RITCHIE ROCKED.

NZ Truth, Issue 470, 20 June 1914, Page 6

RITCHIE ROCKED.

Champion Lightwoiflht Badly Outpointed. The champion lightweight of tho world. Wllllo Itltchle, who haw been clKwnpton tlodKftr of dlfiicnlt Job», hucb aa I'Ved Welsh, chontpion of .Kngland. pot ». tcrribto UiclnK In v ton-round bout «t Milwaukee, U.S.A.. on WedncaUay night week. 7J In opponent ivn« iho noictl tnnt OgHlinp Chnrilo WhHo. a boxw wlio hiift bcusn esaroped on KUchli>*n trnll Tor month* post: ana, to Ju<Jk« by tin* cables and lUtchlti'p own admiPHtonj'.. ho hud tho better of tho (liniiirbfinc! from flrfltlo last, t*dmini3t«ring immi cro-ttml-Ulsflgtirlug'hidiiiif to-Uio chom>

pion. The affair being only of ten rounds and "no decision," it does iiot affect 1 Ritchie's title and he announced his intention of. going on with the contest for the world's championship with Fred Welsh, m Londoa on June 20. . The American view of Ritchie's dodgery is well set out m the" following extract from a San Francisco paper published while Willie was stalling: off Tommy Murphy, Welsh and others, two or three months ago: — : > "Say, it's rich, the way fellow Ritchie is pulling that bum ankle and that sore beezer stuff, and turning down those five figure guarantees," said one of the old boys this morning. Twenty-five years ago. Young Mitchell went over to Australia and fought bare knuckle figrhts for shoe string: dough. Ritchie ducks 15,000 dollars. Yes, it's rich, I say, for when Mitchell was right he'd give a ringful of Ritchies a boxing lesson, and then do some fighting." .There's a lot of logic m this veteran's view of the situation at that. He contends that, the ' present generation of perfumed performers, doesn't flgfare with the corned beef and cabbage birds of the grood old days that were. A promoter who gets a fighter to sign a contract at a fat guarantee now is quite a wonderful fellow. Twenty- five years ago, they used to be awestricken m the presence of the promoters. All they wanted was a chance, i