The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1922-11-12
"KID" LEWIS WANTS
TO WORK UP BOUT
WITH NEW CHAMPION
BY SPARROW M'GANN
cial Correspondent of The Age Herald
1922, by Tho Age-Herald)

Special Correspondent OF Inc AEe-Heraid
Copyright. 1922. by Tho e-Herald)
New York, November 11.-When
word of the downfall of Jack Britton
and the crowning of Mickey Walker
as king of the welters reached Eng
land. one fighter. quickly held up his
head and took notice. He is Ted
(Kid) Lewis, the English weller, who
is keen to win some sort of world 8
title. The writer learns that he will
shortly be leaving for this country
to work up match with the new
champion. And make no mistake.
yboys, that would be one fine fight.
Joe Beckett, according to experts
familiar with European fighters, is
now the finest heavyweight in Eu-
rope and will beat Battling Sikh IL
the two ever go through with the
bout originally scheduled for London,
December Z, but against which the
British home office has set its face.
The big Englishman has improved
great deal since Carpenter and
Frank Moran knocked him cold and
besides that he seems to have re-
placed tho glass in his Jaw with
something closely resembling rein
forced concrete.
Even granting that Frank Moran
lis not qualified to beat any of our
second raters, his old Mary Ann wal
lop is still something which no
fighter of whatever class would be
willing to stop with his jaw. IL he
could help 1t. Yet Beckett took the
blow. blinked, sat down, took the
count of eight and then arising
slowed the Pittsburger away.
Fears December
1t is no wonder, therefore, that
Beckett just now is the white haired
hau nf ~ nd ta nnaSin1o m
Beckett won't care so very much If
the Sikh fight is barred in England
especially If he would have had to
meet the negro in December. All
fighters are superstitious and Beck
EFT is notably so. Specially. he has
feared the last month of the year
as period in which to box. Yet, he
agreed to a December 7 bout against
the warlike Senegalese. Either Joe
has gained in courage or else some
powerful bunch took the curse off
against December has been bulwarked
by some disagreeable facts. chief
among them being a knockout by
Carpenter in that month and another
one by Frank Moran.
| For Beckett to fight in December
would be like Johnny Dundee fight
! ing in black trunks. Fans may or
may not recall that Johnny Dundee
has sustained but one knockout in
the course of his long career. The
successful walloper was Johnny's old
rival, Willie Jackson. Upon the oc-
casion of this fight Dundee mislaid
the white trungs he invariably wore
and had to go into the ring with a
pair of black ones. That was the
last time anyone ever saw Dundee in
black trunks.
Other fighters have had little Gus.
toms born of superstitions. Charley
Beecher, for instance. doesn't object
to wearing a Christian monicker In
| the ring, but the initials he wears
| on his trunks must always be en-
broidered in Hebrew characters. San
ILangford always used to place bead
of rosary in his left sock before en-.
tering the ring. Johnny Summers
habitually bound his scapulaI
| around his left ankle before going
against an opponent. John l. Sullivan
| carried a rabbits foot in his pocket
although 1t is not known that he evel
| took one into the ring with him.
| There is a report that Dempsey will
be invited to England to take Skis
place against Beckett.