Daily Kennebec journal., 1925-01-17
LEONARD Says.
MOTHERS PLEA
MADE HIM QUIT


jamin Leiner volunteered to take the
place of a defaulting boxer and the
old Fairmont Athletic Club in the
Bronx. Last night he retired from
the ring where he is known as
Benny Leonard, as lightweight
champion of the world.
In a statement announcing his re-
tirement Leonard declared that he
was actuated solely by the wishes OF
his mother. Always opposed to his
fighting, Leonard said, his mother
had renewed her pleading thai he
quit the ring and the condition of
her health made it imperative hat
that he accede to her wishes. After
| a family council, the statement sad,
| it was decided that he retire per-
manently.
Leonard. who has not been acti''e
| in the ring since 1923, has held his
| present title for nearly seven years.
After fighting his way through the
ranks for five years following his
| first appearance, he faced on May
IS, 1917, that king of defensive LoX-
| ers from Great Britain. Freddy
| Welch. The bout took place at the
| Manhattan A. c.
A few months previously the
| champion. Welch, had made Leon
! ard appear amateurish in Il Brooklyn
| contest and Leonard had outpointed
| Welch in Il battle IN Madison Square
! Garden. This was the decisive con
=. test. Having protected his crown
! since he won it from Willie Rite ie,
/ Wclch was powerless before a terri
| tic offensc and Benny Leonard came
! into fame.
! After winning the title more than
| seven years ago. Leonard met all
comers and defeated them. Nine
times he encountered the recently
retired champion of the feather
| weights. Johnny Dundee, and several
close battles resulted. After he be-
came champion he knocked out
Johnny Nelson. Johnny Kilbane.
, Young Rector. Leo johnson. Young
| Erne, Gere belmont, Chick Brown,
| Willie Ritchie. Joe Malone, lmy
! Duffy. Me. Coogan, Charley White.
! rankie Britt. Eddie Kelly. Joe
yelling, Ritchie Mitchell, Rocky
Kansas and Pinkie Mitchell. His
! victims before 1917 included Joe
! Mandot, Shamus O'Brien ard Ever
| Hammer.
He lost to Jack Britton in the 10Th
! round of a New York bout in 1922
on foul, the referee ruling that
Britton had been struck while off
his feet. Way back in the days when
he was starting his climb Leonard
was knocked out by Joe Shugruc
and frankie Fleming.
In recent months the retired
champion has confined his activities
to the stage and screen and is about
to start on long vaudeville engage
ment. Illness overtaken him at
! New York theatre raclnt1y and hn
swooned as he retired to the wings,
after he had finished his act He is
not fully recovered from the attack.
The last year of Leonard's reign
brought only negotiations with
Mickey Walker. welterwoight cham
pIon, as the prospective opponent.
! Twice scheduled, the bout pever ma
terialized, as the lightweight cham
pion suffered an injured thumb in a
victorious bout with Pal Moran in
Cleveland during the summer and
was unable to appear.
Last November Leonard issued a
challenge to all lightweights who
could prove their right to contend
for the title and Billy Gibson, his
manager, explained that the cham
pion's inactivity could be laid to the
dearth of suitable opponents.
=, Leonard is retiring from the ring
in good financial circumstances and
! with foundation for stage ca
reer laid by months of preparation.
Thus he is following in the footsteps
of another pugilist, James j. Cor.
bett.
! Benny Leonard. in n signed state
ment, gave his love for his mother"
as the reason for quitting the box
ing ring.
Leonard revealed that his mother
for some time had pleaded with him
to give up boxing because she feared
he would be hurt. She became 20
insistent that finally Billy Gibson.
Leonard's manager, advised the box
er to retire, saying that the "shock
of another fight will be too much
for her"
""The newspapers were full of
stories about my training-my fight
ing, said Leonard in his statement.
They told how | got my eye split
open. They told how | got my teeth
knocked out. They told how mr
hands were broken. And my mother
! read every line of it, and then saw
me as / came home. Mother would
sit CRYING and trembling saying My
poor Benny
MY fighting has come down to
question of my mothers health. |
nave to choose between that and the
love of hearing the three cheers of
the newsboys on the street"