CHALLENGER BEATEN BUT GAINS TITLE

Southland Times, Issue 23649, 26 October 1938, Page 15

CHALLENGER BEATEN BUT GAINS TITLE

Although knocked out by Benny Lynch in the twelfth round of their battle at Glasgow, Scotland, Jackie Jurich, the Rose of San Jose, California, became the new ruler of the flyweight division following the battle. In a match that was supposed to be for the title Jurich weighed in at the required poundage while the champion tipped the beams at the amazingly high figure of 118Jlb, to forfeit his crown at the scales, says The Ring. As Jurich had been declared the leading ichallenger for world honours, and complied with the articles of agreement when he scaled 1101 b, the championship rightfully belongs to him. It is no more than fair to a fighter who has been signed for a title match and who lives up to the required agreements to be compensated for his efforts in an arduous training siege to make the weight To all intents and purposes, both challenger and champion appear to weigh in for a title match. That the champion could not scale in at the class limit is no fault of the challenger. As he had been named as the logical challenger and made the weight on the afternoon of the weigh-in and the titleholder did not, the champion automatically forfeited his crown to Jurich. That Jurich went on to spot Lynch BJlb so that the fans should not be disappointed is a credit to him as a sportsman. That he was floored six times by his much heavier rival does not alter the situation any so far as the championship is concerned.