BOXING

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 20107, 28 March 1928, Page 8

BOXING

THE TITLE TANGLE TEX RICKARD’S OFFER. ULTIMATUM TO TOM HEENEY. (A. & N.Z.) NEW YORK, Afarch 26. In an effort to solve the heavyweight situation Heeney was offered a match with Risko, the winner to meet Dempsey. Heeney indicated that he was not satisfied with the financial arrangements, upon which Rickard stated that unless the offer was accepted by Tuesday Risko would be offered the contract guaranteeing a match with Dempsey. providing he fights a further preliminary bout, probably with Uzeudun. LETTER FROM LONDON BALDOCK S STRENUOUS CAREER. RUSSIAN AND BRITON. [ Special “Chronicle” Service. I LONDON, Jan. 19. We were denied the promised opportunity of seeing Teddy Baldvck at the beginning of the week (writes Eugene Corn, the ‘‘Chronicle’s” boxing specialist) against Francois Biron, the French bantam, and 1 am sure afraid that Lt will not lie seen in the ring again tor Mime little time. There is not anything seriously amiss with his physical cc nd Hi on, I understand-, but it has L<ei deemed wise that he should rest awuile. I Baldock, as you know, is very young, and 1 am wondering whether he is feeling the effoits of what, for his years, has been a particularly strenuous career. J du hope that he will not go the way that many fighting prodigies have gone. My I (lief in him is unbounded. [ it is mostly a question ot* nursing. If this is <wne in a judicious way, there is every reason why he should get right to the top of whatever class he final a fim.s himself best fitted for. 1 cau on’y repeat that, If there is the least fear of his inability to fight at the bantam limit, it would be the height of folly ter him to try to keep within Bst. bits. The fact that an effort h;-s beer made to match him wit.n Johnny Cuthbert our feather-weight champion, is significant. 1 take it that it is felt he would. be more his natural self if he fought round about 9st. Until a few days ago the probability was that the two wculil meet at the National Sporting Club, but Cuthbert insists that, since he had to fight 2t< rounds to take the belt from Johnny Curley, the man who seeks the trophy must be prepared for ai:t> agree to ihat (Ilstanrv. Nothing Doing, says Baldock. Baldock and his party would not ; have anything longer than J 5 loundfs; 1 vad so there will be nothing doing in | the matter uf these two boys. About | Cuthbert, Mr Lionel Bettinson was in Paris last week-end to se® him light Ami re Routis, and he tells me that .he got no mo’c 4han he deserved when the ixcisH.u was a draw. From all my French friends I have the assurance that no mure popular British boxer .bus appeared in the Paris ring since the War, and from aii accounts none within recent years has been pakl so hand>omcly for his services. 1 was unable to make the journey to Manchester last Tuesday, as I had looped, to sec Donald Shortland against the Russian giant. Hugo Vitols, who : is making his home in Paris, and, so I ; understand, intends to stay permanently in France. It is agreed that the ; big Sheffield youth won comfortably lon points, but the opinion is by no means unanimous that he did himself ! justice. A Big One, Though Good. It is to be hoped that Shortland will | hold tu his modesty, and remember : that the road to high fame is not only very long, but that it is also very hard. Mr Bettinson, who saw the fight, tells me that, the moment Vitols, who stands several inches higher than six feet and weighed at least a couple of stone more than Shortland, is very green, but that, properly taught, he might do more than reasonably well The manager of Vitols is quite sure that he will make a champion of him. From all accounts, however, I am afraid that Vitols is. if anything, too big. Yon can have them too big, even though they are heavyweights. 1 was pleased to take a hand in the refereeing at the National Sporting Club last Monday. The boxing was quite good and there is no doubt that Paddy Jones, who comes from Shotton. near Liverpool, is much above the average. He should make completely goo.:!. At any rate there was high merit in his knock-out victory over [Johnnv Britton, the Leeds featherj weight.