The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-01-31

is another whose record entities him to chance at the champion over Mo- l ran. Smith has beaten practically all the white hopes, either by knock | out or via. the decision route, and looks the best in the game barring Willard And this pair has been matched Tor twenty rounds at San Francisco July next The winner of that battle will be in line for a match for the worlds s title.
 They are already ordering flowers to decorate Johnny Coulon's pug1llstlc grave. The bantam champion return ed to the ring last week and' ac- cording to advices. failed to snow nls old-time form.
 The critics should not be so 1mpa- tjent. Naturally after 8 long spell of idleness Coulon could not De ex- pected to show at his best! Keep a boxer out of the ring and out of training for more than a year and 1t takes several bouts and plenty or box ing in training to restore his Judg- ment of distance is very important part of a Isuccessful ngnt- CTS box of tricks.
 Report stated that Coulon was wild and that he failed to land time ana again when opportunity presented if | self. Which goes to prove what l said before. To get the proper range I of an opponent plenty of boxing in
  | in any sport where the eye cuts 1 figure A billiard player, for ex- ample, no matter how clever or skill
 ful he may be, who has been away from the green table for month finds on his return that the points ldo not accumulate so rapidly. But
 plenty. of practice will remedy this
 defect if the player still retains his
 natural skill And so possibly with Coulon It may be that the little champion is through as the leader Iof the bantam division, or it may Emean that he is just a trifie rusty af-
 ter his long vacation.
 But he will need to be at his very
 best to beat tsKid' Williams It is jquestion whether he can beat Williams more whirlwind looks like a coming champion, and is one of the hardest
 kinds to beat that I've seen In many a day
 A story is being circulated that diff Ifculty in making weight is the real lcause of Willie Ritchiess asking for a postponement of the match with Tom my Murphy. Until several months ago was also under the impression. Judging from his appearances and from l what I had been told, that Willie could not make the lightweight limit l without weakening himself. But while the champion was in New York ttraining for the bout with Leach Cross I called at his quarters several days before the fight took place, and to. prove that 13s pounds as no great task for him the champion jumped lon the scales in my presence Now this was not a frame-up or anything like that as Ritchie was not expecting I asvisit from me at all. But he knew I that I had. expressed the opinion that he was rather a big lightweight and wanted to convince me that was wrong. Willie weighed at the time I exactly 133 1-2 pounds. This was about three days before the Gross ! match, and the conditions called fol 135 at o'clock in the evening, if remember correctly. Anyway that i: land he had not indulged in very vigor- Iouse training stunts either.
 I Willie is deceiving in appearance at thae- In street clothes one weu1t Fl take him for a welter- weight. H,
 looks every bit as big as Packey Mo
 Farland, if not trifie more robust I although possibly not so tall.
 Fl The weight conditions for the Rit
 chic Murphy match were the sam, las for the Ritchie-C Cross bout. hard lly think he has grown so much il the last month or two that he nov Fl finds it impossible to make 135 sever
 al hours before ring time. But tn. knockers must have some excuse fo
 banning him; they all have to admf 5 that once, in the ring Ritchie is som Fl fighter. There is no chance to fint sl fault with him for lack of abilit.
 in that direction.
 z. f