The Washington times., 1929-03-25
NEEDS
NATIONAL
RULER
By Jack Dempsey

What this fight-loving coun-
try needs is some sort Of su.
preme ruler or a commission
that will have supervision over
the boxing game throught the
United States.
Only in that way-with one &
tanic figure or one governing bod
in absolute power-can order com
out Of the present chaotic condil
tions that exist within the racket.
Because New York is bossed by
one group. Pennsylvania by an.
other, Massachusetts, by another
and SO on, promoters managers and
boxers, who get away with so-calle0
murder" in one State. move ou
of it and do the job all over II
the next commonwealth. Withou
a complete national working ar
rangement there is little hope tina
the situation can be bettered.
Without a dominating com.
mission i'm the United States,
the boxers do pretty much as
they please. When one actu.
ally wins a title, or is voted
the championship by one com.
mission or another, he rarely
tries to defend the crown.
He keeps that for prestige and
instead OF tackling men in ais owu
class. he goes around fighting In
some higher division.
Bantams want to fight feathers
feathers want to fight lightweightss
lightweights want to take on welters
and so 1t goes. Even when q
divisional champion is finally cor
nered, and is compelled to fight in
his own class, he usually tries to
dictate that the battle is to be al
catchweights SO that his pewter
crown is not at stake.
Interest in all the divisions beloT
the heavyweight has grown les0|
and less for the simple reason thai
the actual, or synthetic, championl
won't stick to their own knitting.y
Until the bantams go back to fight.
ing among themselves, and the
feathers, the hghtweights, and au|
=
volume are not going to get excited
about what the boxers do.
II those little fellows only
realized that they were hurting
themselves by not defending
their title. they probably would
change their methods.
But they either do not realize ~
or realizing it they lack the bu
ness sense to understand that th
can make more money, and ga
greater prestige and glory battlinl
among themselves than they car
by mixing it with the bigger men
Il stands to reason that a ligh
weight or welterweight titleholdeI
facing the most formidable of hi
actual rivals. would draw an inf
nitely bigger gate than would re
suit by his meeting the champio
in the next division. Because ol
greater bulk. the man in the highe
class would have the other felloI
practically whipped before thI
fight began, thus making the bou
unattractive to fans who want t
see evenly matched men slammin
away at each other.
Because there is no supreme
ruling body to boss boxing in
this country, the result is that
what's right in one State is all
wrong in the other; what's fair
here Is probably foul there, and
there are almost as many
champions I'm the vacated small
divisions as there are inde-
pendent commissions to nOmi-
nate them.
With more and more States legal
izing boxing, and with the game
now grown to gigantic size, thers
is an urgent and immediate need
for a man to supervise the game az
Judge Kenesaw Lands supervisea
baseball, or for a body Of men to
dominate the sport in the way that
the National Commission once made
the laws and enforced the rules Of
baseball throughout the United
States.
Who will second my suggestion?
Copyright. 1929, King Features
Syndicate. Inc.)
n ? n wy