Evening star., 1928-12-20
BOTH ARE CLEVER
AND PACK WALLOP
Each Also Possesses Youth
and Is Gaining Weight
to Make the Grade.
BY ALAN ]. GOULD,
Associated Press Sports Editor.

"A YEW YORK, December 20.--It
N has been demonstrated before
that a good light-heavyweight
4 or even a first-clas middle
weight, such as was Bob Fitz-
simmons at one time, can clean up the
heavyweight division.
There is a distinct need for some
such cleaning up as the campaign OF
1929 is about to get under way, and 1t
would not be surprising to see the task
performed by one or the other OF these
light heavyweight products - Tommy
Loughran and w L. (Young) Stribling.
Speed and skill have been accom-
plishing as much as, II not considerably
more than, the old-fashioned sock in
this heavyweight era. Loughran and
Stribling have both. A long string OF
knockouts also is produced to ballyhoo
the So-called Stribling sock, but the
Georgian has yet to demonstrate Its
potency outside the transforming cir
cult. Thirty knockouts in some SO
fights sounds impressive enough, until
the list of victims is scanned.
Yet there seems no doubt now to
most critics that Stribling must be Ser1-
ously reekoned with as contender for
Tunney's vacated title. The Georgia
acrobat has youth and unusual endu-
rance in his favor. And it is Significant
Just now that he Is more willing to mix
with the top-notcherS than they are
with him.
Compared With Tunney.
Loughran's rise to the fistic heights
frequently has been compared with that
of Tunney, and with considerable rea-
son, The. broad-shouldered. good-look-
ing Philadelphian is not snowy, but is
an unusually effective workman, fast,
ring-wise and a good body puncher OF
Tunney's type. There is another paral-
lei for Loughran came back to win one
of his greatest fights, from Leo Lomski,
after being knocked down and almost
out, Just as Tunney was in his last bat
tie with Jack Dempsey. Loughran dis
played rare courage, as well as defen-
Sive skill and instinct, in saving him
self from being knocked out by Lomski,
for he admitted later he was punch
drunk for q half dozen rounds.
Loughran, like Tunney, has had a
thorough schooling in light heavyweight
ranks, displaying willingness to fight
all comerS.
Loughran and Stribling, filling out
and taking on weight to make the
heavyweight grade, have a much better
chance against such full-fiedged heavieS
as Sharkey, Risko, Pauline and
Maloney than other 175-pounders who
have essayed ring adventures outside
their class.
BerIenbach and Delaney.
Few light heavies furnished more ex-
citing moments than Paul Berlenbach
and Jack Delaney in recent years. but
neither was able to make appreciable
headway against the bigger fellows.
Berlenbach fought himself out in the
lighter division, when still young man,
while Delaney either lacked the stamina
and durability necessary to mix with
the good big men or found his sharp
shooting ineffective against them.
Loughran and stribling probably
would be bigger stumbling blocks for
Jack Dempsey than any other con-
tenders in sight, in the event the
ManaSSa mauler tries another come
back. Dempsey has beaten Sharkey and
would prefer the rough-and-ready going
among such big fellows as Risko,
Pauline and Maloney. He would find
Stribling and Loughran as elusive and
shifty as Tunney, with all the speed
needed to go at least 10 rounds at
fast clip, something that Dempsey has
not demonstrated he can do in the past
few years.