The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1913-01-11
nv James J. Corbett. Former Heavy
weight Champion of the Worldly

gF3v James J. Corbett, Former Heavy
weight Champion of the WORLDLY
Especial to The Evening F'armer)
There are boxers VINO have the
great gift of making friends and re-
tanning them in defeat the same as In
xfctory I have known boys of little
skill. and to whom success in the ring
was the exception and not the rule,
who could boast of regular armies OF
admirers The mere announcement
IF = match in which one 4ofsthese box
ers was a principal meant a guaran-
tee of a house we1l-hlled with boost
ers-
Then there are others who never
succeed in striking the popular chord
even though their ring careers are
brilliant When Jimmy Britt was in
the hey-day of his career and winning
every match, he was one of the most
cordially dislii1ed boxers who ever
claimed san Francisco as home. The
sntfpathy to Britt was SO intense tnat
a majority of those who went to see
him box did no with the hope that
he would be soundly thrashed- He
never knew popularity in his home
town until he had tasted defeat
Leach Cross occupies like position
in New York TO that Britt held IN
San Francisco. Leach is a good
drawing card because a great many
fans would delight in seeing him lick
ed and for fear they might miss that
pleasing performance make it a. point
to be Johnny the spot While
the authorities have decreed- that al
persons who patronize boxing match
- must conduct themselves in man
ners betting gentlemen, the aversion
TO Cross, is so marked that 1t Is an
exceedingly difficult task to prevent
the hood1urn element from giving vent
to their feelings. During the pro-
eress of a bout his opponent Is in
yariably applauded and encouraged
and Leach reviIed good and plenty.
and at times the language is not OF
the choicest This reverse roofing
has not seriously interfered with
Cross success. but in the opin1es. Of
the fans that is because he La a
shrewd matchmaker and has so far
side-step~ed the classiest light
weights.
Gross surprised the talent by sign
ing TO box the great Joe Rivers ten
rounds and when the 1oSs step in the
ring next Tuesday night it is a ctnch
that the house will be crowded 10 the
doors. 1t is the biggest attraction in
sight at the present time, and Rivers
has created such favorable impress
sion. during two weeks of training
tfl5ttstl4e hopes of the "anti-Cross"
cdftfngent are running high.
Rivers record speaks for itself. Dur
ing the short time that he has been
boxing professionally the little Next
can has met and defeated number
of classy men AS feather-weight
he won a twenty round decision over
Johnny KHbane, but in a return match
was knocked out. At that time Joe
had outgrown the feather-weight
class and in making the weight was
forced to undergo rigorous training
which robbed him of his strength. His
recent battles with AID Wolgast and
Joe Mandot esta blished his class in
the lightweight division
Those who have looked Rivers over
at the training quarters predict his
success in the Cross encounter. But
Leach when he tries, is able to give
a good account of himself, and if he
gets off on the right foot may make
things interesting for the visitor. To
give the local man credit, it must be
said that in all his bouts during the
Isst year the only boxer to earn pop
uIarverdict over him was Jack Brit
ton, and that's nothing to be ashamed
of for Britton is ranked second only
to Rackey. Mcfarland when it comes
to c1everness-
If Rivers wins decisiveIy from
Cross it is unlikely he will be seen
again in New York for some time. Fla
has been offered matches with Britton
and Mcfarland, but as he has far
insisted upon 1913 ringside for all i'm
,portant bouts 1t is improbable he will
agree to concede weight to either of
those crackajacks.
Speaking of Paclxey Mcfarland. that
young man has declared himself on
the weight question, as per the re-
quest of Billy Nolan, and offers to do
135 pounds, four hours before the
fight. if Willie Richie will consent to
meet him.
There is as much chance of Packey
getting a match under those condi-
lions while Nolan looks after the
+ to the ring and challenging McCarty
for the white heavyweight cham
pionsfip- And from the way I feel
right now Luther's honors are safe so
far as yours truly is concerned. Ritch-
les manager recently announced that
Packey would be favored over other
nspfrants and intimated there would
be no necessity of making 1873 ring
side a which figure he took good care
TO point out Willie won the title. But
! have a picture of him acquiescing to
Eackey'S suggestion about the pound
age I am afraid Mac will never get
a match out of Richie unless the
champion outgrows the lightweight di-
vision. If the boys could only agree
on weight it would mean a pretty
match between the master and his pu-
pill
Luther McCarty is now near the top
of the white hope class. In besting
AL Palzer Luther earned a respite from
the arduous training to which he has
applied his best efforts for months
past. It will probably be next July
before McCarty will again be seen in
the ring.
AS for Palzer there is no reason why
he shouldn't keep right along about
his. business in spite of the beating
McCarty. handed him. He is only a
kid. and it may be the licking will
prove a blessing in disguise. A re-
verse at his age should not do him
any harm Anyway it will reduce
the bump of cOnceit that had assun-
abnormal proportions since his