Evening star., 1912-10-06
BY T. S. ANDREWS.

b -. -. AN On11 !" -.
Special Dispatch TO The Star
MILWAUKEE, Wis. october o.-lt Will
be clash between the wildcat ana 'i'e
panther when Mike Gibbons, the ST faui
speed marvel. and Clarence thld) feris
of Kansas City meet at lndfahapoiis
October Is. Ben Crosse and Ed Binshaiii'
who are promoting the match, write 'ha'
the bout has been signed up ana tnat the
boys are to go ten rounds Welsh III d.
145 pounds at 5 o'clock in the afterhooii
the day of the fight. Ferns has not peeh
before the public "a great while, Out ne
has met some corking good boys the past
year and has given such good account
of himself that the Hoosier promoters
did not hesitate to stack him against the
toughest piece of fighting machinery III
the country at the weight: that is, the
best of the boys at the poundage' which
is a trifle above the recognized American
welterweight limit. Heretofore, tne
weight has been AZ at 3 o'clock or 14o
ringside, so that they cannot claim 1t as
the championship weight Ferns In an
his bouts has simply torn IN a1ter the
style of Kid Lavigne. and he mas also
displayed considerable cleverness. In ms
bout with Ray Bronson he showed great
speed and hitting powers that reminded
Ray of mule kicking and there are
few who can take a punch IKE bToHSoH
and come back for more.
Therefore. il will bring together the
slugger and the clever man, which COM
bination always results In a great pattle
These combinations always bring about
the kind of fights that set crowd crazy
with excitement. and il Ferns follows his
former tactics he will make the speedy
Mike move at clip that Will startle tne
Hoosier fans. Gibbons says he can make
the weight all right and be strong. which
will again prove that Mike is not the big
middleweight that some people claim. al
though it will still be evident that he IS
at his best around $50 pounds. at which
weight he fought most of his battles IN
the east. The Indianapolis promoters will
try to match up the winner with Ray
Bronson. but as there will be no de-
cision given they will depend upon the
usual popular verdict to select their men.
Bronson and Ferns for a return match
would be real contenders for the welter-
weight title: in fact, Bronson has claim
ed it, and has been defending it against
all comers at the American limit of 142
pounds. That weight also suits Ferns to
a nicely and the chances are that his
manager. Jimmy Hurst, will be tickled to
Clabby relinquished his claim to the well
terweight title year ago when he found
his weight above the limit and he ad-
vanced into the middleweight division.
The action of Billy Papke, the former
middleweight champion, in refusing to
meet Frank Mantell before the New Star
Athletic Club in New York the other
night because, as the club claimed, there
was not sufficient coin in sight to satisfy
the Illinois thunderbolt. may cause his
disbarment from all boxing clubs in New
York state. Papke had been matched to
box Mantell ten rounds. and never word
was said until he got into the clubhouse
and saw the crowd. Then he suddenly
changed his mind and refused to go on.
Later it was said he hurt his hand get
officials and Boxing Commissioner O'Neill
said it was simply a case of Papke go
ing back on his contract and refusing to
fight. owing to the apparent light re-
ceipts. The New York commission has
taken up the matter with the French
Federation Of Boxing and will try to have
the Illinois boxer barred in that country
also. as Billy is scheduled to meet
There is no excuse for boxer doing such
thing. If he signs a contract to box
a man on percentage basis, he has
right to live up to that contract. no mat
ter whether the gate receipts reach his
expectations or not. The trouble Is. the
fighters want all the money and want
the promoters to take all the chances. A
boxer Is worth just what he can draw at
the gate and no more.
This mixup reminds me of>a similar
case back in the days of the old PIANO.
rama in Milwaukee. about 1895. when the
Badger Athletic Club matched Jimmy
IaFOnSr anu JACK DOuSnertN. IL Was dp-
parently fine match. The boys were to
get a straight purse. with Gardner hav-
ing a guarantee. When the time came
for the bouts to start Tim Cough!in (now
writer. who was also interested, and
said: I'VE are just $3.50 shy. What shall
we do?" The fact is, there were all the
old regulars on hand and a fair house.
but the loss was there just the same. 1t
was suggested that We take our medi-
cine and give the show. That suits me
all right said Tim, but there Is one
thing 1 insist on and that is that We bar
all the doors and let enjoy the show
for once. ! haven't seen whole show
in years" The result was that the doors
were closed and Tim Coughlin and the
writer occupied box all alone, to the
tune OF $3.50, and it was some show, too,
for Gardner and Dougherty put up A
crackerjack of a bout; I'm fact, so good
that they We're matched again later on
and made up for the first loss. l must
give Jimmy Gardner credit for his action
that night. Jimmy offered to forego his
guarantee and take his chance. which he
knew would be a loss. but the club did
not ask ii and paid him his price, and
took the loss.
likely that we will have a chance to see
Hughey Michigan. the Australian cham
pion. in action here before the year 1913
sets in. 1t was expected that the Aus
sail for the States after his match with
Matt Wells. but / am i'll receipt of
letter from his friend and adviser to the
effect that he has some good matches in
sight in London and will remain there
for a while. He has been offered big
money for another match with Matt
Wells, the British titleholder. the latter
not being satisfied with the way he lost
on a foul to Mehegan in their recent
bout. Wells and Freddy Welsh were
matched some time ago for title con-
test, and as soon as they are through
Mehegan will meet the winner. In tho
meantime he will probably be matched
will Jack Ward. another challenger FOR
the British championship. Hughey has
been the recipient of repeated offers from
Hugh Mcintosh to return to his native
land and meet some of the America MS
who arc there now. among them Grover
Hayes. the Chicago 133-poupder.
Clubs In the States have also offered
Michigan good Inducements to come here
20 meet Ad Nolsast the champion. also
other stars In that class So that il will
take a bit of thinking for the Australian n
10 make UP his mind just what to do
From the present outlook Hughey will
remain in England until after the Christ
mas holidays, after which he will start