Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-03-21
JIM CORBETT SAYS RITCHIE
DOES NOT PICK OPPONENTS
Champion Ready
for All Corners, Providing
He Gets His Price.
WOLGAST's GREAT RETURN
Former Heavyweight Cham
pion, However, Thinks
Richie Better Man.
By JAMEs J. CORBETT
Former heavyweight Champion OF
the World.

Former heavyweight Champion OF
the World.
More than a week has rolled by
since Willie Richie and AID Wolgast
met in Milwaukee, but their battle
Ia still the principal topic among
sporting men. Even Ritchie's hard
est knockers-and a champion pugi-
list always has plenty-admit that
the Californian never disappoinfs a
crowd when he Is in the ring. Will
lie can always he depended upon to
put up an interesting battle, and,
given a willing opponent of the VOL
CAST stripe, the spectators are sure
to enjoy fistic treat.
In Wolgase-a rejuvenated Wol@
CAST, by the way-Ritchie met SID
most dangerous rival in. light
weight division. He faced wBlgast
trained to the minute and in 1better
fighting condition than ne HAS an
tered the ring since the boht with
Owen Moran at San francisco nearly
three years ago. On no other occa-
sion since he grabbed the title from
Battling Nelson has the ex-champion
given so much time to preparation
for n mill as he devoted to his train-
Ing for the ten-round match with
Richie.
Richie Plans Busy Summer.
Richie still has the match with
Tommy Murphy on his hands. After
he has taken care of the New Yorker
he will come East again. Judging by
what he wrote me recently, Willie
plans a very busy summer. Unless
something happens to upset his plans
the champ will be seen In bouts In
San Francisco, Milwaukee, New York
and Buffalo within the next three or
four months. And in that time Will
lies ambitious program will call for
matches with the best men of his
class, Anyone who can draw the
money will get match. Willie has
a flxed scale of prices, and must get
at least $4,000 for ten or $4,000 for
twenty rounds.
It will be seen from this that
Richie Is not particular in his choice
of opponents. That rests with the
promoters who bid for his services.
It Is long time since pugilism has
known a champion in any division
who was less Anicky about matches
than Willie Ritchie. He is a fine lite
tie gentleman and a great little
scrapper. More power to him.
Praise for WoIgast.
WoIgast, sturdy little fighter. must
be given word or two of praise for
his great battle. For a time his In
different showing with second rnters
made 1t look as II he was Disguised
with the game since he lost the
championship and that he had shot
his bolt altogether. But when he
grabbed the bout with Joe Rivers
and realized that a victory meant q
return match with Richie. he
buckled down TO hard work. with the
result that he Is today regarded as
the most likely comeback prospect
| the division has ever known. :. So
good an account did he give of him.
self that q number OF critics have
| opined that he has a splendid chance
| to beat Willie in a longer bout. $50
However, / am not one who thinks
AID will defeat the champion Ii they
| come together in a 20-round bout.
In fact, think exactly the opposite.
| believe the longer the fight the less
chance ne will have. Richie begins
slowly and gets better as bout
progresses, and IL AID couldn't hold
him even for ten rounds 1t would
seem that twenty rounds would spell
defeat for him. In the match here
| with Leach Cross-a dangerous man.
too-the champion was going very
strong at the finish. and unprecedented
eye witnesses of the Milwaukee, af-
fair have Informed me that he WAS
strong as a bull when the bell rang
for the end of the ten-round settle
with Wolgast.