The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-07-03

In connection with the Ritchie- Welsh match Considerable appreh en- sion exists regarding the Amertcan,s chances of defeating the Briton. Funny how quickly sentiment will shift in pugilisrn. When Ritchfe first beat Wolgast and was taken on an extended theatrical tour by Billy Mo- Ian, Eastern experts who had never seen him in the ring were almost to a man agreed that the young Califor- nian was a e'hukes' champion and that the first good man he met would prove their contention. Later when Willie elected to return to the ring and agreed to box Joe Rivers, at that time regarded as the most likely can didate for the title, and stopped the Mexican in eleven or twelve rounds, the critics began to hedge. Truly the boy who could beat Rivers so decf- sively must amount to something after all. Then when Ritchie came down East and trimmed Leach Cross, New York's best lightweight Cor touted as such) he was the biggest man in the game. His style created such an inn ipression on the experts that he was dubbed a second Joe Cans and the consensus of expert opinion was that he would hold on to the title for many year"that there was no one in sight who could make it even inter estfng for the champion.
 Then came WilHe's comparatively poor showing against Charley White at Milwaukee, and Charley had not been classified as champion aspirant up to that time Many of those who had been singing Ritchie's praises most extravagantly shifted again and now on the eve of<the Americans s most important match since winning the worlds title are fixing for an out'' in the event of Welsh's success in get ting the referees decision.
 No one is more willing to admit Fred Welsh's ability in the boxing line than am Still I do not believe there is great danger of the worlds lightweight. title going to England at this time. If one was to throw every Rftcl1ie battle out of the reckoning except that one with White in Mil waukee there might be reason to wor- ry over the matter, but those who take the trouble to look at his show fngs against boys who would probab- ly experience no great trouble in de- feat1ng White must admit that the American champion is no sucker at the game. If 1t were a ten round battle for points I would be inclined to favor We1Sh's chances. Conced- ing that Welsh is a faster and more scientific boxer than Ritchie, in a contest of twenty rounds stamina and hitting powers are to be reckoned as well as fast and skiIlfuI boxing. Ritchie is the younger and stronger boy and those are two big points in his favor in a bout of this distance. Welsh ig faSt-very fast for a few rounds-but he demonstrated in his match with Matt Wells-I mean tht, one in which he won the title back that punishment slows him up the same as it will any fighter and. be- Heve me, he is going to take some punishment from Ritchie before ten rounds are over. It may be argued that Freddy made both Rivers and Cross look positively foolish, but that doesn't prove anything. Cross in par tcular has been made to look like a novice every time he met a clever man, or a man who elected to ffsht him cIeverly. Ritchie told me fbe night he was to box Cross that he was satisfied that he could beat Cross at his own game of sIugging and that he would fight him that way, as he was champion and in making his first ap- pearance before a New York crowd did not want 1t said that he ran away