The Ogden standard. [volume] (Ogden City, Utah) 1902-1910, 1909-08-23
new YORK WANTS
The BIG FIGHT
Championship Battle Would Draw
Great Audience in the
Large City.
(RY G. E. Van Loan !

New York. Aug. 23.-"The fight
game here is In state OF putrefac-
tlon."
This is a sentence which appeared
under a San Francisco date line.
Leach Cross and other Eastern tour.
lists might indorse the choice of the
word AS a matter OF fact, the west
ern fans have probably grown q bit
stale upon the lighting game Sever
al years ago. when Jeffries was clos
ing his career. n heavyweight battle
was the western lodestone Jeffries
stepped down and out, and then came
the llghtweights, reaplng a rich har
vest. Young -Corbett. B.itt and Cans
scanned the cream of that era. Now
the lightweight division is probably at
a standstill: there Is no lightweight
match which the people are clamorlng
10 see save Nelson and Mcfarland,
and the middleweights have had their
inning. thanks TO Kelly, Papke and
Ketchel.
Great fights move In cycles; the
coast has fallen on dull season. 1t
seems a pity that some of the fights in
prospect cannot be transferred to the
far east New York Is fight hungry.
Ten round bouts have done no more
than whet the public appetite. Jef
fries and Johnson at Coney Island, %
rounds How would that sound for an
attraction? It would be a bold man
who would set limit upon the draw
ING power of such a money magnet as
that.
Chicago is ripe for revival OF box
ing Chicago has been ripe for some
time. and bids fair to be considerably
ripper before the lid is prled OF.
Denver Is another town which would
give a lot of money for a sight Of
something like real fight. Jack o.
Bren Is out there at the present time.
He says he will show them that he Is
stlll TO be reckoned with. Yes, John.
and carefully watched Philadelphia
Jack made two western trips ito ele-
vate the ring" and was caught at
II both times. In one case he elevat-
ed the ring so high that II stayed In
the air for something like one year.
If IL Is true that Johnson has wired
his western agents to get him match
as soon as possible. this means that
the black champion has discovered
that IL costs money TO drive racing
OF the world can live upon press
notices. There comes a time when
money gives out, and Jack has never
been noted for his resemblance 10 the
frugal act Jack has been fine un-
derstudy for the grasshopper, running
around all summer and laying up moth
ing for the cold winter.
Now Johnson could not get by with
a hippodromc in San Francisco. West
erners remember him for his fight
with Marvin Hart. the Sandy Fergu~
son affair and few moro like It. The
O'Brien affair went In Philadelphia.
and the Ross near battle went In Pitts
burg. but when IT comes TO San Fran
cisco, where they demand gore and
a gruelling fight over a long route.
Johnson Will have TO show something
The whole fight business seems at a
standstill. The promised re-entry of
Jim Jcffrles may do something TO rat
tie the dry bones of pugillsm. AS for
the other weight classes, they are
asleep. and YOU Will have TO look close
ly to decide that they are not dead
New blood will help the game, 1t
must come Three star men in the
different weight classes Will do for
pugilsm what Ketchcl did for the mid
dleweight division. He poked 1t into
life and Is now about TO graduate.
leaving his mIddleweIght title behind
him.
Somewhere. perhaps still in their
teens. are the boys who will be the
idols Of the next decade. There Is
nothing to do but walt for them.