El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-10-26

EW YORK, oct. 25.-Local lovers
~ Of boxing viii be given theil
first opportunity to see Willie
Richie in action next Wednesday ev-
ening- For, strange as 1t may seem
Willie has yet 10 make his metrOpolI-
tan debut Not that I think it viii
make the champion nervous or any
thing like that but 1t really did take
him long tine 70 bust into the local
game
1t is through no fault Of Ritchie's,
however that he has been so tardy
about exhibiting his skill in New York.
Not so long ago, when Willie was a
sparring partner in rne camp of te
great Packey Mcfarland, he tried hard
to get a match here but without sue
cess And Willie was not looking for
any easy marks either. Leach Cross
was as good as anything we had To-
cally at the time-as he is now-and
IT was at the Hebrew that Richie
aimed his challenge in particular But.
as Cross has frankly confessed since
then, he had heard thing or two
about the young Californian and could
see no good reason why he should
take on what promised to develop into
a hard job unless wen paid for it. and
by no stretch of imagination could
Richie be figured as drawing card
at that time.
believe Leach ducked out of it by
telling Ritchie to 'gO get rep be-
fore asking a match with such a
famous fighter as himself And Rit-
chic took his advice. Or at least he
got the rep" all right. And now
things are a bit different It was
Cross who asked for the match this
time. And to Riches credit be It
said that he was generous enough TO
forgive the local man the slurs on his
reputation. Willie doesn't care who
he meets IN the ring. As long as his
weight conditions prevail and his
terms are met by the promoters the
champion don't give hang who his
opponent may be.
And that goes for Packeys McFar-
land, too Willie told me after watch
ing the ChicagOan make Tommy MUIR
ply look like boy who had never had
boxing gloves on before But Packey
viii have TO make 1S5 ringside for me
or no fight"
Willie doesn't underrate Cross In
fact, he has considerable respect for
the Wallop the local boy carries. Willie
saw Leach put tough customer away
few weeks ago-4oung Brown it was
can surely hit some But" added the
champion, I can punch some. too.
And i think that VIII show the crowd
before the 10 rounds are over that
Leach Cross is not the only lightweight
with a kick"
And remembering what Willie did to
Joe Rivers, We agree with him. It
ought to make an interesting bout.
CEOSS Is not IuuCl OF a POKER look
at, but his methods are usually effec-
tive. The only thing against him is
his disinclinatiOn to fight if he thinks
the other fellow has Il ION" him.
Then he covers up and stalls the best
he can until the 10 rounds are up. He
did that with Mcfarland and BrittOn,
both of these boys outclassing him a
mile when ii came to boxing. Leach
found he couldn't land his punch and
fought entirely on the defensive. sat
dsfyins himself by covering up when
ever real danger threatened.
II Richie Stings Cross early in the
fight it won't be much of battle. In
less the local man fights altogether
diffently than in past encounters in
local rings. But If Leach should start
off wei and happen to land one that
viii make the champion slow up a bit
then Cross will show to better adVan-
tage- Leach usually fights his best /
battle when he gets off good; he sell !
dom comes from behind.
Rivers shaded Cross here on two 1
occasions Richie had little trouble !
beating the Mexican. And in winning
from Rivers the champion showed that /
his punching powers are second to
none He may be a bft cautious at the
outset, it being his first appearance in
New York and the fact that he is
champion and has a title at stake may
make him feel his way carefully for
a few rounds. But on the dope Rit-
chic outclasses the local man and I
look for him to win the decision easily
And while not antici0aTfuqr ahrr1rA