Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-12-29

In the passing of .Attell the ring lost
one Of the greatest artists that ever~f fig
ured at the head of any division. He
was an ideal piece of fighting machinery.
with "a punch to help along the clever
stuff of which he was master. Abe
was d smaller edition of the Tommy
Ryan-Joe Cans type of boxer and as such
his withdrawal from activity is d dis
tinct loss to the ring.
Attell's successor, kilbane. has not
risked his prestige i'm long contest since
winning the title. He has participate ted
i'm few limited round matches. but with
inferior men as a rule In his New York
bouts with Dundee and O'Keefe Johnny
did not cover himself with glory, al
though not forced to extend to the limit
to win the popular verdcts.
Local critics expected too much from
the boy who lowered the great Atte'l s
colors. and when kiibane failed to dis
pose of the sturdy Dundee and the shfty
O'Keefe within the limit they branded
the Clevelander as lucky champion.
With all due respect to said critics, Kill
bane is Il great fighter and outshines his
rivals in the 1o2-pound division. I be-
lieve he will experience no great trouble
in driving the fact home when he boxes
Johnny Dundee twenty rounds at Los
Angeles next April the latter at the pres
ent time being recognized as the most
formidable of all the challengers for the
title.
The heavyweight situation is most
peculiar one. This has been brought
about by the enforced retirement of Jack
Johnson. The probability is Johnson will
never again be seen In the ring. Ger
ianly not in this country. No American
promoter would have the cheek to try
to force this objectionable character upon
the public.
The barring champion pugilist from
competition creates a state of affairs
he o$,,fn rlvatxn n ha ST Of la
ring. Time will bring about the solution,
and through the medium of elimination
contests d champion worthy of the great
honor will no doubt be eventually devel-
oped.
While the exclusion of Johnson from
participation in the ring is pleasing to
all who have the interests of the sport
at heart. the fight fans of the country
have other causes for congratulation.
The marked Improvement in the ranks
of the white heavies during the past
twelve months is most gratifying and
indicates that the time Is not far off
when a white man will again be in pos
session of the coveted title of champion.
From mere prospects few months
ago several heavies have developed to
the stage where they are now reckoned
as championship material. notably Palzer
and McCarty. whose meeting next we'd
nesday is regarded as the most impor-
tant heavyweight match since the JEFF
fries-Johnson affair.
McCarty's defeat of Flynn was vic
tory for the younger element. and though
the Pueblo man could hardly be figured
d real contender for the honors, he was
considered as a sort of standard by
which the abilities of the more youthful
aspirants could be measured.
Luther surprised the taient In that en-
gagement. and, as confession is said to be
good for the conscience, I'll add that
was one Of the bunch who were sur
prised.' BY the victory the youngster
demonstrated he is a wonderfully i'm
proved boxer and qualified for battle with
the best of the heaviest regardless of
color. A comparison of the easy manner
in which he handled Flynn and the fail
ure of Johnson to stop the eX-iireman
last Fourth of July is greatly in the
kids favor, and if McCarty beats Pal
ger Oh New Year day many Will be
ready to proclaim him the coming cham
pion heavyweight OF the world. My own
opinion. if it may be inserted here. is
that PalZer will win the battle.
The lightweight title also changed
hands during the year. Willie Richie, "A
comparatively newcomer, forced Ad VOL