The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-12-28
CORBETT'S WEEKLY
 BOXING REVIEW
PICKS AL PALzER TO DEFEAT
 M'CARTY IN NEW YEARS BOUT


 it due for his splendid performance.
 As a rule the downfall of a cham pion is regarded with sincere regret by the rank and file of sporting men, but in Wolgast's case, I am sorry to say, there was little evidence of sor- row manifested in the comments of the critics or by fight followers gener- ally For some reason Ad never en- joyed the popularity of Nelson, Cans, Erne, I-avigne and others who preced- ed him at the head of the division. So far as the public is concerned this opinion of the little Michigander was moulded no doubt by the sporting writers of the country whose antip- 1 athy towards him was due to the methods employed by Manager Tom Jones in protecting the interests of his protege.
 Nevertheless Ad was a great little 1 boxer, and won and maintained his 1 place at the top by sheer ability to 1 assimilate punishment and t.out1ast' his opponents. In that respect Ad | was a second Battling Nelson and might possibly have reigned a few l more years.r Che is only 24 years of age), had the operation for appendi- 1 citis not seriously impaired his vital ity. II
 The passing of the title into the hands of Willie Ritchie marks the re- sumption of rule of the clever boxer in the lightweight ranks. Since Nel- son won from the late Joe Cans the "slugger" has dominated the division, but with Ritchie at the head the sci entific boxer comes into his own. 1 Ritchies success will also mark the raising" of the lightweight limit to 135 pounds which will < permit the skflful Mcfarland and Britton to com pete for the honors. With Ritchie, Mol F'arland and Britton.a and Freddy Vo1c ir1fr To fcer1 fi,-l tie there would appear to be little l danger of the championship escaping from the clutches of the .sscientiffc'' l brigade for a long time to come.
 Johnny CouIon, present bantam weight champion. is the lad whose proud title is thought to be in 3jeop- ardy. Judging by the calibre of Johns recent exhibitions in New York the fear is apparently we1i-founded. l Kid Williams, the Baltimore wI1irI- wind, outpofnted the champion at I Madison Square Garden last Septena- l Der and 1t was only the mo decision" restriction that saved the "champ's'' reputation.
 It is not only here in the East that l Coulon will encounter opposition of al strenuous nature. Out California i way there is a youngster named Ed die Campi: who has won the admira- ton of the fans by. the skillfu1 manner l he has cleaned up the good litcle men of the western country.
 Promoters are now negotiating with l Kid Williams and if terms are suffi- ! ciently attractive the Baltimore boy will shortly Journey to the coast af- ; ter Eddie's scalp. The winner will then be matched with Cou1on for the title. So no matter how the Will lfams-Campi scrap terminates the out look for Johnny is not cheerful one. RIIf ha 7 >7 Coulon has had his fling.
 In the middleweight division the l question of who's who" is largely a matter of conjecture. Early in the year with Klaus, McGoorty and Gib-i bons going along nicely the sports | perked up with the hope that the final 1 adjustment of the championship was near at hand. Klaus, however, with l drew from the picture in hunt for 1 easier game in the wilds of France, l and Gibbons and McGoorty when fin ally matched failed to show anythingi approaching championship form as 1 measured by the Ketchel standard. | Billy Papke's attempt to -tcome back | met with success in France but in ! my opinion the standard of pugilistict excellence in that country is far be- low that of the United States. There fore Billy's standing at the present |
 
 His last starts in the East before go- ing abroad did not suggest a return l of the form that once enabled him to outslug Stanley Ketche1. And I doubt very much if Papke could | make 158 pounds and be in condition to fight. which would seem to elinlin- ate the Kewanee man from the race for the American title.
 Summing up the middle-weight sit uation we find it practically un-I changed from one year ago, with Me Goorty, Klaus, Dillon and Gibbons the leaders The latter can do better than he showed with McGoorty at Madison Square Garden early in the month and will yet prove an i1npor-I tant factor in the chase for the title or am greatly mistaken
 Let us hope the year 1913 will be more prolific in the production of classy middle-weight boxers and that before another twelve months have passed the championship question will be solved and worthy leader estab- lished at the head of the division.
 A