Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-08-22
JOHNNY DUNDEE HOPEFUL THAT
BENNY LEONARD WILL GIVE HIM NJ
CHANCE TO BOX FOR THE TITLE
Wop Scotch, Passed Up by Richie and Welsh,
Finally May Get Opportunity to Compete
for the Lightweight Championship .
BY LOUIS II. JAFFE

Johnny DUNDEE is "all set" for
- match with Worlds Lightweight Champ
Benny Leonard. Scotty Monteith, his astute
manager, is pressing his claims to it. Just
at present the Scotch Wop is awaiting his
ut at Shibe Park tonight with Johnny
Mealy.
AT the same time Monteith is bending and
concentrating every effort to get the Leon
ard match for Dundee. even though IL
means sacrificing number of profitable
matches with other opponents that could
readily he obtained. Dundees services are
IN great demand among promoters and
daiIy Monteith receives many offers He is
passing up all of them until he learns
definitely just where he stands with Leon
ard
see there is talk OF matching Leonard
with Welerweight Ted (kid) Lewis"
writes "Scotty." why Leonard should 90
out of his class to get that fight is beyond
me. am ready to pit Dundee against
him any time his manager. Billy Gibson.
gives me the word This is a match
that would surely draw every penny as
much as meeting with Lewis. Moreover.
so far as we are concerned Leonard can
split the purse any way he likes"
Montelth Is amply justified in seeking
Leonard match for Dundee. The latter ap-
pears 10 be the titleholders leading rival
Ihere are three or four other men worthy
or the match. too but Johnny, on past per-
tormances, has the bulge on them He Is
the runner-up in his class
This is Dundees third campaign for a
lightweight championship match The two
previous ones proved futile endeavors
When Willie Ritchie and Freddie Welsh
wore the crown the little Italian was their
| most persistent challenger He fought bot h
| of them and more than held his own with
| them. but they were not defending their
| title at the time.
Stunned by Champions
welsh won the championship from
| Ritchie on July I, 1914. Seven months he
fore that he and Dundee battled a ten
| round. no-decision bout in New Orleans
! Although Welsh always disputed Monteith's
| reiterated declaration that Dundee had all
| the better of II. ii was a noticeable fact
that after Welsh won the title he would
| have nothing further to do with him
| During his championship regime Freddie
| was offered many enticing purses to box
| Dundee. but he did not so much as nibble
| at them.
| Ritche also gave Dundee a wide bertt
| while he was king-pin in the class few
| months after "Financer Willie" took tn,
| title from Ad Wolgast Dundee. then .
| featherweight. held Johnny Kilbane cham
| pion of the division, to a twenty-round draw
in bout at Los Angeles. Immedatel,
| after that contest Dundee sought a mattel
| with Rtchie. Nothing came OF 1t.
After Welsh defeated Richie the latte
| changed his mind about battling johnny
| They then engaged I'm two contests Tn
first was a four.round amateur" affair |,
Frisco. 1t was nothing more than a mer
| exhibition. and it was called draw.
year later they hooked up again in a ten
round number in New York. Dundee wo,
easily And this despite the fact tina
Richie weighed l4l1a pounds. or eight AM
three-Quarter pounds more than Dunde,
who, according to the announced weights
scaled 1924. The latter figures. probabl,
were all wrong and arranged" to keep hir
| within the "ten-pound limit" Dundee i
| condition-and he was in fine fettle III
night he met Ritchie--has never weghe
that much. Still Dundee gave Richie a fin
pasting making sucker" of him, to ex
press ii slangily.
| Then there are Dundee's battles wit,
Leonard. His showing against Benny whe
the latter was also just a contender
clearly entities him to another match. nov
that Leonard is champion. They met fou
times. Each one OF the matches was s
keenly and closely contested that neithe