New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1921-07-01
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Science i'm RING
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G. B. S. Picks Georges Car
pentier; Disregards Teach
ing of Neo-Shavian School
BY Haywood Broun

by Fteyoood Broun
Fortunately, there is still time for the
hackers OF Dempsey to hedge George
Bernard Shaw, in the New York Anne
rican, yesterday declared that Carpen-
tier "is the most formidable boxer
in the world" and that the odds
ought to be fifty to one in his favor.
This may not be dismissed as testing.
AS usual, Mr.. Shaw is in earnest, prob
ably not Quite earnest enough to cover
any very large amount of Dempsey
money which may be cabled over from
America, but still he means what he
says. He has affirmed it "on my repu-
tation for knowing what | write about"
This declaration upon the part of Mr..
Shaw places him shoulder to shoulder
with Battling Levinsky as one of the
two most prominent students of box
ing to come out in favor Of the chances
of Carpenter. In rebuttal it may be
pointed out that Levinsky's Judgment
is warped by the fact that upon one
occasion he saw far too much of Car
pentier while Shaw has not seen enough
of Dempsey. He has in fact never
seen him at all, which seems to us
too little. -
Shaw's confidence in Carpenter may
orthodoxy. Of course, we know that
in most things Shaw is hereto, but
every man must have some one sub
ject upon which he is regular. We
might even say that in Mr.. Shaw's
case there must be some phase OF
thought in which he is British. He
has selected boxing as the one thing
out of all the world concerning which
he shall think like true son OF the
empire.
A Lover of Technique
The thing which has dazzled and
blinded Shaw is technique. He Was
able to sit in the theater for years
and remain impervjous to the we'll
made" plays of Pinoro. The regulars
in art and music never won his ad-
miration but that straight punch OF
Carpentier%s which toppled Beckett
not the violence of the blow which
moved him so much as its correctness.
Form has even been the ideal Of the
British boxing public. Wells remained
popular favorite. though knocked out
again and again because he boxed in
faultless STYLE There was not q single
criticism which could be brought
against him as fighter outside the
fact that he could not win,
brains, style and character" are
the three chies qualities which Shaw
names in the invincible equipment of
Carpenter, and he mentions the fate
of Bandsman Rice, who tried to match
his right hand swing against Carpen-
tiers straight right. Theoretically
there is much to be said in favor of
the man who punches straight opposed
to the man who swings, and Dempsey
is essentially q SWinger
Ring orthodoxy, and more particu-
larly the orthodoxy Of the British
Prize ring, is all on the side of Car
pentier and of Shaw. In theory Demp-
sey's crouch is all wrong. In theory
he fought an i'll considered fight
against Willard, when he rushed in
and dared the champions dangerous
uppercut without first feeling him out
and firing him a little, by compelling
him to chase a smaller and a faster
man.
Ketchel Just "Socked"
But conventionality about boxing
has been smashed in America by a
score of fighters. A thousand fans in
the top gallery of Madison Square
Garden on any fight night may fatter
themselves that as far as boxing goes
their minds are broader and more
emancipated than the brain of Ber-
nard Shaw. They know that Stanley
Ketchel, the swinging fighter, beat
down Philadelphia Jack O'Brien, one
of the greatest stylists of the ring.
They remersber Jeffries, Sharkey, Fitz-
simmons, Terry McGovern, Knockout
Brown and hundreds of lesser men who
fought all wrong according to precon-
ceived standards and yet conquered.
In England, Mr.. Shaw himself broke
fN,. ,,ol1 do
play. Pinero stood his ground and
jabbed correctly to the end, but he
could not check the advance of Shaw.
Eventually style was knocked fiat upon
its back and lay there while Mr.. Shaw
and his friends danced up and down
upon its stomach. Fortunately for
America, we had man much like Shaw
in the prize ring. His name was Tom
Sharkey. Big chested, gnarled, short
armed, he did almost everything
wrong. 1t was physically impossible
for him to punch straight. He went
against men who fought correctly and
they hit him a hundred times. He hit
them once and that was enough. All
the points they had scored faded and
were as nothing, like the old plays of
Piner. The continent waits for some
such heavyweight deliverer who shall
smash tradition and his opponent with
one and the same mighty blow.
Mr.. Shaw himself might have been
the man if he had not been so busy
with other things. 1t is we'll to re-
member that he was not the complete
insurgent in the arts from the very
beginning. Revolt was hammered into
him after years of nfghting with
actor-managers. If he had only be-
come professional pugilist we have
little doubt that he would have ceased
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