The New York herald., 1922-01-22
Carpenters Courage.

Boxing Commissioner Tom O'Rourke
takes issue with those who credited
Carpenter with exhibiting great cour-
sge in his losing battle with Dempsey
In Boyle's Thirty Acres. O'Rourke says:
II don't believe that Carpenter Is
game man in the sense that 1t Is used
In battles of the ring. / doubt his cour-
age. Whether it is a question OF heart
the inclination to carry on when the
battle takes on an aspect that Is ad-
verse to him, or whether 1t Is question
of physical inability to stand UP against
hard blows is a question I have not set
tied in my own mind. But l do believe
that any other man would have rallied
from that punch that Jack Dempsey hit
him which won the bout In New Jersey
last July.
THAT blow was a glancing one. 1t
did not land with full force on Car
pentier. 1t would not have Knocked
down many another fighter. and 1t
certainly would not have knocked out a
great many of bur heavyweight bat
tiers. Whether Carpenter was oil In
at the time from the body blows OF the
third round or whether he quit it's
hard to say. Anyhow. he went down
and gave up a fight that many another
American batter would have carried on
| for a greater number of rounds. That
is why say he lacks courage"
The last punch landed by Dempsey
may have been a glancing one, as
O. Rourke says, but number of solid
shots to the body that preceded that
punch were anything but giancing. Pos
sibly the body blows that Dempsey
landed made 1t difficult for the French
man to withstand the last glancins
punch.
| It would seem reasonable to suppose
that ii should begin to dawn on num-
| Der of amiab1e gentlemen opposed to
the rulings and verdicts OF the Boxing
Commission that Gov. Miller is de-
termined to sustain that organization
in its control of the ring sport in this
! State. Under the circumstances II
seems certain that these decisions by
the Commission will stand during the
time the Commission holds office:
1.-Flying falls in wrestling.
2.-No professional boxing in the State
military armories.
s.-No smoking In boxing clubs.
| 4.-No reinstatement OF Johnny Will
son till he boxes Harry Greb in Madi-
son Square. Garden according to the
contract signed by him.
There may be other rulings by the
commission on important subjects. and
! the boxers, managers, promoters and
others may as well make up their minda
TO acquiesce, for the Boxing Board II
supreme and its edicts will stand.
Bob Moha's DeIusion.
Bob Moha, now in the light heavy
weight class. comes forward with claim
TO tho effect that he is the middleweighi
champion. Moha says:
IT won the mlddleweight champion
ship from Billy Papke ten years ago.
Since then / have not fought around
/ that weight so / never lost the crown
| The general opinion that Johnny Wilson
is the middleweight champion is ridicu-
| lous."
Moha appears to entertain the delu-
sive idea that when a champion retires
| from the ring his title revcrts to the
preceding holder. Ketchel was killed In
| 1910. and on Oct. 81. 1911, Moha got q
decision N a twelve round bout over
Papke In Boston. That Is the bout on
which Moha bases his title claim.
Unfortunately for Moha the champion-
ship did not revert to Papke after
Ketchels death. The title was open
20 competition, and Frank Klaus, after
defeating a majority of the contenders
for the American title. went 10 Paris and
made himself the worlds middleweight
champion by defeating Carpenter. mid
dleweight champion OF Europe. Klaus
also defeated Papie In Paris.
1 Afoha says he never lost the niddle-
weight crown. That is true because he
never won II.