Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-07-17
MOORE BATTLES
WILDE TONIGHT
IN LONDON RING
British Midget is Out to Obtain Re
venge for First Decision Won
By American.

The scene of f1stic activity shifts
tonight to dear old London, and the
shift from this country to foreign
field is made possible by the boxing
skill of two little fellows, one a
bantamweight, the other a fly
weight. Introducing Jimmy Wilde,
f1yweight, bantamweight and feath-
erweight champion of England, ard
Pal Moore of Memphis, Tenn, U.
S. A, topnotch bantamweight, the
boy who is all but champion of the
world in that division and probably
would be if he could inveigle
Champion Pete Herman into any
sort of an engagement to a decis
ion.
London is over the water and far
away, but there will be plenty OF
interest on this side in what hap
pens to Moore or what happens to
Wilde. Twenty rounds of excess
sive speed is guaranteed if this en-
gagement to be staged at the Lon
don Sporting club goes that far. If
it doesn't last the limit there will
be speed and plenty of it while it
does last. The rapid fire guns of
these wee battlers who are to pro-
vide this international clash of
arms insure that.
The spirit of warfare is brought
close by the fact that both Wilde
and Moore were in the service,
Wilde in England, Moore on this
side of the water. That spirit was
the spirit of brotherhood, but there
won't be such a spirit when they
clash tonight 1t will be the man
to man stuff with everything
thrown into the battle.
The formality of an introduction
will be unnecessary, for this pair
went through that some months
ago when the team of American
service boxers iourneyed to Eng
land to engage the Johnny Bulls
and Kangaroos in the inter-allied
tournament. 1t was Moore who
stood out as the predominating fig
ure in that tournament, for in
three round bout he was awarded
the decision over the champion OF
England and sports a gold medal
to prove it.
Brit0n Wants Revenge.
If Moore hadn't beaten Wilde
then this match tonight probably
never would have been made. But
for an American to get a decision
over a Britisher on his own soil
is one thing that arouses interest
and the desire for revenge.
The Sporting club is paying
Moore $4,000 for that opportunity
of gaining revenge. Whether or
not Wilde will be able to turn the
trick is a matter that will not be
decided until tonight.
AS Wilde never has fought in this
country, it is difficult to gain line
on his merit as a scrapper. But he
must be given credit for being a
real ringster through his perform
ances in his own country, where
he has beaten every featherweight,
often being forced to give away as
much as 20 pounds to get a match.
AS for Moore, we have seen him in
action often and know what he
can do.
Admits Wilde's Punch.
Perhaps the best idea of Wilde's
class can be CLEANED from what
Moore had to say about him just
before Pal left for England. wilde
is an ever dangerous, ever active
fighter with a good right hand
punch" he said. "A fellow has to
watch out for that punch. for if
Wilde lands it it is likely to mean
curtains. With that he is a clever
boxer"
The fact that Moore shaded
Wilde in that three round tilt,
doesn't mean that he will be re-
turned the winner tonight. Pal
will have one advantage that
should count heavily in his favor
in a 20-round contest, and that is
the pull in the weights. He prob
ably will start the fight outweigh
ing the Britisher by something like
five or six pounds. Moore probably
will weigh 116 pounds and Wilde
10 or Ill
Moore is Boxer.
It's old stuff, the saying that an
American has to win by big mar
gin over a Britisher to get the YER
dict "over there" but it is our
opinion that this will not receive a