The sun., 1919-02-02
Middleweights Apparently
Forget All About One
Mike O'DOwd.
THEY FOOL NO ONE
Ring Impostors Will Vanish
When st. Paul Boy Comes
Home From War.
~ CROSS COUNTER.

since the QueenSDerTy ruies went inv
effect. and that championship never
previous incumbent had formally retired
or died, claimants continue feverishly
active.
Tho chief offensive appears to be d.
rected at the middleweight title OF Mike
ODowd. and II a few more $50 pound
ers file claims TO the honors of the class
there will be but one dissenting voice
That OF O'Dowd.
II Mike, who has been battling with
the Huns for year. were In this coun-
try. the claimants might not be 80 per-
6stent, but the fact Of the champion
being on the soil Of France seems to
embolden the claimants.
O'Dowd scarcely had reached France
when JEFF Smith. n valiant boxing In
structor at Camp Dix. announced
through his MANAGER. Al Lippe, that
ODowd need not bother about the title
that he won through knocking out Al
Mccoy, as he (Smith) would assume
all responsibilities of Its defence in fu-
ture.
Tho merriment evoked by this pro-
nouncsment hardly had died away when
Tom Gibbons, brother OF Mike. declared
that as Mike was about to retire he
(Tom) would act as floor manager OF
the middleweight title In future. Tom
never even mentioned O'Dowd. Not
much attention was paid to Tom and
when Mike O'Dowd went over to London
and mauled three light heavyweights.
including the champion OF the class. It
vas thought the pretenders would cease
troubling.
Johnston the Original.
Now comes Jimmy Johnston with a
claim thatsTommy Robson. whose man
agement he took over recently. Is the
middleweight champion. Johnston says
that Robson will defend the title until
Mike ODowd returns and then II O'Dowd
Is at the weight, he will permit the
champion to attempt to regain the title.
Johnston says that ODowd no longer
can scale at the mtddleweight limit.
This bit OF presumptuousnes is truly
worthy OF Johnston. ODowd was fight
ing in the trenches while Robson was
over here, but that does not stop John
ston from making play for the title
while the rea9 champion still is overseas.
And to cap the climax, Robson takes
part In a bout In Cleveland in which
he Is said to have knocked out Walter
Laurette, while the real Laurette was
in New York. Johnston and Robson both
knew that the man in the ring was not
Laurette and are likely TO be handed
something By the Cleveland Commission
on Tuesday.
The official report OF the bouts in AL
bert Hall declare that O'Dowd weighed
1855 pounds and went into the light
heavyweight class because there was
none else TO defend American honors in
that division.
Robson and other m,ddleweight pre-
tenders to a title to which they have
not the remotest claim will do we'll to
sing low. for when O'Dowd returns he
will have an angry glare In his light
blue eyes that will bode I'll to the mon
who have taken advantage of his pres
ence on the firing line and attempted TO
strip him OF his we'll earned laurels as
the worlds middleweIght champion.
Another fragrant offender In the mat
ter OF a baseless claim to title is Walter
Laurette. a weller who has been quite
freely beaten all along the line Lau-
rette through his manager recently had
Il announced that he was the welter
champion of England. He holds no such
title. as II is formally in possession Of
Johnny Basham, who was one OF the
contestants in the Albert Hall bouts.
Albert Radoud, who was the weiter
champion Of France. beat Basham pre-
vious to the war for the weller cham
pionsh!p OF Europe. and Kid Lewis. the
weller champion of America, knocked
out Badoud In this city and thus be-
came the welter champion OF the world.
vaIEer at II Too.
A little Frenchman named Benny
Nalger, who has done all his boxing.
such as II Is, in America, had the pre-
sumption not long ago to claim that he
was the bantam champion OF France. a
title held by Charley Ledoux. who fought
the Hun from 1914 to November II,
1918
While Ledoux was going through an
inferno in the trenches, being reported
dead a dozen times, Nalger. through his
manager. Doc Bagley. proudly pro-
claimed himself as tho bantam cham
pion of France. Fortunately for Nalger
he has grown into the lightweight class
and Benny Leonard is too close at hand
TO permit OF any unauthorized claims
Pal Moore apparently is so intelligent
and rational a chap II seems incredible
he should join the ranks Of the claim
ants. But he has done so, and here is
his argument:
THE young Prince OF Wales espe-
cially was good to me. He gave me
a gold medal. an emblem OF the ban.
tamweight championship.
What TitIer
with the prestige OF being cham
pion l will devote my time TO defend
ing the title. I will not he a stage
champion. 7 am opposed to that sort OF
thing. I will meet all Corners, first come
first served
"I understand Pete Herman OF New
Orleans Is claiming the bantamweight
championship. / will hght him at lis
pounds at any time or place, winner
take all"
Young Mr.. Moore Is twisted as TO
the facts. He and Wilde were not fight.
ing for the bantam championship of any
country. They we're boxing for the ban
tam championship Of the allied military
forces. Moore should know that Wilde
nor no other titleholder would risk his
championship on the result of a three
round bout
As for Herman he unquestionahly is
the worlds bantam champion, having
won the title from the previous holder,
Kid Williams.
The late Billy Madden once claimed
title for Gus Rubin on the ground that
Jeffries ignored the challenges of the
Akron giant. Ruhlin's name does nor
appear in the list OF heavyweight cham
pions.