The St. Louis Republic., 1902-12-21

/; his sudden departure is deplored, as ht
could have secured a number of matches
had he remained here.
George BCthner is evidently very confiden
of defeating Tom Jenkins when they meet
weight champion has arranged another
match. Bothner will meet Dan Mcleod eth.
er at Worcester or in this city. provided
while. Bothner has also received com
munication from a promoter in New or
leans. who wants George to wrestle Eddie
Beck there next month. Bothner thinks
that he will be compelled TO decline the
proposal. as his duties at his gymnasium il
this city prevent him from gong a big dis
tance from home.
There is still some uncertainty regarding
the proposed match between Tom McIner-
ney. the Irish champion, and Charley Witt
mer. Mclnerney is still in Cincinanti. where
he went last week, but up ~ date the
match has not been ratified. The obstacle in
bringing the two together seems to lie In
the question of a proper referee. Wittmer
has named his man and McInerney has
done the same. II any kind of compromise
can be effected the struggle will be cllnched
and the match held before the month is out.
Jim Parr of England. who is to meet Tom
jenkins this month at Buffalo, weighs 1Si
pounds now, against 1853 he scaled n year
ago. He accounts for his increase in weight
to taking good care of himself and living
mostly outdoors. In speaking of the pros
psctive match, Parr says: Il think that
Will have a better chance now of defeating
Jenkins than l did a year ago. / am like a
new man, as the increased weight Will indi-
cate. When meet / will have an add
tional advantage in the fact that fat falls
will count this time. At any rate, the bout
will be worth while witnessing while 1t
lasts"
successful in number Of handicap matches.
has arrived in England, and through the
London Sporting Life has issued challenge
to meet any wrestler in Europe at either
Greco-Roman or catch-as-catch-ca can style
for from $50 TO $50 a side. Muller names
16S pounds as the weight.
. YolSio-Tani Is the name of a Japanese
wrestler who is creating a furoTe In Eng
land just now with his skill. Tani is an
adept at either Greco-Roman or catch-as-
catch-can style. The other night at Leeds,
England, Tani met r. d. Sandland of Leeds
Sandland is one of the best all-around men
in England, and made a gallant fight
his efforts were of no avail, for after twelve
minutes and fOrty-nine seconds Sandland
was forced to succumb to the strangle hold
The bout was a fast one throuShout, ana
catch -as-catch-can rules prevailed. TAM
only weighs lI5 pounds.
whether ii is to have boxing as sport Tor
the winter months once more. The Leg
islature will convene IN January and a De
ter,nined effort will be made to have ia
Vorable action taken on bill permitting
glove contests.
The men who are handling the new box
ing bill which will be presented to the Leg
islature next month are confident or It's
passage. but are not sure of its success
upon re2cnlnS the tIONeTIlOG. LdSL ytdi
Assemblyman John r Dooling framed a
hill to iegalize amateur boxing in the
State, which. it is thought, would have
passed both houses, but the athletic clubs
points and the bill was not introduced.
The present bill. however. is not for
between professionals and amateurs. no
matter how prominent, the sport to be
governed by rigid rules.
The State. according to the provisions,
will he q beneficiary. certain percent
age of the gross receipts of each contest.
no matter how small. will be turned oyer
associations are assessed yearly tax IN
the shape of a percentage of the gate re-
ceiptr.
The creators of the bill believe that the
State must also take absolute control OF
the sport. in the shape of the appointment
Of State EoSnS isS Commssi9n, ti,;,n g%mposedd snd
integrity. who will have undisputed power.
The commissioners shall be appointed by
the Governor and il shall he their duty
to license clubs. the number in each town
to be limited as to the size of the popula-
ton: to sanction all matches. to issue
licenses to boxers. their managers, sec
onds and ether attendants: to appoint
corps of official referees, timekeepers, mas
tiers of ceremony and Il Board oi state
contests. make sure that boxers are phys
ically fit before entering the ring, and also
see to 1t that the States interests are
looked out for at the gates.
There will ne rot more than four CLUBS
in Greater New York, two in Manhattan
Roroggh and 1t two c,nn in will RrqeksH bs sWarded Jse
to persons who can satisfy the commis-
sioners as to their financial responsibility
and past records in the Fl game; r 1t Is Saie ;as
the commissioners Wall not license a clup
conducted by person who in any way
was NAKED up in the fake fights that We're
the means of killing the law in this State.
With four clubs operating in the Greater
City. there will be two in Buffalo. RocheS-
-t1sl
for the sports in Binghamton, Albany,
Troy, Utica and other cities in their class.
In licensing fighters and their managers
and seconds. the idea is to keep out objec-
tionable persons who may in the past have
mixed up IN some fraud of which the spcrt-
in public is we'll aware. If fighter
known to be guilty of taking or crooked
dealing applies for a license he will be
turned down Immediately. So will man
ayers, trainers and Others who cannot pre-
sent clean bill of health. 1t will be the
province of the commissioners to revoke a
license as easily as they can grant one. The
State inspectors can make reports of the
matters calculated to hurt the game, and
upon repetition of the offense, after due
warning. the license of the club can be re-
voked at once. a fighter or any other per-
son involved in the game can be. ruled out
of big clubs, and. in fact, all clubs as soon
as it can be shown that they are not living
up to the requirements. or that they are
guilty of behavior that will not do the sport
any good. %s
Another important stipulation in the bill
is that all contests must be limited to ten
rounds of three minutes each. and that the
referee shall have absolute power TO stop a
contest or let it go on. Those who are be-
hind the bill say there is as much real ac-
tion in ten-round bout as in the old twen-
ty-five round affairs, which were often
drawn out in such way that the crowd
became grievously disappointed.
There has been some talk about inciud-