The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-05-13
TITLE HOLDERS
 NOT THE BEST
Many Great Boxers Denied
 Chance to Win Champion ship ,Britton's Case.
BY RIGHT HOOK

While usually the title holder of a class in pugilism is compelled to dem onstrate that he is the best man in the division, yet frequently the wearer of the championship crown is inferior to his rivals. Jack Britton, when at 1.-the top of his form as lightweight, could easily have won the title but for the avoidance of him by both Ritchie, the worlds champion, and Welsh, the British title holder.
 Sam Langford. could have been the heavyweight champion but for the fact that he was consistently sidestep- ped by Tommy Burns, the worlds champion. George Dawson would undoubtedly have captured the mid dleweight title but the frequent ar- tacks of tonsilitis suffered by Tommy Ryan whenever the Australian chal- llenged.
 The only thing that prevented Mike Gibbons becoming the middleweight champion was the unwillingness of Al !McCoy to meet the St. Paul expert in title bout. Gibbons, as a mat ter of fact, outclassed all the men in the middleweight division, but while he laid claim to the title he never l
 There have been many other in stances of the same kind, many a champion in performance being de- nied the chance to gain the honors because the title holder feared him. In the same category of injustice are the men who really won titles in the ring, but who due to the opposition of powerful influence never were ac- claimed the champions.
 A most aggravated instance was the case of Solly Smith, the Pacific ICoast featherweight, who won the lfeatherweight title from George Dix on at San Francisco Oct. 4, 1897, Smith getting the decision of the re- fierce at the end of twenty round bout.
 Dixon's manager denied that the ti- tie was at stake, which was an ab- surd claim, as a champions title, al- ways is at stake unless it happens to be handicap match, like that between Erne and McGovern, where the light weight champion vas restricted to 12S pounds ringside. Smith and Dix on met on even terms and the white boy won.
 The injustice to Smith was ap, parent when Dixon, no longer cham pion, was matched with Ben Jordan featherweight champion of England in a bout billed as for the worlds title Smith entered a protest, but the influences behind Dixon were strong enough to keep the champion in the background, Jordan beat Dixon Later on Smith and Dave Sullivan at Coney Island and was compelled tC stop in the fifth round as the result |, of a broken arm. This gave Sullivan the title, but he did not keep it long for he got into the ring with Dixon shortly afterwafd and was decisively beaten.
 Dixon then held the title till he was knocked out by McGoveron. If the claims of the weight visionaries held good then Dixon did not lose the ti- tie to McGovern, for Tom O'Rourke under the impression that Terry would be too strong at 122, dictated 118 ringside. Terry was quite strong enough at 11S, as O'Rourke found tc his sorrow.
 Dixie Kid was another boxer who never was recognized as champion although he won the honors in the ring. Dixie Kid got a decision on fou over Joe Walcott at a time when the Barbados Demon was at hs best an6 held the welter title.
 Two years after Dixie Kid haG beaten Walcott Honey Melody turn. ed the same trick anad claimed to bt the welter champion, although the Dixie Kid was clearly entitled to the honors Frank Klaus defeated nearly ! nf in America and stopped the great CarpentieGa the middleweight cham ) pion of Europe, and yet Klaus's vel ] won honors were questioned on the } ground that he weighed a pound or SC ) more than the alleged middleweigh ] limit. Fitzsimmons in his later bat. ties in defence of his midd1eweigh title scaled several pounds more thar the alleged limit, yet F'itz's claim nev. CT was questioned.
 George La Blanche, who knocked
 out Jack Dempsey with the pivot blow, won the middleweight title ther and there, but he was a stupid, -disso lute fellow and lacked the business sense to commercialize the title.
 The same absurd argument tha . was advanced against Klaus has beer ) directed against La Blanche namely 2 that he scaled a few pounds mort than the so called poundage that al ways has been honored in the breach . The reason that La Blanche wa not recognized as the champion wa! , that the same powerful influences : that sustained Sullivan were behind the beaten Nonparei1. These influ , ences were strong enough to proven Ia friendless wanderer, like the Ma rine from becoming unduly conspicu ous. The result was that Dempsey after a few weeks resumed his tri umphant progress as champion, whicl was not checked till he met Fitzsim mons.
 At New Orleans-(frst) R. H. E . l New Orleans 6