made some shrewd observations. “Continental football is now closely approaching the English standard,” lie said, “but England must long remain the home of football, because she has at her disposal such a large number of physically developed players. The necessity regularly to satisfy Saturday crowds in League matches has tended to mechanise the English game. It is probable that we Austrians, who for physical reasons are forced to concentrate less on force and more on the finer points of the game, are the better and more spectacular in this respect. But if our play almost equals that of the English, both our Press and our public lag far behind the British in their sporting spirit and impartial judgment of their opponents play. This it is impossible to overpraise. We hope to develop this also in due course.”

The Australian batsmen in the Tests scored at a faster rate than the English batsmen did. Although they were mastered by the English bowlers, especially by 11. Larwood, they allowed those bowlers to send down no more than 195 maiden overs, in a total of 826.4 overs, whereas the Australians bowled 365 maidens, in a total of 1201.3 overs, to the English batsmen,