Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-08-22


cumpent upon him to Go one of two
things. the same as 1t is upon the cham
pIon OF any class either fight within Il
reasonable time Or retire. Taking him at
his word. he chose the latter course.
During the four years following his public
abandonment of the title he reiterated
1t times without number by stating, when
asked If he intended to fight again. I'm
through. All ! want is to be let alone"
or words meaning the same. A few
months ago he is reported to have said:
Il didn't give the title away. When
retired, ! took the title with me- Such
line of conduct would be illogical, i'm
possible and contrary to all usages of the
sonal property of no mana chattel that
he may acquire. own. hold and take into
retirement with him. 1t merely Is the
distinctive appelation by which a boxer
in his class, a claim based on an ac-
knowedged or perhaps an alleged right.
1t is supposed to be won by conquest, but
sometimes Is acquired by default, for
enjoy and profit by. only SO long as he
sees fit or is capable of defending it
against qualified or eligible challengers.
That is the technical side of it.
However. when Jeffries retired he
did not forfeit his right to endeavor TO
rewin the championship any time he
cared to. Having once held it and hav-
ing retired unbeaten. he naturally has
the call and his challenge must be ac-
cepted by Johnson. His recent state
ment that he will re-enter the ring will
do much to cloud Johnson's tenure OF
the title and will create a doubt in the
minds Of many s2ortsmen as to the lat
ter's right to its possession. There IS
just one way to settle 1t clearly to the
satisfaction Of all and that is for Jeffries
and Johnson to meet Tn the ring. Then
the question will answer itself. Should
Johnson win ne will be the undisputed
champion. If Jenres is victorious, there
can be no d.sputing his right to the
title. If by any chance Jeffr;es falls to
meet Johnson. the latter remains cham
pion and it will be necessary to defeat
him before he can be deprived of his
title except in the event that he forfeits
to Jeffries. Under those circumstances
Jeffries could either defend his newly
acquired title or retire as he did before.
and permit the other heavyweights to
battle for it,. Today there is no douot
as to who is champion Johnson tech
nically holds the title. much as the sport
ing public In general would wish it other
wise. His holding may even be clarac-
terized as formal and literal as compared
to real or indisputable. but the basic
principles upon which the boxing game
is founded. as well as precedent. pro-
en- or loses his title by default. Jack
McAuliffe retired in favor of Kid Lavigne,
and there Is none who will deny that
T1avigne was the accredited title-ho1der
until he was beaten by Frank ETne at
Buffalo three years later. \ champion
cannot publicly withdraw himself from
active service, remain retired for years
and permit the title he once held to be
buffeted about from one to another with
out losing it. To regain it, it is necessary
him roUin it The fYi:fh and
cially in this case. may sting most of
us, but it is just well to be fair even
il it Is trifle painful. Johnson is cham
pion today.
Conforming to the prevailing custom Of
polite sporting circles and emulatfng some
OF the more senteel OF the fstic scribes
it Is graceful and seemly to refer to the
proposed Jeffries-Johnson contest 1.-The
battle Of the century" 1t is traditional
that all worlds championship contests
are battles ''of the century" And so
most Of them prove-before the contest
and while the preliminaries are being ar
ranged and while the affairs are being
exploited to arouse public interest. To
attempt to gainsay any Of the antebellual
statements would be tantan1ount to con.
Tossing guil;. asking for conviction and
praying for sentence on the ground Of
nigh treason. Oftentimes. however, the
lioiitS ~ lOt COlHC W ~ CAiCAl0k1olls, tdltO
they prove to be short. commonplace and
devoid of interest. 1t is but necessary to
refer 10 the Corbett-Mitcheil Jeffries-
Muaroe and Buras-Squires bouts. Strange
coincidence-all three of these bouts SUB
joined make a grand total OF six rounds
approximately the exact length Of the
recent Lewis-Burke bout. There was
more real fighting crowded into this one
contest than there was in the three
championship fights. 1t isn't because 4
Yct ,Jyo of
being q wicked. stubborn. interesting
bout that, even at this early Aay and in
the face OF the uncertainty OF it's final
ratification, Il is, commanding attention
II il because Johnson, the holder OF the
title. has succeeded in making himself
thoroughly unpopular with the sporting
classes, and the latter, anxious to see
him detroned, have. pinned tl.eir. faith
and hopes to Jeffries, that rugged. hon
est old gladiator. who. when al his best
proved himself to be the greatest heavy
weight glove fighter in the annals of the
modern ring. 1t cannot truthfuly be
said the fans are antagonistic to john
son solely because of his color Such
theory has been exploded too often in
the past. Dixon. Cans and Jackson were
colored and each was champion but
trey were popular and had as many
friends. among the white as among the
negro people. There would be a world
of interest centered In the bout IL it
eventua:es. but few would expect 1t to
be as hard fought as the Jerries- Sharkey
bou; at the Island or the Fitzsimnlons,
Corbett battle at Carson. II might turn
ont that way. but it all depends upon
how near his old.tlme fighting form JET,
fries can get.
II now develops that Hugh Mcintosh,
the Australian fistic promoter, who re-
turned TO this city from England last
Friday TO bid for the. proposed JeffEies-
Johnson match. has no intention of
carrying the bout, TO the antisades if. his
bid is accepted. He prefers London. and
says that city will he the scene OF battle
If things break nicely for him. ''i.ondoa
Is go much bearer the center Of ropula-
| ton and am banking largely on the
returns from tire moving pictures" said
ne. Sydney is four weeks from Aule.-
ia and about six weeks distant from,
England. SO much valuable time would
be lost in getting the pictures before the