The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1913-03-27
(By James J. corbett.)

New York, March 27.-Can .Packey
Mcfarland do 1873 pounds at 5 o'clock
in the afternoon and give q good ac-
count of himself in Il 2O-round bout at
9 o'clock in the evening? Packey says
he can. and to prove 1t, has accepted.
adds that he will make weight for no.
body but the champion.
Packey's weight has been one of the
great mysteries of professional pugil-
ism for several years past. He agreed
to 1873 to get a match with Ad VOL
CAST when that young man held the
title, but as the bout was called off,
the public remained skeptical Of his
ability to make it and be in condition
to put up a good argument. Evident
ly Mcfarland knows just what he can
do and his willingness to accept the
terms and conditions of Ritchie's pro-
posal without q kick or protest Of any
kind will act as a %silencer on the
critics who have insisted that he is
no longer eligible to get in the light
weight division.
At that I doubt If Packey and Willie
ever meet. They would make the
ideal match. much better than the
Mcfarland affair. Both boys are
clever and of practically the same
school and represent the best there is
in scientific boxing. But Billy Nolan
is too shrewd to pit Richie against
his former teacher before he has had
q chance to corral an easy purse or
two. which is recognized nowadays as
one of h privileges to which a new
champion is entitled. There are any
number of lightweights who are easier
than the peerless Packey, and al No
Ian knows the ropes pretty we'll, he
will no doubt find some excuse for
avoiding the match If it ever comes
to a show down. And, between you
much from a business, II not a sport
ing point of view.
Leach Cross admirers are now tout
ing him for the lightweight champion
ship. There is no denying that as a
result Of the recent victory over Poe
Mandot his stock has doomed. But
Leach will v become q champion.
In the first place I doubt II his heart
is in the right place. He is like many
another near champion" Give him
a mark and he boxes like a world
beaten. but put him in front Of a good
II anyone will take the trouble to lool
in the dope books he will find Cross
has not been the most consistent box
er In the world.
The detailed reports of the Cross
Mandot bout do not make Leach GU
the great fighter his press agents rep
resent him. He was on the losing enc
until q lucky N connected with Man
dots jaw. OF Leach's hitting powe.
there is not the slightest doubt. H
packs a hefty punch. and let him one,
get the other fellow going and he sail
in for keeps. But anyone who haI
ever boxed OF who has followed tn,
sport closely knows that the elemen
Of luck frequently figures prominent.
in a boxing match, and I judge Leacl
in the Mandot encounter. Many a DO,
has had victory within easy grasp on
ly to lose through carelessness ant
overconfidence.
Cross will be put to the test in a few
weeks, when he takes on Joe River
in a return ten-round bout. I rathe
fancy Rivers will do even better thi
time, although he put up a corkinl
good battle on the other occasion con
sidering the handicap he was under il
lack Of Familiarity with the rules il
vogue here.
Ou SIlt ouDJeCL OF u&QIWelSnC
n championship possibilities /
might not be amiss to call attention t,
Bud Anderson, the young western
"phenom." who gave such a splendid
account, Of himself in last Saturday.
2O-round contest with Knockout
Brown. Making allowances for com
parative inexperience Anderson'
showing was every bit as creditable q.
that of Joe Rivers in stopping "Kayo'
in II rounds. In fact. Bud came clos,
to duplicating Joe's stunt. as he twic.
put the New Yorker to the floor in tn,
eleventh and had him practically ou'
when the gong came to the rescue.
OF course. "K. OILS not of cham
pionship class. but he is as strong a,
a young bull and a hard man to licl
decisively. Rivers ia the only one WHIT
stopped him. though with a bit Of l,cl
Anderson would have duplicated tn,