El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-09-07

cal paper boasts editorially that
l. it viii stop boxing in this state
as it stopped horse racing and its at
tendant vices.
In its bitter arraignment Of the sport,
boxers and patrons of the game are
referred to as thugs, criminals, pick
pockets. etc, and the exhibitions called
brutal and degrading.
In selecting the coming Mcfarland
Wolgast contest as a prospective hor-
rlble example Of brutal and degrading
prize tights the editor was unfor-
tunate- If he elects to attend that par
ucular contest, he will be treated to
an exhibition of skill with the gloves
by two healthy young men who rank
among the foremost opponents Of box
ing. And II he viii take the trouble
to look the crowd over, he will no
doubt find quite few of his personal
friends among the lot he has dubbed
thugs and criminals"
The truth is, those who attack box
ing as conducted under supervision of
the state athletic commission. are either
ignorant of existing conditions or for
reasons Of their own, purpOsely misrep-
resent matters. Barring one or two
minor features, professional boxing has
been pretty well cleansed in New York.
New rulings are constantly being
framed with the uplift of the game in
mind Every SAFEGUARD Is utilized &c
assure cleon sport And in this, and
70 their c-edit, the club owners coop
crate with the commissioners. Gamb-
move temptation in this respect as far
as possible decisions are prohibited
Referees are licensed by the COM
mission and their, positions are forfeit
ed Il instructions are not faithfully
and fearlesSly executed. Inspectors
are present to see that the commits
sion's orders are carried out As a
result crooked bouts are unheard of
and one-sided or unequal contests are
stopped when one contestants supe-
riority is apparent The commission is
~ ri With r7~- tn Eraa
the sport clean and to eliminate ITS
brutal features, and so far as I can
see, has succeeded admirably
The paragraph in the editorial re-
fleeing upon the class of citizens who
attend boxing matches is the big
scream Il one thinks boxing is pat
brow element, and that society high
er up" frOWns upon the sport, let him
take a night off and visit the Garden,
for instance, on one of its boxing
nights AS commissioner Dixon saws,
bouts in this city are patronized by
reputable citizens who appreciate what
the .Frawley law has accomplished for
professional boxing"
And might add that Mr.. Editor has
big JOB on MS hands If he really |
plans to attempt to put the stopper"
on the sport in New York
Packey Mcfarland is training for |
the WOlgast match, the date of which |
is Sept 81 The stockyards boxer is |
making the training operations a |
source of profit His idea, and it /
might be copied by AL thrifty boxers, |
is to put in the time usually allotted to 1
camp routine to public exhibitions with /
as many opponents as can be persuad- /
ed meet him Packey is a card Wher- /
ever he elects to appear and can usual 1
y command a guarantee of at least
$500, so it viii be seen that the plan
is a very sensible one By the time
Mac finishes training" he expects to
be in apple pie order for the tussle
with the lightweight champion.
BY the way, 1t seems to bother the
bugs judging from my mall this VOL
CAST Mcfarland go. Learning that the
weight is 135 pounds at three in the
afternoon, several write to inquire if
the title goes with the match;
Should Mcfarland tumble Ad for the
full count the latter would still be
technically champion lightweight, but
good people, Packey would be hailed
as the real champion As mentioned in
this column several weeks ago, it would
be the Young Corbett-Terry McGOvern
thing over again. Terry was feather
weight champion and met Coroett at
I26 pounds If remember correctly.
The title was not supposed TO be at
stake but Corbett, the victor, was
popularity proclaimed champion.
Ad Wolgast has had some hard
knocks from fortune during his ca
reer as a boxer, although Ill luck did
not fasten its grip upon him until
after he had won the lightweight title. |
Ads first spell of Ine unlucky stuff
was to break his arm in match with
Tommy KfIbane The next blow was
the appendicitis attack on the eve of
a match with Freddy Welsh, which cost
the champion something like $4,000 in
cash and a liberal percentage of the
s.movies" But Ad had already annexed
more than the average share Of
wealth and fame so that he was
fixed even if unable to resume box
ing.
Willie Ritchie bids fair to Guido
them all in the hard luck" stakes.
And a promising youngster Willie, as
his mills with the champion and Joe
Aiandot testify. When Freddy Welsh
vas taken with rheumatism and had
to cancel Ritchie-that was punch