PRIZE FIGHT CRAZE.

Waikato Times, Volume 101, Issue 16947, 9 November 1926, Page 11

PRIZE FIGHT CRAZE.

LURID MOB HYSTERIA. A MONEY-MAKING BUSINESS. The spectacle of' a world awaiting breathlessly the result of a prize fight caused comment in the Canadian press just as it did in the New Zealand newspapers some time ago. The .Montreal Gazette says;—

From time to time many manias have seized upon the public and had their hectic day. It is doubtful if ever the world saw a more lurid example of mob hysteria than the excitement aroused by the DempseyTunney bout at Philadelphia. It is said that one hundred thousand spectators filled the stadium. Two million dollars were psud for admission, and it is highly probable that an equal amount changed hands by way of betting. Single seats ranged in price from £1 to £6, or even more. The event was broadcasted as far as radio could carry the news, and upwards of three hundred newspaper reporters were in attendance. Huge crowds gathered at distributing stations to receive wired and wireless information. The movies flashed notices round by; round. In cities far apart as New York and Berlin, Montreal and London, big crowds hungrily acclaimed the result as though it were of crucial international import. At the ringside in a downpour of rain the frenzied mass of men and women yelled encouragement to the combatants or vented their feelings in mockery and groans. And all this to see two men bruise and slug each other for a cash consideration. Is this boxing? Can it be called sport * By what sort of reasoning can a spectacle of this character be allied with athletics or the clean and wholesome games that promote physical vigour and good fellowship? The pretext that an exhibition of this kind is the noble "art of self-defence" is too thin—is, in fact, absurd. It widely differs from cricket, tennis, good field sports, and also the old-time traditions of the "ring," in being a money-mak-ing business. In this instance the Philadelphia stadium bout was immediately followed by the offer of an oil company of £150,000 for the next onset. Anything under half a million would be sniffed at by prizc-flghtcrs of champion rank. Fight managers of to-day buy and sell pugilists by fleshy trade .contract, and Mr Flynn, the "promoter," estimates a contract in high-grade fisticuff affairs is worth anywhere from a million to two million dollars. The "amateur gentleman" of the prize-ring gets more cash for a half-hour set-to than the. President of a Republic gets in his term of office.