Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-01-23
BY T. s. ANDREWS.

Mitchell, the Milwaukee lightweight
star. will have a hard battle tomorrow
night at Cincinnati. when he meets Joe
Rivers. the Mexican, in a ten-round
contest. While Rivers has not been
fighting very much of late. it is not be
cause he has been out of shape or lack
ing in offers. but because he was after
the -notchers. so that he could get
another crack at the championship. Joe
knows lot about the fight game. and
he still is among the leaders. although
he was considered out Of the running
year and half ago. He will find
Mitchell clever youth. who viii be
Just as hard to- get to some of the
stars who are parading about the coun-
try as near-c,ampiors. Rivers will
give Mitchell all the battle he wants.
howeveri for he has the sting in his
punches and is clever enough TO worry
the best of them. IT will be clever
youth against veteran, and the youth
should have the call
Gene Melady. secretary of the Amerj-
can Boxing Association. is out with a
statement to the effect that he will en-
deavor to have the association take
some action against the lightweight
cha mpion-Freddy WeIsh-for holding
OH from arranging title match. 1t has
peen more than year and a half since
ne won the title, and while IL has had
many battles over the short route since
then. he has not engaged in one cham
plonship battle under ring regulations
mere has been talk of match be-
tween Welsh and Charlie White for six
months. but nothing definite has ever
come of it. Mr.. Melady proposes now
tnat II Mr.. Welsh cannot come to terms
with Charlie White for a match. then
let the next man in line step forward
and be given chance There are sew
eral iightweights worthy of a trial at
the tltle-among them Johnny Dundee.
tommy Grif1iths. Richie Mitchell, Jack
Britton: Joe yelling and a few others
IL is unfair to the challengers for the
title and also unfair to the followers
or the game to refuse championship
are met. If it is Impossible to get
welsh and White together. then get
Welsh and one of the other bows named
and let us have real contest for the
crown.
Which is the better fighter, Eddie Nc
Goorty, the Wisconsin middleweight. or
George knockout' Brown. the Chi
caSo Greek? If any one were asked
to compare the two men, he would
say off-hand that McGoorty was by far
the better middleweight of the two.
however, during the past few months
by Les Darcy. the champion, in Sydney,
Australia. There was no question a bout
McGoorty being defeated decisively.
Now comes Greek Brown, who goes the
iuii twenty rounds with Darcy in sgd
ney. and while he lost the battle on
points. still he put up a remarkably
good contest and was there fighting at
the final bell. More than $4,000 fans
witnessed the contest. according to a
cablegram received right after the
n 70 Iar
IN Browns cap, as there were many
who figured Darcy would stop him in
short order. There is no doubt that
Brown is one of the toughest middle
weights in the country. but he always
has been very awkward man to night,
and few of the high-class middle
weights really cared to mix with him.
He was bulldog for work and the
more he was battered the harder he
fought back. That seems to have been
the case in his fight with Darcy. 1t is
very likely that Brown will endeavdh-
to get return engagement with
Darcy, but in the meantime he will be
matched with Mick King, the former
Australian middleweight Champion for
a twenty-round battle. The report that
Darcy would not be permitted to leave
Australia for tour of America, is cor
rect. according to latest advices from
the antipodes. but it would not be sur
prising II the young middleweight
should get permission from the govern
ment officials to get away for few
months to visit the states, and at the
same time pick up bunch of Ameri-
can coin for meeting some of the best
middleweights over here. If he should
come over, he will in all probability
he under the management of Jack
kearns. who handled Billy Murray and
also Red Watson. There also has been
talk of Kearns taking the management
of Knockout Brown, but the chances
are that when Brown returns to this
country he will be handled again by
Nate Lewis of Chicago, who formerly
attended to his affairs.
Snowy Bawer. the Australian pro-
moter. who has been conducting all the
big international fights at his mann
moth stadium in Sydney, is thinking
seriously of quitting the boxing game
for time and going to war At the
present time Mr.. Bakers two brothers
are at the front. and one of them.
Harold. who refereed formerly AT the
stadium. was wounded. Snowy Baker
has been anxious. to go to the front,
but his friends in Sydney have been
trying to prevail upon him to remain
behind and take care of the business.
Writing this week from Australia in
regard to the boxing situation. Mr.
Baker SAYS:
The, game here. despite the war, has
been much better than / expected. OF
course, the small bouts are not draw
ing SO well, but the big ones have been
drawing anywhere from 5000 to 10000
people. Darcy has been a wonderful
card here and has drawn immense
crowds. He had arranged to go to
America with Jack Kearns, who came
over here with stable of boxers, but
the government authorities have re-
fused SO far to give him permission to
leave, as he was connected with one
of the military outfits. l understand
that Darcy had some very good offers
in America. but ] presume if he does
not come now he will later on, and
am sure that the American people will
like his work He is real fighter and
the best champion we have had in a
long time. 1t is too bad that we can
not get Gibbons Ahearn over here
just now and make it a real world
championship fight in the middleweight
class.
ut is really very tiresome to read in
the American papers about what Jeff
Smith and his manager, Mr.. Lippe, have
to say regarding Australia. OF course,
we cannot expect anything different, in
view of the fact that they were beaten
in their lawsuit here against the Stad-
ium Company. / did think that Mr.
Lippe was better sport. Smith had
every chance to make good here in the
charges against him about fOuling, and
it is surely a poor time now for him to
make a howl. When they gave out the
story that Darcy was a fake champion
they did not make Smith look very
good, for since then Darcy has beaten
the very best men in the middleweight
division in the world. with the possible