The Washington times., 1926-10-16

OuLS1Qe the ring SOlIlSLllIeS hIOSb
fellows who guess me for anything
but a fighter. Occasionally they
pick on me. Possibly they do this
because l look contented and happy.
! always succeed in talking myself
out of trouble with such chaps.
I think that the most upsetting
thing to a boxer is to be pestered
with violations of the rules on the
part of an opponent. 1t Is here
that a fighters self-control is taxed.
Getting hit in the breakaway-when
you are supposed to step out of q
Clinch without striking an opponent
--is particularly annoying.
remember when / boxed a Staten
Island celebrity about 10 years ago.
He was a good fighter, and game,
but every time We clinched, he
would clasp me about the neck with
his right arm, and when ordered
by the referee to break, would
clout me with his left. argued
with him, but he merely grinned
and then sent in the unfair SOCK.
This occurred SO repeatedly that
/ decided 1t was up to me to "per-
suade" him. / poised as this fell
low cIinched and held up my left
hand under his right arm-which
was affectionately glued to my
neck. AT the call Of break" and
just as my opponent was beginning
to let fly with his left, l sent a
left to his jaw that made him reel.
He evidently thought i was
mad and that ] was about to
rush in crafty. Instead of charg-
ing / gave him a good, steady,
stiff lab and laughed at him at
the same time. He quit sluggiTiG
me i'm the breaks.
When I met AL Roberts, after
the war, I was still raw, despite my
training and boxing overseas. Rob
erts was a rough one. He always
was dangerous. When / walked out
in the first round and offered to
shake hands, got surprise. 1t
was a. singing right-hand punch
to the law. Fortunately it glanced
off as / twisted my head. 1t sort
of disillusioned me, that punch.
stepped back, and as Roberts rushed
in. I keeled him over with a right.
This made Roberts rather angry.
He leaped up. began rushing again
and was somewhat rough ana
tumble in the frequent clinches.
Then began one of the toughest
ring assignments I ever had, not
excepting the first fight l had with
Harry Greb.
Roberts, cIinching, would hold
and hit, using the rabbit punch,
n slam at the base of the skull.
He was tired in the fifth and
belabored him with blows for two
rounds. At the end of the seventh,
was handicapped by my seconds,
who seemed TO have gone wild.
They waved, shouted, told me to
do everything and then not to ID
anything-it was a madhouse.
learned then and there to control
myself under most trying condi-
tions and beat Roberts with a right
to the jaw in the eighth. That was
in 1920.
Here is an anecdote that is given
me for a fact, but / am always
slow to say a thing is so unless I
have firsthand knowledge. Any
way, it Is so interesting that it
ought to be true.
Back in the days Of my novitiate,
] boxed two preliminary contests IN
the ring of the Fairmont Club on
One Hundred and Forty-fifth Street.
Street.
This was a ramshackle, band
box structure which was owned
and managed by Billy Gibson.
who later was to become my pilot.
Glib opened the club i'm 1908 when
boxing was suffering in New
York from pernicious anemia. in
fantiIe paralysis and the govt.
Under the old membership plan.
the gladiators were introduced az
''Both boys are members of this
club Every Saturday night for
the following nine years. Gibson
ran the Fairmont, despite the fact
that the gendarmes frequently des-
cended on his pugilistlc parties.
n y