The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-08-20
By MAC

By MAC
 Birmingham tandom will have a sip of the intoxication of the real fight bug for the big time heavy weight slashcs Monday night, when Bob Roper of New York meets Tom Berry of Cincinnati at the B. A. c. It will be the Magic Cltys first at tempt at staging bout between hlgh-class eastern boys, and fandom IS watching the outcome of the it. lair with interest and anxiety.
 The Roper Berry bout IS consid- cred by many the crisis of tho box ing game in Birmingham If the scrap goes through as expected and large enough house is on hand to make the thing a paying affair, then the Magic City may expect other such big bouts in the future. On the other hand, if the project falls through, with loss of money for the club, then it's ham and eggery" for the Magic City, so far as boxing is concerned That's the opinion of tho wise ones. as garnered from curb stone circles during the past week. Roper Is Favoritc.
 Despite the fact that the records snow him as being victor over the ebony-hued Battling Siki, conqueror of Carpenter and terror of Parisian boulevards, Tom Berry isn't being reckoned the favorite over Bop Roper for tonight's bout. On the other hand, the record for consist ent winning and general high stand ing throughout eastern heavyweight circles will make Roper a heavy Ia Yorite when he enters the ring Mon- cay night.
 Bob Roper is considered one of the really first-class heavyNveights in the fe D ir~ r,1 like all powerful men in the ring game, is gifted with a wallop in either mttten. Berry is not quite so well known as Roper, but the record books show he has beaten some good men, and that is bearing some weight in railbird circles in pre-bat- tie speculation on the outcome. Something New For Fans.
 A heavyweight clash is something new for Magic City fandom Bir- mingham has seen lots of battles between the little fellows, and they know to expect a lot of speed and science from them. But with heavy weights it is different. The action Is more spectacular, more tense for the spectators. At any moment a left hook or right smash is liable to floor one of the two men, for the big boys carry enough wallop in either paw to send the other to the canvas. Usually, it's just a question of who hits the first solid blow. If heavyweight. Is a top notcher, he always manages to hit the first good puncn.
 That's the difference in battles between the big boys and the little ones. The undersized scrappers play for points, and the big boys for the old knock -out wallops.
 Heavyweights are innovations for the B. A. c. ring, and the fact that the club has secured two really first class men has added to the popular ity of the show Monday night.
 Grent Advance Ticket Sale.
 An unusually nice advance ticket sale has been reported by 5. A. C. officials. At an early hour Satur- ray several hundred dollars in cash had been paid in, an equal amount of reservations had been made, and calls and callers were coming in every minute. B. A. c. officials are confident that they will sell out the house for the Roper-Berry scrap, and already are making plans for the next big bout at the club.
 Dave Evans who is handing matchmaking for the club these days, has been hard put to it to se- cure a semi final bout, due to the sickness of Dummy Harrington which will prevent him meeting Big Boy Edwards as scheduled.
 Dave has announced nice card or preliminaries to the main scrap, the first of which will begin at S:SO o'clock. The main bout will be put on an hour or an nour and half later.