The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-06-28

weight Champion of the Worldly Written For The Evening Farmer.) If Joe Rivers is never able to lay claim to the title of lightweight champion it will not be for lack of opportunity. Dame Fortune has been unusually kind to him in that respect Joe must have been born under lucky star, or some tsuch thing. Few boxers indeed of such limited e0per- fence in the ring have had the golden chances for fame and fortune that have fallen to the lot of the youthful Spanish-American.
 After a short and sensational ca reer in the ranks of the feathers, during which time he defeated number of the leading lights and was in turn knocked out by Johnny Kill bzue, Joe announced that he had out grown the division and that his fu- ture efforts as a ringman would be 'di- rected towards the lightweight cham pionship goal
 Opportunity has not neglected Riv- CTS as a lightweight. Right off the real he was matched with Ad Wolgast for The title Such seasoned cam pstzners as Mcfarland, Britton, Cross and Murphy, anyone of whose achievements. entitled him to recog- nition by the. champion, were passed up in favor oflthe Los Angeles young ster-a comparative novice.
 And now the fckle Goddess has aeain shown her preference for the srartfy boxer. Next FTday-for the second time within a twelve rnonth-Rivers will climb through the ropes to do battle for theslightweight championship. Whether his good fortune will stick to him throughout the fight or not is a, question only the future can answer But there is no getting away from the fact that op- portunity has knocked oftener at the Rivers door than at that of any other fighter Of to-day
 Friday next, by the way, being the Fourth of July is a big day for the tight-zzeights- Representatives of the 133 pound division usually grap off the pugilistic plumS on holidays It has grown to be a sort of habit with them. In the old days the heavies monopolized the choice dates, but that was before the quality of the big fellows had deteriorated- Promoters smaller boxers
 The Ritcfie-Rivers fight is nat1r- ally the star, event of the Fourth, all though the Bud Anderson-Leach Cross match at Los Angeles should run 1t a close second. This is Cross round distance Leach has been boxing around New York for seven or eight years, ten rounds being his favorite distance. Several years ago
 
 Hyland for a finish fight, or a forty five round affair, forget which Any way Leach couldn't stick the route. and succumbed to Hy1and in the for ty-hrst period. Cross swore off on the distance thing after that, but of late the championship bee has been buzzing in his head and realizing that he couldn't hope to win the title oth- srwise has decided to make another try over the derby course
 Anderson Is the kind of man Cross prefers to meet Against a. clever boxer Leach has alwaps been a joke. Bud is a fighter on the Wolgast- Rivers order, so I understand, who leaves himself wide open in order to get in his deadly punch Unless able to hurt Cross early in the melee he Is liable to find such tactics costly in the light with the New Yorker. Give Cross an opponent who will mix it, and whose punches he can avoid for a few rounds, and he's liable to up- set his man in short order-for Leach carries quite a wallop of his own But, as have said before, if he gets stung early he's the greatest little clinchef you ever cIapped eyes on
 Anderson has youth and strength in his favor. and can hit a wicked blow as his fights with ssK O. Brown and zfandot demonstrated. Cross has the experience, is trickier, a good ring general, and also yields a. mighty punch A battle between boys of this kind may develop into a test of endurance and ganeness. If the lat ter quality is a necessary asset look for Anderson to win.
 The championship mill between Ritchie and Rivers will be the old story of cIeverness versus the punch. Not that Ritchie can't hit; but his speciality is the clever stuff. think Willie will still be Champion after the fight is over. While I do not look Tor him to stop the rugged Rivers within the limit I think he will have proved his superiority beyond all question when the twenty rounds are over.
 Taking line from their fights with Wolgast the champion appears to have clear shade on his rival. Ritch- Ie is a very clever boy, not so far behind the great Packey Mcfarland In skill, and Rivers looks to me like an easy proposition for a clever box CT Joe's best chance will lie in his luck in getting over few of his wicked swings. He put "K O. Brown away because he could land right and left at will He tried the game stunts here with Leach Cross, but they failed to work. Therefore 1t is not reasonable to expect him to have much success in that line against the more skillfuI Ritchie. I have a notion that Joe will be fighting the way Ritchie wants after the first few rounds Nothing discourages a knock-out" fighter so much as the discovery that his most earnest efforts DON'T WEAR A TORTURE TRUSS when you can procure one that is com- fortable, clean and cool A recently