The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-11-01

CBy James J. Corbett, Former Heavy
 weight Champion of the World0
 Special to the Evening F'armer-)
 New York, Nov 1-George Chips re- cent decisive victory over Frank Klaus whose previous record entitled him to consideration as one of the foremost candidates for nfddle-We1ght honors, has certainly stimulated inter est in the doings of members Of that long neglected division Of pug1hsn. Since the death of Stanley Ketchel, un- doubtedly one of the greatest middle weights who ever donned 8 glove, there has been no legitimate champion of the 15S pound class. There nave been a number of claimants from B1- lv Papke down to the McGoortyS, KIauses and Dillons, but not one qf them could rightful1y claim the hon. prs Probably Klaus had accom- pIished as much, if not a bit more, than his rivals, although he failed by a great margin to show that he was of championship timber in recent bouts with Eddie McGoorty and Jack Dillon Chip now looms on the niddle-weight horizon as the most promising of all championship candidates True. there are several others who will dispute his claims, among them McGoorty, Dillon and possibly Jimmy Clabby. The facc remains, however. that George has ac- complisbed something that the others failed to do. Frank Klaus has hao a all his nine or ten years as boxer he never tasted decisive defeat until Chip put him out. McGoorty, Dillon, Pap ke and many others have had the chance that was given Chip, but ne was the only one who made good Therefore we will have to concede that his claim to consideration as worthy aspirant must take precedence over those of his rivals.
 will not be surprised if Chip is seen
 
 man within the next few weeks I know that a well known local promo ter is laying plans for a miodle-We1gnt elimination tournament and has made. propositions to McGoorty and other leading lights of the division to enter It is barely possible that before the Winter is over the long delayed mid dIe-weigFat championship problem will have been satisfactorily solved
 Until Eddie McGoorty began to pile on weight I regarded him as the man most likely to succeed to KetchePs t1- tie But in recent matches Mac has shown that 165 pounds is more to his liking than 15S. In fact, Eddie has not made the middle-weight limit in any match since that never to be forgot tten encounter with Mike Gibbons last Fall That bout called for rings1de weighing and to save his forfeit mon ey McGoorty over-did the job with the result that he jumped on the scales at something like 156. And the McGoor- tys of that night was mere shadow of the sturdy boxer we had seen on other occasions. It was the only tir,1e that he had been forced to make so low a. weight in any of his Eastern engagements and the results was that his strength was left in the training quarters. Gibbons. had the oppor- tunity of a lifetime that evening to grab off a heap of glory and renoWn but for some reason best known to himself was too tinid to take advan- tage of McGoorty's palpable poor con dition.
 And Gibbons took a big drop in the estimation of many who had rated him a great deal higher than his faint hearted performance of that ev- ening proved him to be.
 With McGoorty out of the running Chips strongest opposition should come from his recent victim (KIaus), i, CIabby who has been showing his best form in recent Pacific coast matches. I am not certain how Dil- lon stands on the weight proposition but I believe Klaus can make 158 without much trouble, while Clabby Is several pounds below that notch. Then there is also the chance that Mike Gibbons will elect to take an other crack at the niddleweights Gibbons has the goods all right, but
 
 and possibly 1t was the knowledge Of that discrepancy that contributed to his non-aggressiveness in the Me Goorty battle
 Chip, according to some critics, de- feated Klaus with what is known to the elect as a lucky punch. Be that as it may, Georges record indf- cates that he is liable to put the ''K- O. over at any stage of a con test Anyway in the Klaus match he proved he is blessed with the fight Ing spirit that can take the gaff and hand it back. And that punch of his Is an asset not to be despised.
 Still Klaus might give better ac- count of himself in return match. It may be, as his friends claim, he was over-confdent and that it was his own care1essness that gave Chip the chance to win. Of course, there was never fighter yet who didn't have an excuse when beaten. Klaus Is entitled to his ''a1ibi,'' but the pub lie will take more stock in his excus- Chips victory was huke-and not EBGore.
 A story comes from Texas of a sol dier whose ambition is to become heavy-weigft champion and whose belief that he will make a, fighter is : based solely on his enormous height, weight and strength The young man stands something like six feet ten inches in his tri1bfes, weighs 290 pounds. and answers to the name of 'aTinys' Vaillancourt. Stacked along side of such mere pygmies as Carl Morris with his six feet four, and Jess Willard's six feet six of bone and muscle Tiny would look like a regular man.
 The discovery of this latest gigan- tic aspirant for prize ring honors re- calls the epidemic of big fellows that followed the ''downfa1P' of. the white race-as the scribes phrased it when Jack Johnson trimmed Jim Jeffries. -At the time it was the popular be-
 ef that it would take a giant to re-