El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-06-14

M WINE hllcnle won the A6ht-
- y weight title / prophesied thas
the new champion would upset the
order of things in the way Of poundage
and that while he reigned as head Of
the division contests involving the title
would call for a higher scale than that
set by Battling Nelson and religiousIy
adhered to by his successor. Ad VOL
CAST
WiIlie's recent refusal to make 133
ringside for Joe Rivers bears. out the
prediction made at the time In spite
of the Oftrepeated assertions of man
ager Billy Nolan that Richie is a
legitimate 1873 FOUNDER and that he
would defend his title of champion at
that weight, l54 pounds at 9 o'clock
the morning OF the contest was the
very lowest Willie would agree to
scale Tor Rivers This ARRANGEMENT
had it prevailed would have allowed
Richie TO pick up several pounds be-
fore ring time and have given him an
at his best is probably a shade or two
under the lightweight limit
Champion Fixes Weight.
While the American scale Of weights
calls for 1913 ringside to govern all
bouts Tor the championship il has been
the custom Of champions Of former
years, barring. OF course, our friends
Nelson and WOl@ast. to ignore that
ruling. and it VIII be found upon in
vestigatiOn that the title has changed
owners at a higher mark oftener than
at 1873 Several writer's question
Ritchie's right to arbitrarily raise the
scale after winning at 13S but he only
follows a precedent set years ago ana
the public is disposed 10 regard him
well within his rights as champion
Nevertheless his action comes as a sur
prise at this late day and is hardly
consistent with the many declarations
of his intention to defend the title at
1873 ringside or not at all.
Richie or rather Billy Nolan. will
have his work cut out from now on
trying to explain why the weight limit
IS raised on the little fellows and low
cred for men of the Mcfarland type.
One result of Ritchies demand for a
higher scale with Rivers viii be that
, he can TO longer hide behind the 1913
pound ScarecrOW and ignore the chal-
lenses OF such good boxers as McFar-
land, Britton and Welsh at a more lib
eral adjustment Of weights than here
tofOre proposed.
Leach Cross. the New York light
weight, is booked TO box Bud Anderson
at Los Angeles on the Fourth. And to
judge from what young Anderson has
already accomplished in his chosen pro-
fessiOn. Doctor Cross (he's a regular
toothPuller at hOme) is in for the time
Of his career.
Cross has it on Anderson in exper-
lence only. Tom McCarey. the veteran
promoter, recently expressed the Opin-
Ion LlaI Anderson Is the hardest hit
ter of his weight he has ever seen, AMI
IL must be said that a boxer who can
put the tough * o. Brown away for
the long sleep must WELD a mighty
WallOp- Bud has also shown he DOS
seSses considerable boxing skill Re
ports of the fight with Joe MandOt
stated that the clever Joe had little
on Bud in the way of science. He can
also stand the gaff like q ma iOr. which
is something many doubt DR.. Cross can
asSImliate successfully. In his many
New YORK engagements Leach has
never shown liking for punishment,
and has always resOrted to clinching
and stalling tactics when up against
a hard hitting proposition who could
stand his artillery fire and hand out
Q little OF the same sort himself.
Leach Is a. cageT fighter who admits
he is after the coin and cares nothing
LOT the glory of the game. and that's
why he takes no unnecessary chances.
And 1t Is also why many local fans
accuse him of cOwardice. There's no
denying Leach is bear when facing
an inferior man. and resembles a third
rater when opposed to a clever boxer.
When one stops TO consider how help
less Packey Mcfarland made him look
several years back. and more recently
Jack Brltton. IT is utterly impOssib bic
10 figure Leach a championship pos
sibility
Good judges favor AndersOn's chances
in the coming bout. He is younger
and looks more like the successful
fighting machine. Although almost UNI
heard Of six months ago he has within
that short space of time made rapid
strides toward the top and is consid-
cred one of the more formidable OF the
many title aspirants His defeat of
Joe Mandot was probably no great
achievement i nthe light Of JOe'S recent
performances, but just the same 10 was
quite an accomplishment for a young
ster, and suggests wonderful posi-
bilities for the future.
<
Speculation on championship con-
tenders brings me TO young ,Shugrue,
the Jersey City lad who has been win