The Alaska citizen. (Fairbanks, Alaska) 1910-1917, 1914-09-28
Who Will Be Champion.

Who Will Be Champion
When an assassn's bullet pierced
the sturdy back of the late lamented
! Stanley ketchel a void was left in
the middleweight division of pugilism
| that has never been successfully fill
I ed, though many contenders for the
crown of the matchless ketchel have
! appeared since the date of that ira
sedy
Each succeeding boxing season
from 1910 has witnessed an effort
by some fighter to prove his right
TO the middleweight title, yet not
one of the aspirants ever succeeded
in establishing a claim that was not
open to question. At the start of the
1884 season it was thought the
legitimate champion among 1888
Founders surely would quickly ap
pear, because there We're at least half
a dozen good men struggling for the
honor. but the season has come and
gone and still no man has succeeded
in entrenchins himself firmly on the
throne.
Jimmy Clabby. Mike Gibbons. Ed
die McGoorty, George Chip and Al
Mccoy now loom up as the cream
of the middleweight division. and
from one of them the champion I'M
doubtedly will come. OF this group
Clabby probably is deserving of the
greatest attention because he has
been the most consistent performer
of any of his challengers in the
season just ended. In the last twelve
months he has scored two victories
and has fought one draw with Eddie
McGoorty; he has given Billy Muir
ray sound lacing. has whipped Sail
or PetrOskey; and he has register
ed defeats over one or two lesser
ring lights. Surely this is a record
that overshadows any of the per
formanCes TO the credit of the other
title hunters.
Whether Mike Gibbons is next in
line to Clabby for championship con
sideration is an open subject for de
bate, but the splendid showing of
the St. Paul flash in the last six
months makes him deserving of recoe-
milton. Gibbons has not fought such
classy opponents as Clabby has en-
countered, but the men he did meet
and some of them We're exceeding
" tough propositions-pr proved very
easy in the hands of Gibbons. The
real ability of Gibbons is matter
of conjecture. He is recongnized
everywhere as an exceptionally clev-
er boxer, and in ten-round contest
it is doubtful if any middleweight
today would make him take the
ing shadow could withstand the
strain of twenty furious rounds
against men like Clabby, McGoorty,
or even Chip no one may say at
this time.
Back in the early days when both
Clabby and Gibbons were struggling
and fighting their way to the front
promoters in Milwaukee and Winni-
peg matched the pair on two differ,
accounts of both contests credited
Clabby with a decisive victory. For
that reason the impression always
has been current that Clabby is the
master of the Gopher but there are
many close students of boxing form
who are not willing to concede this.
Undoubtedly only the acid test of
battle will decisively settle the ques-
ton, and right here comes sug-
gestion to promoters:
Why not arrange a match between
Clabby and Gibbons as soon as
Clabby returns from Australia this
fall? This would be contest that
ought to develop one of the prettiest
scraps staged between middleweights
in many a day, and if it takes place
in locality where both me are well
known the attraction should draw
capacity house. II Clabby deci
sively defeats Gibbons the next time
they meet. then there would be little
further pretext for denying that
Clabby has honestly earned the right
to be recognized as the legitima tie
successor to Ketcflel.
Lesson in Boxing.
The world is full of so-called pro
fessors" of the ma My art who are
only out to gather in the coin and
make the unsophj sticated youth be-
lieve the science is very difficult to
acquire. while te. my mind it's sim,
pie to those who give it proper
study and attey .tion says Jack Sicily