Evening star., 1915-01-17

MS manager Will go east to try to get
some of the plums at Madison Square
Garden.
Pretty soft for the champions. Freddy
Welsh. the lightweight title holder.
mas closed match with Johnny Grif-
at catchweights. and will haul down
for his end guarantee of $4,000 with
a privilege of As per cent of the gross
receipts, besides paying transporta-
tlon Griffiths is a clever boy and
fights at 1873 pounds ringside, so that
seven pounds to the champion, the
same as Charlie White gave away
when he met Freddy in the Milwaukee
auditorium recently. White also is
January 26. but the latter is asking
for catchweights, the same as for
Grifiths, and Nate Lewis, manager of
White, says nothing doing. Lewis de-
mands that Welsh make weight as
agreed or he will call off the match
Griffiths will give Welsh hard bat
tie, even at catchweights, but he would
stand a much better chance If the
weights were even.
Dan McKetrick, manager Of Young
Ahearn, the eastern middIeweight. is
determined to force the top-notch 1853
Founders to meet his protege or know
the reason why. l am just in receipt
OF the following letter from Daniel:
am hoping that the winner of the
Cla bby- Gibbons contest at Milwaukee,
January q. makes a resolution to
meet Young Ahearn for the title and
not try to take on lot of fourth
ra.ers; meet ral1 Begin , the new year right and
bons are both great fighters, but the
winner can add to his IaureIs by meet
ing my European champion and thus
take chance at becoming world
champion. a Ahearn is legitimate title
holder in Europe and has right to
demand match from the fighter who
claims the title in this country. The
winner of the Clabby-Gibbons match
can name his own terms for contest
with Ahearn for the championship"
Now that the date of the Johnson
Willard title match has been decided
on-March at Juarez Mexico-it will
be up to the promoters to make the
fans of this country take more stock
In the white hope. Had Willard been
sent against some of the big heavies
the past six months and scored de-
clsive wins he would have been a
much stronger card. No one will deny
that Jess Willard is a giant in strength
but against clever fellow like Jack
johnson will he have chance to land
that wallop? IF Willard could be
taught a defense like that Tommy
Ryan taught Jim Jeffries he might
hold johnson off for ten or fifteen
rounds and take chance at tfring the
colored man and then go in and win,
but Jess SO far has not shown any
such defense. 1t will again depend q
great deal on condition. If Jack is
still able to get in shape he should be
to l shot; if not. then Willard may
fool the critics and fans alike and win
the title back to the white race
Trouble is brewing in Akron, Ohio,
regarding the proposed contest be-
tween Freddy Welsh and Johnny Crit
hths, February ], and the chances are
that it will not take place as scheduled.
1t is the same old story where the
boxing game is not lega1ized. The
to go along without molestation un-
til some would-be reformer gets busy
and enters a complaint; then the
trouble starts. AS long as the fighters
are not champions the reformers seem
to pay very little attention to them,
but the moment big match Is made
and the participants are of national
reputation the hammers begin to pound
and the promoters are put to all kinds
of expense and Inconvenience Why
they should select the stars of the
arena to knock at is hard to under
stand, for it is surely much better to
have clever and experienced boxers
to display their boxing ability than
1t only proves again that the follow
ers of the game are too slow in get
ting together and forming a national
organization for their own preserva-
tion: All other branches of sport have
their national associations or leagues.
Why not boxing? The sh-Griffiths
match would be we'll worth travelling
miles to see. Both are clever and un-
derstand the game thoroughly and the
boxing between them would be a rare
treat. If the bout Is stopped at Akron
it will no doubt have the effect of
stirring up the sporting people of Ohio
and boost the passage of boxing bill
in the legislature.
Joe Shugrue, the Jersey lightweight,
has made such a fine showing against
Charlie White and Freddy Welsh, that
he is looked upon in the big city as
the boy who will take the title from
the British champion. However, Joe
is taking chances February 5, when he
meets Willie Beecher before the Empire
Club. New York. The latter Is not a
champion, but he can hit a much hard
er wallop than Chs r1pion Welsh can. or.