The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-01-09
eBy James J. Corbett, Former Heavy weight Champion of the Wor1d.l
 Especial ito The Farmer.)

sports are still hard at it trying tol figure out why Matchmaker Jimmy Johnston of Madison Square GardenI selected Charley White to box Freddy Welsh at his next big show instead of Joe Shugrue to whom majority of local critics awarded the decision over White last t9week. Even Freddy w e1sh himse1fs specially engaged to report the battlefor al local newspaper, gave the credit of victory to Shugrue.
 Johnston has explained to press and public that he believes he is feeling the public pulse" in naming " hite, that Char1ey's is a new face in thesel parts and that the crowds welcome newcomers, being tired of seeing the same old faces time and again. Which would be quite right if Jimmy really meant: it that way But listen to the real reason as it IS told to me:
 When Shlgrue came back to New Y fork from his visit to Australia he was interviewed by Johnston and sign ed to box Welsh, at the same time den in two other contests with any Iightweigl1ts the matchmaker would select. Realizing that a.. match with Welsh was 8 chance to make a big i reputation Shugrue accented the. clubs which was 15 percent. Of the gross, not a liberal slice when shI- grue's drawing powers in this vicinity are taken into consideration.
 Then. after earning the popular verdict over WeIchs Joe was matched 1 with Charley White the Chicago 1 lightweight, who once came within ai I ace of stopping Willie Ritchle and had I Welsh even for ten roundssin MiIwau- l kee. It looked a corking good match; .but in order to get Whites signature | the club officials had to gaarafitee him the sum of @$3, 800. Shugrue was offered 20 per .cent.,s which he accept ed. The bout drew in even figures l about $12s00o. White received s. l 500, about 30 percent. Of the gross Shugrue got about $2.3o0 after the states percentage had been deduct I ed
 I Now I am told that shugrue was first asked to meet We4shr in a. re-. 1 turn match and offered the same terms as before-15 percent.-v hfch5 he refused. And I believe the. little I Jerseyite was justified in doings so. He is a fine card in New York and a deIe-
 gation of 1000 or more can always
 be depended upon to cross from Jer- I sey City anytime Joe puts the gloves
 on He is like the snowman who car- I ried his own audience. A fellow who
 can boast of a. sure following of 1000 sports in these hard times can safely
 be dubbed ssextreme1y popular
 Therefore, according to my infor-
 nation, Joe was passed up as the op- : ponent for Welsh, and White given
 the match on a guarantee of $3, 500.
 Just how Matchmaker Johnston fig ures that he can afford to give the Chicago boy this amount and let Welsh have something like 40 per -i cent of the gross, as I am told he is l to be paid, T am at a, loss to under stand, for it is doubtful if the match
 draws as much money as Shugrue and r1 White attracted
 Say the receipts amount to $1o,oo0 A which is doubtful. That would leave little if anything for the club. Welsh
 would get $4,000 White $3,5O0 the ] state $500, preliminaries. employees s such as usherss ticket sellers, ticke1 r takers. etc. would account for al t least $750 more. The rent of the big ] building is $1, 900 night There t would be $250 left for the club own 2 CTS Hardly worth while for the risl
 they assume.
 Q While the promoters ought tt t know their business better than any g one else it is hard to explain wl1, they should pass Up Shugrues a biz ,, card locally and the boy pronounced @ fbyt experts as victor over White, il e favor of the Chicagoan. PossfbI. e Whites manager, Nate Lewis talked e Johnston into it. If so. Charley ough E to see that he is well paid for hi
 services, for it is one of the first in t stances on record where a. loser wa given a match promised as a. rewart < -
 reliance in the newspaper experts Shugrue was certainly the winner. 2 At the same time it may be a goo,
 thing for Shugrue that he has beer i. passed up for the time being H, did not put up such a good batt1 ,. against White as his admirers locke, | for, and while there is no disposition
 to take anything in the way Of credi
 from Charley White Joe appeared t
 be away off in his work. In fact. Joe recent performances have not beer
 anything to brag of, even in the g v with Welsh in which he was the az . gressor and popular winner
 Twas one of the first to call atten
 ton to Shugrale as championshi $ possibility More than a year ago il
 this colmn praise was given Shugru
 before other experts recognized tn
 boys ability. But to my mind 10
 has not improved to any extent tn
 last year, and it begins to look as
 there is something lacking that vii ' keep him from getting any higher i !. the division than that of an t'aspir
 ant,
 White just at present stacks Up a
 more promising But Charley also i
 minus that "sontething champIo
 must possess. 9hugrne has aggres
 sfveness without the punch, an ss White seems to have the Wa1lop bu lacks the fighting instinct.
 Shugrue may have had too 1nuc ss oe it the past year, and White als . for that matter. It is dangerous t n rush these fellows too fast. It too ss Welsh many years to get to the to
 and with the possible exception { IS Ritchie most champions of the clas have had to go through a, hard dril # ing sometimes extending over six C @ seven years Of the hardest kind fighting before landing the title. Of Charley White I can't say, bt # Shugrue is not fighting as well as h was year ago, and if had the bo
 in charge I would see to it that |
 took vacation from the ring for
 couple of months.