El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-04-29
BOXING CROWS IN
POPULAR FAVOR now
Legislatures May Take More
Kindly to 1t in the
Future.
CBy w. W. Naughton).

feSSi0nal boxing Is IN DSltel 4dNoi III"
than 1t has been for years For PROOF
Of this. notice the manner in which,
through the action Of considerate leg
is1atures. the bars have been let down
t. the men of the ring in spots where
in prior times pugilism was sport
tabooed.
There Is one thing, however, which
cannot fail to impress an obserVan'
man. All the places which have de-
cided to tolerate boxing have framed
their laws so that the championship
fights and long distance matches gen.
orally are forbidden It means shorter
bouts and more of them 1t means that
the followers of the sport of the glove
in many big cities can get their en-
tertainment at home without having
to Journey to Nevada or elsewhere
Public Overheard.
As 70 the popularity of boxing, there
IS no question Considering the quail
itv of the, shows provided in San Fran
cfsco-and 1 suppose at other points
the public is overheard The motto
Of the grand army of ring patrons
seems to be better poor bout than
none at all
In view of the fact that the game
NJ presenth arbors a lamentable num-
Der of incompetents. how could the
situation be improved to such an ex-
tent that the paying public woulo Sc
cure the worth Of its money?
Easily enough, 1t seems TO me- Inc
profits OF boxing are considerable, ano
the more places that tolerate the sport
fhe greater will be the profits. 1t is
mn TO the local governments to tax the
gate receipts sufficiently to maintain
a boxing commission and bureau
Of boxing. Attached to the latter
there should be a corps OF examiners,
nsincipally professors OF boxing ano
test boxers or trial horses.
let each fellow who is ambitious
IN bid for public support as ring man
pass an examination, not along ciFll
service lines, but as to his acqualnt-
ance with leads and uppercuts and ms
uhysical fitness to take up the lie Oh
= modern ring gladiator. With an in
+osItrent hoard and the right kind OF
trial horses. ii would be easy enough
N establish q. standard of excellence
that each applicant should pass before
being listed with the boxers II is worth
while paving to see IN action
Let each boxer who successfully
masses his examination receive olpio-
ma and let the promoters be compeIleo
n nav for ring services on graduated
scale. The brand new undergraduate
would be entitled TO so much VIC
tory would increase his earning ca
pacity and successive victories woulo
enhance his worth and entitle him TO
~, increased percentage of the money
his reputation would be instrumental
in drawing into the box office
Eliminate the Losers.
process of elimination" could be
arranged so that boxers who formed
the habit of being defeated regularly
could be retired. This would assure
something like an average of merit IN
the entertainments placed before the
public
Prices of admission to boxing shows
according to their chara cter and i'm
portance, and. other details of sim
Tar kind, are things that it would be
within the province Of the boxing
commission to regulate The men
in question would have such a
grin on the situation that a promoter
would be required to set forth in his
advertising matter just what kind OF
an entertainment he proposed to sub
nit for public approval Champion
ship tournaments could be conducted
under special sanction. and special
fees for the conduct of such could be
imposed by the governing body.
There would be a blackboard. Of
course. and beyond that again, a room
and gallery. Boxers, who, through
temperamental faults, committed in
fractions of the rules and regulations
laid down for their guidance, could be
disciplined according to their deserts.
Crooks-and this would embrace both
pugilists and promoters-should be
thrown out.
The Referee Question.
The referee question would regulate
itself II boxing ever assumes the
proportions of the public pastime that
It seems possible for it to assume.
Judging by the way mediocre bouts are
patronized at present, referees would
be as continually on trial sas a base
ball umpire A man who lacked judg-
ment or was weak in any way would
soon become a mark for popular dis
content and his removal would fol-
low as a matter of course.
A boxing glove OF uniform style and
dimensions would be one Of the devel'
opments Of the new order of things.
The gloves Of today are fearful propo-
sftions. They call them five ounce
gloves and the weight is mainly in the
gauntlet or wrist end. Padding there
is little, and, when the second dexter
ous1y cracks a glove across the back
there is, nothing between the fighter
knuckles and an opponents jaw but
a thin layer of soft leather.
I see where one committee on pub
lie morals recently stipulated for
"efght ounce gloves in connection
with q new boxing law. There is as
much reason in supposing that an
eight ounce brick would prove less
damaging missile than one weighing
five ounces, for the extra weight
would be all inserted IN the wrist
There should be a league glove just
as there is league ball. 1t should be
properly fashioned and properly pad
ded. and then anyone could tell at q
glance whether the hand-wear. sup
piled to pair Of ringmen was within
a law.
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