New Britain herald., 1928-01-04
1UNlVEY, RETURNS
 FROM SOUTHLAND
Champion Dsd,rs Rctud Has Big Surprise Awaiting Him

70 Ssee~S
 New York. Jan. { W-Gene Tun- ney came home from tho southland today with ! double-barreled sur prise for Tex Rickard and increased determination to defend his heavy- weight championship twice in 1928.
 Bright-eyed and vigorous after . two week sojourn in Miami. Fla. the biz marine. light top-coat opened and whipping about in tho bitter wind of a northern cold snap. step. ped from his train compartment just before midnight and immediately opened fro on the Madison Square Garden promoter.
 Around the king of the heavy weights gathered only . handful of his most intimate friends. there was Billy Gibson, his manager. Bill Me- Cabe, his friend. confidaat and ad- wiser. sy-cheeked and puffing from tho cold: William H. Egan. railroad executive for 30 years and acting champion" by Gene's own appoint ment during the latter's absence from New York: an unnamed lighting assitant" for Egan: and a bare dozen other cronies.
 , To them Gene outlined rousing declaration of independence from promottonal sovereignty during the new year.
 '"Tax Rickard has | genuine sur prise awaiting him on February 1 when he is due to post tloo.00o un- der a clause in the optional agree. nient he holds on my services as heavyweight champion of the world" the big marine declared. "Rickard will find himself in 2 nice predica- ment."
 But that was not all the two-tme conqueror of Jack Dempsey had in tho way of surprises as he talked of his associations with Rickard while his eyes flashed. wavy brown pompadour bristled. and the blood rushed to his angry face.
 Right now i'm considering an offer that amounts to $l25.o 900 more ] than Rickard will give and from a promoter who can stage e heavy- weight title match anywhere in the United States. It Is sure to go over. He is not Jim Mullins, the Chi cago promoter. although I also am considering a proposition he has made"
 While refusing to name the pro- | moter, Gene would not deny. either. that the man was Metropolitan rival of Rickard. Neither would he admit that Humbert J. Fugazy. who has announced plans for a t5,000.- 900 indoor arena here, had named the sum he admitted as enticing. On the basis that Richards preliminary agreement for 1928 with the cham. pion calls for | financial return simi- lar to that received by Tunney for his title defense against Dempsey in Chicago last fall, the rival figure would aggregate approximately $l.- 116,000 for a single fight. Rickard paid Tunney $9s1,ooo for his serv. ices at Soldier Field.
 "The option Tex has on my serv- ices is legal joke and doesn't pre- vent me from fighting either first for someone else or later." Tunney declared. 'The oasis of law is com. mon sense. the fundamental princi- pie of a contract k equality and q just return on one side for privileges relinquished to the other.
 'The finest of legal minds have told me that Richards contract does not embody these principles and i' worthless. Besides there is clause in that option that Tex has over. looked. It says my opponent must be agreeable to both Rickard and myself and can be named when the promoter posts his forfeit on Feb l."
 This. Tunney, intimated. was the shell that held the explosive he in. tends to loose on Rickard when time comes for fulfillmcnt of early provi. sions of the agreement. He pointed out that the contract. which Tex de. clares gives him an exclusive optior on the marines services until Oct l. 1928. was inequitable in that Il failed to make any financial provi' sion for him If Rickard failed tt produce a challenger by Oct. 1. H. declared that if tho finalist in the promoters elimination series through poor showings, eliminated them selves from public accepta scs as challengers. then Rickard was moi obliged. under Interpretation of tht agreement, to stage title matcl in 1928,
 ''Tcx Rickard Is mana ging enoug! lighters now and he never will man age me-" Gene declared as his colol mounted. ''In the future, I shal protect Gene Tunney's interests ana his alone. l have had a rough time getting where am today--if I an anywhere. shall not be ruled by people with the interest of otherl at heart.'
 Gene returned 10 New York 70 at tend the "All-Champions" banque of Tex Richards "6O0 Millionaires' club here tonight If called upon {, speak. he will discuss only the his tory of boxing and some of it's light CT phases. He plans to leave Janu ary 10 for ten day stay at Do .e