The Washington herald., 1913-10-27
RITCHIE sure OF
TRIMMING CROSS
Light-Weight Champion Con-
6dent Of Handing Beating /,
to New York Dentist.
CLASH In TEN ROUNDS
Manhattan Battler Is at His Best in
Short Bout-Willie Not Good
in Small Distance.
CLASH In TEN ROUNDS
BY w. w. NAUGuroN.

\ ny
San Francisco. Oct se6-This coming
Wednesday night New York will have
its first glimpse of Lightweight Cham
pion Willie Ritchie in action. and Just
what kind OF an impression Ritchie will
make upon the Eastern fight followers
remains TO be seen. Willie and Beach
Cross are. to clash in a ten-round bout.
| Richie. according to what has been
/ flashed across the wires, has unlimited
reliance in his ability to handle young
Mr., Cross in a mastetly manner. As
willie occupies the proud position of
king OF the light-weights, he could
hardly be expected to talk in any other
/ strain. :.
70 Difference to his exalted station a
champion has to radiate confidence as
an emery wheel emits sparks. II he
/ failed to do so the public would slacken
up Its hero worship and 1t may be the
man he is training for will not come with
that feeling Of awe which from time
immemorable the under dog Is sup
posed to labor under when he finds him
self In the presence OF pugilistic royalty.
Apart from all that, however. Willie
Ritchie Is a thinking individual and he
probably recognizes that the coming test
| will prove a serious one.
Good nj Ten Rounds.
To begin with. Leach Cross has spe-
cialized over the ten-round distance and
Is thoroughly at home In bout of that
length. He has started on so many ten
round journeys that he knows-or should
know-how fast he can rate himself
without overtaxing his condition.
This is something that works both
ways. u enables a man to tell IL the
other fellow Is erowding on more sail
than he will be able to carry. Forti-
fed wiil powers Of discernment OF this
kind, a man who knows the short bout
game from A to z can eontrive to keep
something in reserve and make IL de-
| cidedly uncomfortable for an opponent
who has fought himself into a state Of
unweariness.
Then again Leach is a tricky fellow. In
the matter of sending in a singing punch
when least expected. he is a veritable
| surprise package. There is no particular
! continuity to his work as he shows TO
| poor advantage occasionally against
mediocre boxers and performs brilliantly
in high class company. He is not to be
gauged by what he did in his last battle
or the one before and he sandwiches good
| showings in amongst bad in such a way
| that the highest tribute one can pay him
! Is to pronounce him a dangerous man.
Great nj -Four Rounds.
While Willie Ritehie is to all intents
and purposes a product of San Fran.
/ cisco's four-round phase OF boxing, II
! cannot be said that he shows TO ad-
vantage over short distances There is
| story extant for that matter that he
| recognizes as much and that he recently
decided to take leaf out OF Bob Fitz-
simmons book.
Bob, in his later fights around New
York. found that he could not timber up
| to satisfy himself and he inaugurated
practice of warming up in his dressing
room with one of his sparring partners
| before entering the ring. Ritchie. il is
said. believes that course of that kind
would enable him to get down TO his
bearings more quickly after the starting
gong rang, and he told some of his
| friends that he intended. to go in for
| looSenmg up exercise in. the manner OF
Fitzsimmons.
Maybe the coming bout with Cross will
mark the beginning of this new order OF
! things so far as Ritchie is concerned. Far
be 1t from the writer TO disclose any
| mans scheme OF battle. but as Willie
has made public property of his system.
no condolences are betrayed in this
sspeciar instance.
Rad IL AnEered.
just watch out. Leach. il Willie comes
into the ring with his face flushed and
his forehead moist with perspiration de-
pend upon 1t he has had a spirited set
toe with one OF his aides back in the
dressing room.
II was the fight with Rivers that con-
WINGED Willie he would have been the
better for little warm-up prior TO taking
the ring. Ii also convinced the spectators
that Ritchie Is slow to get going. 1t
did more. 1t made fellows who had bet
heavily on Ritchfe feel for a while that
they had barked up the wrong tree.
Little wonder, for OF all the bedraggled
worlds champions that were ever seen
Ritchie was the worst in the early rounds
of that match. His knees hit the ground;
his hair came down over his eyes, and
his head snapped this way and that under
Rivers pestering fire But Rivers gave
out, and 1t came all right after awhile.
stasEercd wolGast.
The four-round. bout with Ad wolgast
was about the only match in which
Ritchie got to work quickly. He stag
gered Wolgast with well-placed rights.
but even this was condoned on the score
that IL was Wolgast's first essay after
his operation. the argument being that
Ad at the time was more a subject for
sanatorium than prize ring.
In his match with Joe Landot at New
Orleans, Ritchie was very late in putting
in his best hcks. and. striking an aver
age of his performances he Is more at
home in long bouts than shorter ones.
Ritchie. albeit his ring work is not OF
the scintillating kind. is hard man to
down. He is game beyond question, al
though you might not think so on az
count Of the extreme caution he displays
in making OF matches. -
He has far greater dssim'lative pow
ers than might be supposed after making
study or his physique and his facial
characteristics. and he mas shown that
he can stand all kinds oi wear and tear
and still retain a stlffening right-hand
punch.