The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-12-20
CORBETT'S BOXING COLUMN
Hopes Nothing Will Happen To Pre- 5 vent Ritchie From Meeting Murhy Next Time
fBy James J. Corbett, Former Heavy weight Champion of the WOrld-)

fBy James J. Corbett, Former Heavy
 weight Champion of the Worldly
 Special to the Farmer.)
 - New York, Dec. 2O.-It is hard to say whether Willie Ritchie or Tommy Murphy is entitled to the greater DOT lion of sympathy as a result Of the calling off of their bout The cham pion deserves bit of coincidence stuff for missing an opportunity to add $15,OOO to his bank account, ana M Mur- phy should be coTniserated for losing the one chance offered in eleven years of ring work to battle for the coveted championship crown
 All things considered it is a good thing for the sport that it rained hard enough to justify Promoter Cof- froth in postponing the match Had Ritchie entered the ring with an ab- sceSs in his nose, as it turned out he was suffering with, he could not have done himself justice, and had he been beaten everybody interested would have come in for severe criticism for permitting the bout to go on
 Jim Conroth has rematched the boys for January 23, with the under standing that in the event of rain the bout will be held the following day. The terms agreed upon are said to be practically the same as for the cancelled bout of last week
 In the meantime Tommy Murphy will have to console himself with the thought that Ritchie is a man of his word and that if the champion agrees to give him first chance he can af- ford to wait a few weeks longer for 9 match that he has already waited for more than a decade.
 It is hoped that Ritchie's illness does not develop into anything ser fous enough to compel another post ponement. At the same time an nouncement of the new match is a bitter disappointment to local sports who had counted on the champions s return to New York immediately af- ter the holidays. When leaving hero Fsitchie promised to come back as soon as, he had finished with Murphy and take on the best boys the match makers might select for him. Willie scored one of the greatest hits ever registered by a boxer in a New York ring since the days of the Horton law. His great. battle with Leach Cross s still the talk of the big town and any bout arranged for him here-if ]. worthy opponent is selected-wiu mean the biggest house both in at tendance and gate receipts that has turned out to see boxing match in many vears 1
 There are several boys who would be popular matches for the cham pion in local sense. Freddy Welsh would satisfy. So would Jack Brit ton Packey Mcfarland naturally would be the greatest card for no boxer stands better with the New York public than the stockyards' champion, but if what they are telling about Packey's weight is true there is no more chance of his boxing Ritchie than there is of meeting between him and Johnny Coulon.
 Welsh has assgreat rep here and everywhere He is the champion of England, and great boxer. Brit ton is also well thought of and de- servedIy so- Mcfarland, of course, is regarded as the class of both the light and weIter-weight divisions. Sti1i if I were a New York promoter and Ritehie. had agreed to box under Iny management I would not select any of these boys for the first bout. Young Joe shugrue, the Jersey light weight, would be my trump card.
 While he has been boxing in the lightweight class hardly more than a year Shugrue has met and defeated a number of the best boys. Probably he would have accomplished more if he had been given the chance. He met Leach Cross several months ago and clearly outboxed and outfought the Ghetto champion in every round of the ten
 Young Shugrue is either a very modest youngster or he is poorly
 
 ability he should have been esta bIish- ed before this one of the very few real aspirants for the championship. If any legitimate nght-weight-and by that I mean a boy who can make 133 pounds without trouble - has earned the right to box for the title 1t is this same boy.
 Shugrue is only youngster com pared with Welsh, Britton Cross Murphy and the other title seekers I ha is Uaf he is already rated above Cross and Murphy in the estimation of local ex- perts, and his selection as Ritchie's opponent on the champions return East would be very popular.
 I believe Shugrue will prove that he is a real champion contender if given an opportunity. Considering his years and experience he is the Eke1iest looking lightweight prospect I have seen in long ti8ne-
 I am not trying to injure Freddy Welsh's chances for a match with Ritchie. Apparently the only chance for him is a bout over the twenty round route Ritchie is provoked at the stand taken by Harry Pollock, Freddy's manager, since the Vancou- yer dasco and will hardly entertain @ proposition to box the English cham pion in a no-decision affair of ten rounds.
 AS for Freddy he should realize that every year that passes makes him lust one year older. He has spent about the idlest sort of a twelve month in this country so far as meet Ing boys of any class is concerned His ansasG, the genial but talkative Pol lock, has done plenty of press-agent ing for Frederick, but he has not framed up the bouts that will turn his fighters fame into money. Ritchfe's attitude toward Welsh is of course one