The sun., 1919-06-29
BOXING CHAMPIONS
FALSE FAVORITES
Odds Have Usually Favored
the Title Holders With
Dire Results.
WILLARD WILL BE CHOICE
Copyright. 1873; oil rioAt, reserpsd.

Copyright. 1913: oil rights reserved.
Although the betting odds on a cham
pionship ring battle are popularity sup
posed to Indicate the relative abilities
OF the contestants. IL IL n fact that the
figures quoted In q majority of instances
have been mieleading in the extreme.
AZ the odds usually are dictated by men
who make a close study of ppsilistio
form. It Is surprising their Judgment
should so SO far wide OF the mark. The
interesting feature OF the betting on title
bouts Is that the experts on odds have
almost invariably made the champion
favorite.
Even Paddy Ryan, the most hope
lessly incompetent title holder In the
history of the ring. was a to . favor
lite over John L. Sullivan. Ryan had
won the championship by beating the
43-year-old Joe Goss who was the best
man the Trojan Giant ever disposed of.
Ryan did not have a Chinamans
chance against the young. vigorous Sui
Ivan. yet according to the betting the
champion should have outclassed the
challenger.
The next big upset came when sulli-
van met Corbett The champion was q
l to s choice against the youthful,
clever and ambitious Corbett. Sullivan
palpably had seen his best days as ar
athlete. and had travelled at a dizzy
pace for years. yet the supposedly wise
students Of form offered to wager to
that Sullivan would be returned the
| winner. A few persons who were not
awed by the glamour Of the champion
| ship accepted the liberal odds and won
handsomely.
Corbett Favorite Over Fits.
Corbett's victory over the once mighty
| Sullivan convinced the betting element
that the new champion was invincible
Therefore when he was matched with
| Fitzsimmons the odds favored Corbett
at to 2, and 7 to 10. The bettors
thought during the sixth round that
their figures were correct. for Fitz was
apparently In distress and took a count
OF 7. Between the sixth and seventh
| rounds the odds in favor of Corbett
7 Jumped to l to 8. with few takers But In
the fourteenth session, when Fritz sunk
his ireckled left fist into Corbetts mince
pie department tho bettors realized they
had made another mistake.
| Fftz naturally was the popular hero
after his victory over Corbett, and It
was asserted that no one had a possible
chance against tho Cornishman He
was installed a / to 8 favorite over JEFF
fries, and apparently never had a chance
from the start TO the finish. The bettors
| then turned to the Boilermaker. and they
| managed to recoup much OF their losses
in previous contests for Jeff trounced
Fttz and Corbett each twice for good
| measure. got the decision over Sharkey
and beat Rubin.
Picked Wrong Man I'm Jenries.
Then Jefr retired. and had he remained
| In retirement the bettors would have
been better OFF financially. But after
Ave years OF idleness JEFF returned TO
the ring to bring back the title to the
| white race" The bettors were OF the
opinion that Jefr would succeed in his
laudable undertaking. and they expressed
their opinion to that effect by making
the white man a to 9 favorite. At the
end OF the fifteenth round tho spectators
found they had again picked the wrong
man.
Even though Johnson had refrigerated
seriously when he faced the tall Willard
in Havana. the bettors could not see
their way clear to concede tho chal-
lenger chance. and once again they
lost their bankrolls.
i Even little Tommy Burns, who did
not have a look in with johnson. was
so well thought of by the Australian ex-
perts that they made the stumpy Can
adam an even money choice.
Burge Favored Over LaviEns.
This popularity OF tho betting element
has manifested itself in title fights IN
other classes than heavy. A most re-
markable instance was furnished by
the bout between Kid Lavigre. light
weight champion OF America, and Dick
Rurge, light weight champion OF Eng
land. The En8lishmen at the ringside
were willing to wager thousands of
pounds on Burge at against /, the
Briton's admirers believing him to be
invincible, and not having accurate
knowledge as to the real ability of the
American.
Unfortunately there were few Ameri-
cans at the ringside and those present
had no money to wager. Fitzpatrick,
manager OF Lavigne. could have won
n fortune had he possessed . few thou
sand dollars, but he and the American
champion had all they could do TO get
enough money With which to make the
trip.
There Is small doubt that Willard will
DO installed as favorite over Dempsey
in the betting. simply because OF his size
and the fact that he 10 the tltle holder,