The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-08-11
ENGLAND DES|ROUS OF SUPREMACY IN
 THEFIST|C WORLD
No Great Fighters Since En- trance of Qeensbury Rules. Jen Mace and Charlie
 Mitchell
By JAMES J. CoRBETr

England is yearning again for su- premacy in the fistic world.
 Once-long years ago-the British For England was the cradle of fight ing. But when the reign of Jem Mace came to an end, the United States jumped to the front, and in all the years since then an American boxer has dominated in the heavyweight ranks.
 But England is determined that there shall come an end to the title holding by Americans. It's sportsmen now are securing the British Isles for the most likely looking heavyweights and they hope to uncover one in a short time who will be able 10 dethrone the mivhty Jack Dempsey.
 The pugilstic game has its real be- ginning in England far back in 1716, in the time of James Higgs. From then on. for more than 150 years. all the greatest fighters were products of the British Isles. And in all that time the bare knuckle method of war fare prevailed. Ii was a brutal form of fighting and it finally disgusted the real red blooded sportsmen of Eng land They decided against that form of battling-and then came the Mar quis of Queensbuty, with his new rules for the fistic game
 Strange as it may seem, England's S decay as pugiiistic nation followed the introdu etion of those Queensbury rules. Not since they have been in vogue has there been a British cham pion among the heavyweights It would seem thHt when Britons no longer could figas with uncover ed "maulies,'' and indulge in rough and tumble. gouging wrestling and throw ing ring tactics. they lost their fight ing skill.
 LEM MAGE AND MITCHELL
 Jem Mace was the last of the great British fighters-and Mace passed from greatness long ago. In all the two generations since then England has not produced as many lighters as it did in a single year prior to that time.
 In fact, Charlie Mitchell was the only really wonderful warrior that England has known since the Queens bury rules came into vogue. And Mitchell. because of his lack of pound age and inches, fell short of cham pionship heights He was a wonder real wonder. For his height and weight, he was one of the rniraSe men If the ring. Given three or four more nches and 80 to 10 pounds more Mitch- III probably would have been able at ais best to take the measure of any iivingN man. The very fact that he ieid Jasin l.. to q draw in 39 rounds If bare knuckle fighting-the most wearing, tearing type of battling-is | tip-off as to the greatness of Mitch = ell in his halcyon days.
 But since Mitchelrs time. England iias not produced a heavyweight of any consequence Only one lnan-Bom- ,ardier Wells-was toutad as a pos sibie conqueror of an American cham pion. Wells, defensiveiy, was great fighter. And he could hit with great force. But Wells had jaw of the glass variety. One jolt to his chin
 and he was through He battered many Americans in a way that made look as if he might be a world beat : sr. Bnt the first time they reached his aw he was through. He could take hundred to any other part of the body.
 BECKETT ENGLAND'S DELIGHT
 England now is going into ecstacies f delight over Joe Beckitt a heavy weight that the war training camps produced. Beckitt is an unknown as Tar as AmerlcanS are cOncerned--anG Beckitt really han't been pu to any acid test in England. But sportsmen there insist that he will be good enough six months or q year from now to give Jack Dempsey the battle of his life.
 If that dream comes true-great Nothing better could happen for thc boxing game than an internatioia clash among heavies for titular honors a something that hasn't happened foi more than quarter of a century.
 But if Beckitt, like many other prom ising battlers. falls by the wayside be- fore that year is over; if Beckitt fliv- vers when forced into a real fight with some real European fighter, the boxing lovers of the British Isles will not be all together disheartened They are going to groom some nan--and at the earliest possible moment-fo,
 fight with the heavyweight cham pion of the world.
 America shouldn't have monop. Cly on all the great heavyw ights," Is the way that one British sportsman
 pressed it. England has natura q hters just as great as the United