Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-10-08


and. disclosing the part played by
crooked politicians, gunner, boot
leggers and Dtctous forces generally
in the control OF pagthsnt and the
men in the ring.
TINE extravaganza odyssey OF
Primo Camera, diversified
i battler from Venice, makes
a story for the book. The
history of his recent transforming
tour is a glazing illustration otthe
practices of the organized rack
eteers of boxing.
Not even the inspired and
meteoric rise of one of our new
est champions can compare with
it in audacity. The American ca
reer of Camera has been a success
sion of farcial knockouts, Of art
less dives in the tank, OF empty
victories.
There has been during the course OF
glorious, triumphant tour series OF
charges CT thuggery and graft, toul
play and intimidation.
The major details of the Bombo
Chevalier incident in California al
ready have been made public and the
Venetian heavyweight barred from
competition in several States, but the
momentum of his transforming con-
tinued almost unimpeded. The purses
still rolled in.
More than that, the chances are very
excellent indeed that Camera and his
papier mache record will find their way
| into the ring with revitalized JACK
Dempsey or some other money pulling
title contender.
The Camera Comic Opera.
COMEHoW the Camera comic opera
| y still seems like a champagne and
lobster dream. Mr.. Will Duffy, how
ever, wrote the opera, and Mr.. Duffy
There Is something painfully wakeful
and real about his bank account and
the gold doubloons he boards.
No roar OF scandal had disturbed him
as Cameras manager, nor Mr.. Owney
Madden as Duffys reputed aid. Neither
has scandal leSsened their gate re-
ceipts. The incessant drumming OF
sharp ballyhoo has sold Camera as a
Snowman. The public, unmindful OF
cSe
his elepllanti1le shadow boxing and his
tnept and hating swats.
The record of Camera is the pluper-
| feet demonstration. of what has come
to be known as the Get-up racket, one
Of the many blightS on the f1stic sport
which are being exposed in this series.
Once upon time the big idea OF
fixing fight was to let the gamblers
make a killing among the innocent and
uninfotmed. That Is less important
now as q phenomenon Of malpractice.
49,. Eyes. ON Big Purses.
THE Eoffuptiofists in. these days have
II their eyes on the munificent purses
awarded for. top-strata matches
They no longer content themselves with
petty thjeyery betting; there Is more
cash in manufacturing a champion or
| a champiouship contender. A fighter
| at not. too great cost can be brought
along through a series Of doubtful
knockouts until he pounds at the door
Of title. And sometimes the title
Primo Camera was made to order
for the racketeers. The Venetian has
what is technically known as color
that. Is, he is q freak in size, whose
giant stature and desk-top fists arouse
the interest of q public which always
wants to see how big big man can
be: The. boxing. .entrepreneurS nave
only recently learned what p. L. Bar
mum discovered long ago-that the
whole world. may or may. not love a
lover. but the whole world loves freak.
Let's take a look at the big man S
earnings. He was cleverly publiciZed
(the newspapers must take some sna
of the blame for the great Camera
myth, and he packed them In from
here to Hollywood. From January 10
April he made for himself and his
masters S103,391. His earnings by now
are we'll over 100000, and ne has not
engaged one opponent OF legitimate I'M
portance. The end is not yet. He must
Sooner or later meet a real fighter, and
Il is unlikely that the bosses will take
a chance on him and his ballyhoo be-
ing Knocked into a cooked hat for less
than a 100000 guarantee. Wen,
$500, 900 for year-that's good wages.
Campaign to Establish Him.
THE story, week by week, of the CAM
l. paign to establish Camera as
dangerous heavyweight is more
than a little interesting. Nothing
slipped up; nothing was left to chance
Cameras first appearance, after an
| impressive Decentralization, which saw
! him received by a regiment of man.
ayers, assistant managers and silent
partners was a tip-of on what was To
come. He met Big Boy Peterson al
Madison Square Garden, New York, and
knocked him down four times and out
in / minute and 10 seconds. One sports
prize comedy" and said of Peterson's
decision to stay upon the floor:
Il have no quarrel with him for that
though I do question his histrionicS
when he was carried to his corner. Big
Boy tried to look like the most COM
pletely knocked out fighter in the his
tory of the ring, but failed rather dis
mally. He didn't appear to be hurt"
Investigation Mild.
THE Boxing Commission made mild
| i investigation, and found no evil
dence to substantiate those rumors
! that are so often right. Camera re-
ceiyed $l8,761 for the prize comedy
Twenty thousand persons paid 100000
TO see the show.
Four days later Primo met Elzea1
Rioux, obscure French Canadian, in
Chicago. Camera landed seven punches,
flooring Rioux six times and knocking
him out in Al seconds. The knock
downs looked suspicious to the experts
and the Illinois Boxing Commission in
vestigated..
| Purses Of both boxers were supposed
to have been held up. but when the
hearing after investigation was actually
held Camera was speeding eastward
! with $i7,656 in his wallet. The COM
mission found that RiouX had not tried
/ to win, suspended him and fined him
81 900 of his $4,000 purse. Camera was
not held liable. A crowd of 1,349 per-
sons paid $59,625 to see that prize
comedy.
Cowboy Owens was next. He was
disposed of in the second round of a
meeting before 5000 fans in Newark
N. ]. Owens, experts said, apparently