Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1919-03-13
GOLF IS GREAT
CONDITIONER, IN
Richie 8 BELIEF
Driving the Ball and Dancing
Enabled Him to Renter the
Ring After He Thought HeI
Had Finished,
Copyright, 1919, by the Press Pub
fishing Co.
(The New York World)
ny Robert Edgrcn.


Willie Richie, former lightweight
champion Of the world and supposed
to have dropped into the has been"
class, played and won his semi-final
golf match in the Olympic clubs
tournament had a shower and a rub
down and came back to town
In the evening he taxed downtown
! and fought four rounds with Light
| weight champion Benny Leonard. To
! the amzement even of his friends
| Richie appeared in his ancient form
| lean, WirY, aggressive, fast and tire
! less. He rushed the champion for
! four rounds with unrelenting fury
| He overwhelmed Benny at times with
a furry of hard risht-hand punches
that came too fast to be either block
ed or avoided, For the first time
since he became champion, Leonard
found himself w against an opponent
who didn't regard him with the slight
est awe. who had the confidence of
youngster coming TO the front arr
who could match him at every trick
and artifice of the game.
1t was a very even fight. When he
seemed in danger of being knocked
out the class that made Benny
champion came to his rescue, and he
got the jump on Richie in the last
round, and in a three minute swirl of
lightning fast fighting held Ritchie's
rush at last and shook Richie with
free hooks that stood him IN on his
heels. .t.
When the fight was over the crowd
recovering from its aston!shment at
Ritchie's showing. carried the eX-
champion to his dressingroom like a
victor. In fact the crowd regarded
him as a victor. 1t had no doubt that
he had won, and won easily. only
the old boxers and men acquainted
with the inside of the game could see
Leonard at all. They knew that four
rounds is no test of a fighters real
ability. 1t is furry of fighting with
no time for sizing the other man up
and planning scientific campaign |
to lead up to a knockout or a decis- !
i've victory on points, And 1t is a |
known fact that Leonard always |
spends a round or two. or perhaps |
three, measuring his man and timing ,
his movements before cutting loose |
with the real effort to win. The old |
timers gathered and discussed Leon
ard. and they decided that he had |
shown a real champions class in
through the critical third
round, when his right eye was closed
by Ritchie's right hand hammering,
and by managing to resume the or
fensive effectually in spite of this
Give Leonard ten rounds
to work in" they said, and it might
be different story"
But all that doesn't affect Richie
and his golf. When | saw him just
before he got into the ring he had
to say about the fight APP
parently the fact that ha was about
to meet the champion IN his class did
not worry him at all.
II have the final match on at
Lakeside tomorrow morning" said
Willie. I'm all excited about it. Gee.
ia like to win that camel"
incidentally William went out TO
the next morning. with
slightly skinned nose and a slightly
bruised eye, and won his match. UP
and 6 to play! Willie is some golfer
We talked over the fight, and this
is what Willie had to say for him
self:
II didn't really expect to give
Leonard a hard fight, After thirteen I
Dr. fourteen months of hard work at
Camp Lewis, with no intention OF
ever coming back to the ring, | found
myself big and heavy and strop@, but
l |
again. So | gave up all idea Of box I
ng and spent all my time playing {
golf. | played at least four days Il |
week In the evening | danced a | I
great deal, from O'Clock ID IL or
1880. Fighting was the last thing
n my mind. But with the golf anu
he dancing | found my weight Slip |
Ding away. | lost twelve pounds with I
cut making any effort to reduce.
found myself weighing 140 pounds,
which was within easy reach of my !
pest fighting weight. In fact, 1t was {
ess than my normal weight when | I
vas champion. ! felt full of pep. The
unight and ocean winds in the day s
ime, with the climbing over hills and 5
onstant use of the clubs and the
ancing in the evening. put me into {
UGH condition that | began to Won {
Ter if | really could be all through as /
boxer at twenty-eight. ] never dis /
ipated and l always took the best of
are of myself in every way. ] could
eel that the year at Camp Lewis had
.iven me a pretty good lot OF staml-
IA that a fellow gets from hard work.
when Coffroth first made me the
ffer TO fight Leonard | turned 1t
own. | wasn't sure | wanted to {
tart again. But after thinking it /
yer accepted. That was two weeks
efore the date. l went right into
That is ] played more golf. |
knew it was the golf that had I
rought my weight down and given t
ne back my old judgment and eye
or distance and quickness and pep. e
''Ten days before the fight | began +
o box a little, as | hadn't done any a
oxing for months. Benny thinks ! c
rained secretly for a long time to c
ct into shape to put something over t
n him. | didn't as every man in the ,
olympic club knows. | hadn't the
highest idea of fighting him until
wo weeks before the match.
II am willing to make match with
at any time and make the
,eight for him, 1875 pounds five hours I
efore entering the ring, the usual !
;yh weight