The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-12-17
JOHNNY KILBANE
 NOTLOOKING FOR
 BOUTS SAY MANY
Gray Haired Featherwelght Champion Likes Bright
 Lights, They Say
By SPARROW M'GANN speciai Correspondent of The Age-Her1sld (Copyright, 1921. by The Age -Herald)

Copyright. 1891. by The Age Herald)
 New York, December 16-Who is that ray-haired square-faced chas somewhat over weight that you see bowling through the great White Way district in taxi, stopping at glittering restaurants and in the early morning hours emerging from after theatre shows? Why, that, friends, is none other than Johnny Kilbane, featherweight champion of the world.
 According to press agent dope. he is in the city looking for matches. Is he? Well, he isn't looking very hard. No danger of eye strain. And Neven IT he was looking hard he wouldn't fino any matches in the places he has been frequenting The writer askea Tex Rickard today if he had seen anything of Kilbane since he arrived in tbis city.
 "l haven't even heard from him. was the replu, @Yes, 1 know he Is here, but 1 don't think he Is in training or anything like that"
 Dundee on Trail
 As soon as Johnny Dundee heard kilbane was in town he at once camJ forth with an offer to meet tb champion for the featherweighI title. This fine. honest little fighter says he can make the 126-pound limit. and as the Scotch wop doesn't make cheap cracks you can gamble what he says is so. And Tex Rickard would like nothing better than to stage a meeting. It would bring 8 rich gate and rich gates are as scarce at the Garden this year as wisdom teeth in partridge.
 But there is no need for excite ment. Kilbane holds that the true featherweight limit is 122 pounds, and anyone who wishes to take the title from him must make tha. weight at o'clock on the afternoon of the fight. kilbane's idea seems to be that he himself would not havv to get on the scales at all. That's a queer position for champion to ake, but that is how he stands.
 Must Change Radically
 If Kilbane wants fight in New York or in any state where boxing commissions don't allow fighters to dictate various terms. he will have to change his views radically, but, as already said, present indications are that the last thing Johnny is thinking of is pugilistic encounter
 Another tip that can be set down as pure press bunk Is that relating to a fight between Harry Greb and Johnny Wilson. If Wilson fought Greb he would lose that half of his title which Bryan Downey didn't get Wilson doesn't want any part of Greb and in this respect he is one of large and growing army. Bill Brennan talked pretty big aboIt meeting the winner of the Wienert- Greb battle, but after the Pitts burger came through with clean cut victory no more was heard of Brennan. Greb, by the way, Is claim ing the light heavyweight title of America. and the only man who has risen to dispute it is Battling Le- whisky. So long as the once -battler disputes outside the ring there will not be trouble, but if he carries the argument with Greb to the squaren circle he will find that the tongue is more powerful than the padded fist.
 Fighting at Low Ebb All in all. fighting in what has come to be the center of pugilisin was never at so low an ebb as now. Benny Leonard won't fight in this city. and Jack Dempsey, on big time l in vaudeville, has no opportunity Thus the two big money makers of the ring are out of the reckoning. other fighters of lesser degree won't fight unless they can pick cinch op ponents. Rickard says he is working on several interesting matches. Fight fans will hope so, but they want to be shown.
 What is the trouble? Well, chiefly, big purses. Fighters have made so much money in the past year or two that they really don't have to fight as often as they used to. It was nor like that in the good old days. when hard fight did little more than pay a winters coal bill, if that.