Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-03-31
AND KLAUS AFTER
MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
Can Only Be for American Title, as
England, France and Australia Have
Champions in This Class.

is to be regretted that the controversy
between Jones and McCarey should put a
damper upon it, but sporting people will
not blame the Los Angeles promoter for
the stand he has taken.
Freddy Welsh, the English lightweight,
who was matched with .Ad WolgaSt for
the worlds championship at Los Angeles
but lost his chance through the illness of
the champion at the time. is now under
going treatment ,at a sanitarium in Chi
/ caSO. Welsh was the victim of n pecu-
liar accident. but he is confident now that
the trouble will be overcome and that he
VIII soon be able to engage in contests
with the best lightweights in the coun-
| try. Freddy always had an idea that it
was his back that was injured, but from
an examination in Chicago it has devel-
Oped that the real source of trouble is
small nerve at the top of the spine,
which can be remedied through proper
massaSing of that part. Freddy has been
at the sanitarium ten days, and he feels
greatly improved, and has been assured
by the doctors in charge that in another
two or three weeks he will be over it
entirely. l had talk with him the other
day, and during the conversation he re-
marked: 1T has been very costly to me
since the Wolgast affair, as ] have had TO
give UP several good contests. However.
am on the road to recovery now, and
from the way l feel l know 1 will be able
To resume boxing in a short time. 1 eX
pect to get out about April TO- and will
begin doing light exercises and boxing.
/ hope TO be able to arrange few limited
round bouts the latter part of April, after
which / will get in shape for some real
hard contests. My aim will then be to get
on match with WOlgast for The title
and also to return battle with Matt Wells,
who defeated me on points in England a
year ago.
Billy Papke, the former mddleweight
champion, refuses TO be counted out. Aft
er his defeat at the hands of Frank Man
tell in California he returned to his home
in kawaunee, ILL.,, and thought over mat
tiers for a week or two. He finally came
to the conclusion that he was not a has
BEEN" and decided to get down to hard
work and permit his brother Ed to nego-
tiate matches for him once more, with
view of working into some big middle
weight contest. l had a letter from Ed
the other day, in which he says: This
may surprise YOU. but it is on the level.
Billy has decided to get into real condi-
ton and, as starter, he has taken up
light training here. l know myself that
he has never been in proper shape for a
match since he returned from Europe last
summer, and that if he will only get down
to hard work and condition himself he
viii be able to hold his own with any of
the middleweights. Why. he is only a
young man yet, not even in his prime. and
there is no reason on earth why he should
be relegated to the rear at this stage.
! expect that after April he will be In con-
dition to take on some short bouts and
then if ne shows we'll he can continue
! right along the line. / feel confident my
| self that he can show his superiority over
/ the bunch of middleweights now claim
/ ing the title, and if he cannot, why. / will
/ be ready to throw up both hands and ad-
nit that he is down and out.
! The Australian tour of Cyclone Johnny
/ Thompson this season has not been a
| particularly brilliant one, and the chances
| are the Sycamore boy viii not return to
/ the States with the honors he did in 19Ik
! Johnny has met defeat in most of his
| matches Will abroad, but in all fairness
/ 10 the Illinois lad, il must be said that
/ he has gone out of his class in every
match he entered into He gave away
weight when he fought Dave Smith. again
/ when he met Banesman Rice. AID also
| when he met Jack Lester, the white
/ hope" whom Tommy Burns brought out.
| From the accounts of the last battle,
Lester won on points, after a hard con-
| test of twenty rounds, but the weights
We're very much in favor of Burns pro-
/ tege. as Johnny weighed only 1J6 and
| Lester 10: this is quite handicap for a
| boxer of Thompson build, and it is not
| TO be wondered at that he was beaten on
! points over there Had he been meeting
men of his own weight there might be a
| different story to tell, if it were not for
! the fact that Thompson is well along in
| years, he would no doubt be one of the
| real contenderS for the middleweiglt
title, but age has told on Johnny, even
/ with his excellent physique and wonder
/ full stamina, and the chances are he Will
! soon be ready to enter the retired list.