Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-08-14
SCALE Of WEIGHTS
SHOULD Be UNIFORM
New System Is Proposed to
Govern international Box
ing Matches.
WANTS A BOARD
APPOINTED FOR PURPOSE
List Of Weights Favored for an In.
ternational Scale-Experts DIFF.
fer as to Which System to Use.

The adoption and recognition of a uni
form scale Of weights, to govern all in
ternational boxing matches where titles
are at stake, is badly needed, as all box
ing clubs, critics and promoters will at
test. but most difficult of accomplish
ment. Efforts have been made for sew
eral years by the supporters of boxing in
England and the United States to appoint
an international board for the purpose of
revising the scale of weights and to mod
ify the rules to conform more with the
boxing game Of today, especially as bouts
are limited nowadays to anywhere be-
tween six and twenty-five rounds, and it
becomes more evident that old time prize
fights are a thing of the past. There is
| no doubt that an international board as
| the supreme body with home associations
| similar to the lines laid down by the \.
\. L., would do the boxing game world
of good; in fact. strong organiza ton
composed of the very best clubs through
out the United States is badly needed to
put some backbone into the sport and put
1t upon a higher plane and out of reach
of the promoters who think not of keep
ing the game clean. but of greedy gain at
any cost. 1t is this class of promoters
that has done SO much to hurt the game.
| 1t might be well to mention here that fiji
| teen years ago, when the boxing game
opened in Milwaukee. the big clubs agreed
| to allow no gambling on bouts in the
arenas; would not recognize it in any
| way: prohibited side bets, and also pro-
| hibited the sale of drinks of any kind in
| the halls where bouts were held. These
| rules have been adhered to by the clubs
| to this day. and that is the principal rea
son why the game has been kept so clean
| in the Wisconsin metropolis.
Advocatos in ENGLAND
William Will, the able editor of the
London Sporting Life, has been an earnest
| worker for the formation of an interna-
tioral board and the adoption Of a uni
form scale of weights, and he has had
| opinions from some of the most promi-
nent boxing circles in the world. the same
having been published in pamphlet form
and submitted to the National Sporting
| Club of London to act upon. The writer
| has endeavored to assist Mr.. Will in his
work from time to time, but 1t has been
difficult matter to get any decided action
| from the many clubs and critics in the
| United States: that is, to have them meet
and pass upon the proposition They all
! give their individual views and say 1t
should be brought about. but no one has
taken the initiative toward forming
body in this country.
During the prel1minares to the john
son-Jeffries fight at Reno it was intended
to get the leading authorities together to
consider the matter, but every one was
so busy at the last moment that it be-
came an impossibility The general i'm
preston among the critics seemed to be
in favor of the best boxing clubs in the
various cities getting together and adopt
ing rules of their own for the states and
| to assist in building up the game
AS to the question OF international
weights. the critics differed greatly. The
writer had three tables of records pre-
pared-the American. British and special
set-which were presented to a big ma
jority of the critics with the request that
they sign the set of weights which they
preferred or considered best. In this
manner fair idea was obtained regard
ing the weights. In nearly every case
the signer stated his preference for either
. or 3 o'clock weighing in time instead of
ringside, as now prevails in most cham
pionship matches. There was an almost
unanimous vote that the so-called paper
or fyweight-11O or 112 pounds-be
yhrown out entirely, and the lowest
class placed at either 115 or 116 pounds,
which with 3 o'clock weighing would
mean about 116 to us pounds ringsfde.
The cause Of this sentiment was the fact
that il would tend to keep boys un~er
eighteen years of age out of the game.
The new scale of weights, which is
compromise between the present Ameri-
can and British classification, met with
considerable favor. The three sets of
weights, with the names of the signers,
are as follows: