Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1914-02-02
GIVE DEFEATED
CHAMPS A SHOW
SAYS JEFFR|ES
woIgast Eager for "Chance" DE
SteadfastIy Denied to Bat
ting Nelson.
RvH. M. W alker.

rs ANGELES, Feb. "A cham
pion-be he q veteran with
~ long ring record rolled up to
ne credit or pink skinned youth
who has gained the title at the finish
Of three or four well-made matches
&c a difficult proposition to handle and
more difficult to understand.
II was upon one of those rare occa-
xons when jim Jeffries drops his
Guard and talks fight with newspaper
men that he gave voice to the follow
ing: ,s :,
"A defeated champion should al
vays be given a return date with the
man who has beaten him. The fact
that n boxer has held a title for a
number of weeks or years, as the case
NAV be. is recommendation enough.
1T can be taken for granted that he
was a high class man or he wouidnt
have held the championship. And
that he is finally defeated is no reason
WHY he should be counted out. If he
wants n chance to redeem himself he
should get 1t, and the new champ
must be bunk champ, indeed, If he
refuses Il"
Jeff is we'll fortified to make this
talk. considering that he boxed Fltz-
simmons, Corbett, Sharkey and Run
lin twice. but how many of the more
recent champions could stand the
light in this connection?
MO champion ever tried harder for
~ return match with his con-
oueror than did AL Wolgast after los
ing on a foul to Rftchie.
And Wolgast had every ground for
his demand He held the lightweight
championship from February %, 1910,
10 November %, 1912, during which
time he met every dangerous con-
tender that the game could produce,
and in the end lost on technicality.
On the other hand, Ad had stead
tasty refused to give Battling Nelson
a return date after he had conquered
the Dane in 40 terrible rounds at
Point Richmond, and Nelson by rea-
son of his long and most honora BILE
record was entitled to the chance to
regain his title.
Wolgasts real reason for refusing
10 consider Nelson was that in the
Point Richmond arrangements he
(Adl had been obliged to take the
short end" in every detail and Nell
son had continually tainted and in
suited him It was a poor excuse
from a purely ringside view, but VOL
CAST made It stick and sent the Bat
tier to the trash heap.
2 ITCHIE held as his reason for
~ avoiding Wolgast that AID, in
losing decisions to Harlem" Tommy
Murphy and young Joe Azevedo had
automatically disqualified himself
from the championship line and was
no longer a card"
Wolgast in defeating Ritchle, how
ever, has again placed himself In line
for a chance at the title.
The writer believes that Promoter
j. W. Coffroth would make no mis-
take we're he to cancel the Richie
Murphy bout and substitute Wolgast
against the champion.
A BE ATTELL lost the feather
- weight championship to Johnnie
kilhane at Vernon on February %,
lSl2, without so much as being
knocked down.
this was boxing contest nure and
simple. Kllbane outjabbed Able and
earned the twenty-round decision.
But the Cleveland boy fed back East
and refused Attell a return battle,
Notwithstanding the fact that there
wasn't another 22-pounder in the
country who could qualify as cham
plonship contender.
Recently Kilbane has had change
o. mind. and agreed to box Attell
again. The remarkable feature of the
SITUATION is that neither Promoter
,McCarey nor Coffroth appears anx-
l9us 20 stage this bout. Certainly
.nls TACT does not speak we'll for Kill
zane powers as a drawing card. A
championship match going to seed for
Iack OF interest on the part of the
promoters is, indeed, a novelty.