The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-07-12
LEACH CROSS GIVEN PRAISE
 FOR SHOWING WITH ANDERSON
eorhen Says RItehie Has Established Righ1
 to Be Called Champion

fBy James J. Corbett, Former Heavy
 weight Champion of the Worldly
 tWritten For The Evening Farmer )
 Willie Ritchie is the cIassiest light weight champion we have had since the days when the late Joe Cans ruled supreme in the division.
 There were a number of so-called experts who asserted that Willie was a very lucky youth when the referee awarded him the title a foul in the battle with Ad Wo1gast, and re- ferred to him as an accidental champion. but recent developments have proved his right to the cham pionship-
 Rftchie's; impressive victory over Joe Rivers. the sensational youngster from Los Angeles, has satisfied the most sceptfcs1 among fight followers that he is thes goods" and that he IS in every respect a. worthy holder of a title held in the past by such great opponents of the manly art as Jack McAuliffe. teKid'' Lav1gne, Frank Erne and Joe Cans
 Willie began his, career in San Fran cisco in 1910, but he was practically unknown until two years ago when he first began to attract attention as Packsy EEcF'arland's sparring partner It was while assisting Mcfarland to train for the match with Harlem
  en a hurry, call to substitute for the appendfcftis stricken Wolgast in the match with Freddy Welsh. champion lightweight of Great Britain, and one of the most scientific boys of the weight in the world
 Rftchtefs showing on that occasion was little short of sensational for 9 comparative novice and while he lost the decision after a hard-fought con test of twenty rounds. his class was established then and there. Experts who had witnessed the battle agreed that he was one of the most promising of the younger -1ightWeights-
 Willie came East shortly afterwards, but the best boys in this locality, among them Leach Crosss gave him a wide berth It was his ambition to box beforesa NeWNYork crowd for he was smart enough to realize that good showing here would be a big boost. but 8 suitable opponent could not be found to meet him. and he was forced to hop-scotch around the coun try in search of matches
 Ritehiefs first real opportunity after the Welsh battle came when Ad Vol gast returned to the ring following his long siege in dry dock. Ad select ed Willie to meet him in a four round bout at San Francisco, and while no decision was given per previous agree ment. the honors easily belonged to the youngster- Willie followed this up with a ten round setto with Jon Man dot. at that time looked upon as cham pionship material, and clearly demon strated superiority over the Southern CT
 Then came the fight with Wolgast for the title. Willie gradually wore down the ene-tfne terror of the light weights until he had him in such bad shape that to save himself from the fgnominy of a Knockout Ad resorted to the tactics of a hard loser and de- liberately fouled his opponent.
 Under Billy Nolan's management Ritchis devoted the next six months to travelling about the country filling theatrical engagements During that time he refused to consider challenges and as a result incurred the displeas- ure of the critics who referred to him as a stage" fighter and accused him of being afraid to defend the cham pionshfp- It is believed that the f'pan hing to which the champion was sub 5ected at the time had much to do with the su subseduent split with Nolan.
 Finally Willie announced he was rezdyte fight again, and to his credit 1t must be said did not look for an easy mark On the contrary he se- lected Joe Rivers. one of the toughest propositions in the lightweight divis- 1on-and proved his class to every one's complete satisfaction by putting the Mexican away in eleven rounds
 Rftchie Is that very rare conbina- ton of scientific boxer and hard hit ter-which Is a combination hard to beat There is no reason to believe that he will not hold the title for long tme-quite as long even as the great Cans There is no one in sight who looks good enough to beat him at 1sS 134 ringside Leach Cross might, give him an argument for a few rounrs, but WflIfe's superior sci ence and generaIship should enable him to beat the New Yorker over any route from six rounds to q finish
 Freddy Welsh is another who would give Ritchfe a. battle Freddy is a very clever boxer. every bit as sci entiac as Rftchfe, if not a Dit more 50, but he Is not so young as he used to De- while Willie has that great asset youth, in his favor. And Welsh, though he migEat succeed in holding the champion even for ten rounds or so could hardly hope to beat him in a longer match Ritchie's superior hit ting powers and stamina would give him the edge in twenty round bout.
 or course there Is our old friend Fackey Mcfarland We will have to admit that Packey might turn the t-ick- But he will not con sent to 1854 154 rfngside, that seems to let him out of the argument Packey would like nothing better than q match with his former sparriny mart ner over any old distance. but if is doubtful if the pair will ever come to an agreement on the weight question. A cH'ariano-Rftchie combat would He worth going miles to see. How ever,. it looks too beautiful a dresn, to ever come true.