Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-01-01
NEWS0F THE BOXERS
Welsh at His Best in Bout With
Michigan, Says Critic.
MUCH PRAISE FOR BOTH
Contest the Best Seen at the Ma.
tional Sporting Club in
Years.
MUCH PRAISE FOR BOTH

lONDON, January mo pugiIist con-
test IN recent years on this side of the
Atlantic has been such magnet to the
British f1stic world as that which was de-
clded at the National Sporting Club,
when Frederick Thomas Hall. or. as he
is known in the ring. Freddie Welsh. y
of Pontypridd, defeated Hughie Michigan.
the champion Of Australia, for the world 8
lightweight championship. To that title
Welsh now lays claim.
No doubt Willie Richie has SINH
lar ideas. but the fact that Welsh beat
Richie, after Wolgast failed to toe the
mark. certainly gives the Welshman
some reason for proclaiming himself the
holder of the title. British rejoicing in
the possession of such an eminent ex-
pOnent of ringcraft is not at all tenn
pered by the fact that, after all, Welsh is
an American-made boxer
Indeed, few people know that he first
went to America as a boy who had q
leaning toward the ring, but knew pre-
cious little about the game. Fewer still
are aware that 1t was at Philadelphia
that he struck the crimson trail that led
to success when he beat a youth named
Young Williams. Twice since then he
has lost the decision in contests with
Packey Mcfarland at the end of ten
rounds and with Matt Wells for the Eng
fish championship, but he squared mat
ters with the London boxer a. few weeks
ago. when he recovered the title.
BY the last victory Welsh Won $4,000
as well as wagers. and no battle at the
National Sporting Club ever has been
fought for such stakes. But that is a
detail. Welsh won. and Won handsomely
His record was one that led us to expect
much. but in the supreme moment of his
life he eclipsed himself. And though he
met wonderful boxer in Michigan there
was hardly a moment when the issue
was in doubt
Maybe all the work did not coincide
with the British conception of what is
beautiful in boxing; perhaps it could not
be called pretty contest, as boxing is
best understood here. but as an EXPOSE
ton of all that is admirable, superlativel
clever in mitigating. great in defense it
scintillated in ringcraft, in strategy, in
judgment and in cunning in its best sense.
And as tribute to one of the finest and
most sporting losers. it has to be said
that Michigan was always making Welsh
go on the high gear.
This praise may seem little fulsome,
but 1t is after all merely a statement of
fact. No praise could be too high for
the welsh wizard" The day after the
contest Michigan said that his only re-
greet was that he had not fought more in
stead of acting on the advice of his
friends and boxed Welsh Undoubtedly
Mehegan's advisers were wrong and their
advice was prompted by fears that if
Michigan played his own natural game he
would come under the ban of the ruling
official.
Michigan need not have feared that as
the contest went, for there was so much
to admire and to thrill in the work done
in the clinches that no referee could have
interfered. And, moreover. Michigan real
lied when it was too late that his only
hope lay in fighting Welsh. In the thir-
teenth round, after Welsh had gone ahead
slowly but surely, adding a little to his
lead in every round, Michigan let himself
loose. A left on the face and clipping
right on the mouth shocked the dapper
little Welshman and then a couple Of
and he was glad to get to close quarters
to recover from the tornado of punches
that Michigan had landed.
The "breather' put Welsh in fighting
trim again, and he saw to it that Mehe-
gan got no more chances of getting such
a rain of blows on his anatomy. The pace
was a smasher, and the way
in which both men maintained their
speed to the end was something Of a reve-
latiOn. There were moments when Welsh
had Michigan wondering what sort of a
twill O. -the-wisp" he really was His
ducking. sidestepping and lodging were
alike admirable.
Time and again Michigan fogged the
desert air and found Welsh at the other
side Of the ring. At others the Australian
offered his head as a bait regardless of
anything Welsh might administer, but
even though this enabled Michigan to
weave in for his favorite short slips,
Welshs covering was more often than
not just so much defensive armor.
Michigan found a forearm, an elbow or
a solid glove countering half the blows he
made, and 1t was his bri1liancy In de-