Evening star., 1914-10-25
Coffroth Has Offered Belt.

There should be a successor to the
late Stanley Ketchel, and it seems that
Clabby adopted the proper course when
fend it against all comers. with side
wagers to go with the purse if called
on. Promoter Coffroth has offered to
put up belt emblematic of the cham
pionship. and as Chip has proven HIM
self to be a real contender the plan
looks good. There must be start, and
it might as well be with Chip and
Clabby. Jeff Smith, Mike Gibbons, I'd
die McGoorty and Jack Dillon can then
challenge for the title over the mara
thon route. There should be a stipu-
lation in giving the belt. that the win
ner must defend 1T at all times against
legitimate challengers within four to
six months after each title battle. That
would do away with the methods pur-
sued by some of the alleged champions
of the past. 1t also is hoped that the
boxing authorities of the country will
get together before long and adopt a
uniform scale of weights scale to
conform with other countries-and do
away with ringside Weighing. We have
had the middleweight limit at 1853
ringside for the past twenty years or
more, while England, France aRd Aus
tralia have kept the limit at 100 pounds
at o'clock. Looking back over the
sidered, it is evident that the 16O-
pound limit is better suited to that
class than our own OF 15S ringside, A
pound or two one way or the other be-
tween men of that class makes very
little difference and there should be no
such arguments about the weight as
we have had for years. Take such good
fighters as Jack Dillon. Eddie Nc
Goorty. Leo Houck and 1t is almost i'm
possible for them to make 1853 ringside
but they can do it for a big match at
8 o'clock weighing, and 160 pounds
would be easy for them. 1t is very
probable that the promoters will get
together during the winter and en-
OF weights and possibly establish a
list of champions, the same as the
French Boxing Federation has done.
However, the Clabby-Chip match will
be a good start for a middleweight
champion. SO let them go ahead.
War Hurts Boxing.
Even far-away Australia has been af-
fected in a boxing way by the Euro
pean war. 1t was not supposed that
the war would cut much figure with the
people down under" but reports CON-
ing from the antipodes are not encour-
aging for the boxing game just now,
which accounts for the return home OF
others and the early return of Gus
Christie, Johnny Griffiths, Joe Shugrue
and others now there. The sending of
about $4,000 men from Australia has
had a telling effect on the game in Sgd
ney and Melbourne, for many of the
men were from those cities and the at
tendance at the shows naturally fell
off. Up to the time the war started the
boxing game was thriving in the anti
podes: in fact, it had never known such
a hnnm before in the Of he
Johnson-Burns contest and others. Ac-
cording to reports just at hand the
game is still alive and well, but much
Of the enthusiasm has been taken out
of 1t on account of the war, and the in
dications are, unless there is change
for the better, that Snowy Baker, the
Australian promoter. will curtail his
Importation of American stars for a
there, having been under contract for
several more matches, but negotiations
for other American boxers will be drop-
ped for the present.
Brown-Dillon F1asco.
Such affairs as the Brown-Dillou
fiasco at st. Louis do the boxing game
no good, although in this case the pro.
moters and fans Of the river city seem
to think that it will have a wholesome
effect on the boxers who appear there
In the future. 1t Is rather a difficult
matter to place the blame where il
really belongs. because there are sc
many different stories and angles tc
the mix-up. Referee Randall was nc
doubt honest in his intentions to pro-
tect the fans and give them what they
paid to sea real boxing contest and
not a stalling match-but in his anx-
iety to do so he may have overstepped
Ia oil ha = he
boxers to "get a move on" but it prob