Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1926-09-30
WHAT A BIG FUSS

The Dempsey-Tunney fight has
come and gone. About all the diff
ference that historic event" made
was that the championship changed
hands--Tunney now wears the crown,
and the financial standing of both
participants, as we'll as the promo
tiers of the affair, has been improved.
. A lot of people paying from SIS to
$3.50 to see the fuss paid dearly
for the thrill, for that's about all
they got out of it.
1t beats all what publicity will do.
When battling Nelson and AID VOL
CAST fought for the lightweight cham
pionship of the world about Is years
ago, the purse was $4,000, and when
worlds heavyweight chamri nship
back to the white race from Jack
Johnson, also about Is years ago, the
purse was 100000 That was an
unheard of sum at that time. Now
they have million dollar fights and
the sums even run into more than a
million dollars. 1t beats all what
publicity will do. In the first place,
promoters of contest of that sort
secure some of the best publicity
agents to be gotten-men who are ex-
perts and know how to write. The
promoters are careful to not stage a
big contest too often-about once
year or less frequently. In the
meantime, reports are given out of
the champion being scheduled and
Slated with a certain strong opponent.
Then the contest is off, on again,
etc.
For weeks or months, the public
ity agents will speculate ON whether
or not the champion will draw the
color line. Then there is big write
up about the champion disagreeipg
with his manager on finances. Fin
ally, after visiting the summer. re-
sorts,> theatres, and other amusement
places for long time, each move be-
ing heralded, contest is finally
signed up. Then for month or
two, the, training program is given
daily write up. AS the contest draws
near, the fans all over the country
are talking more about it and become
more and more excited. A railroad
president steps in and perhaps just
for the novelty of it has one of the
gladiators travel in his private coach
to the contest. That is all written
in an interesting manner. About
100000 people paid admission to see
the scrap at Philadelphia, Sept. %,
and then some folks say that public
ity does not count. How in the wide
world could 100000 people have been
attracted to a contest no better than
those carried on in the back yard
during the rough and tumble frontier
days with but small crowd witness
ing, if the contest had not been given
the widest publicity +
Boxing has never appealed to the
writer as good sport and the way
it is being conducted now it ceases
to be a sport at all. 1t has been
commercialized to the greatest ex-
tent The sport is brutal. There
can, of course, be science and clever
ness in it, but that is not what the
fans go to see. They want blood,
and get it. Boxers become prema-
turely old-usually their hearing is
effected, they are more or less SCARED
all over the face, flat nose, broken
teeth, broken knuckles, and the like.
Occasionally there is a death but
that, of course, may happen in any
sport, even playing tag, as far as
that goes. A boxers health is us
ually ruined after 10 10 Is, years
of .gruelling contests, and that is us
ually the extent of their remaining
in the ring.