The Washington times., 1930-07-31

Here / am again &c total dis
agreement with SO many 81 my,
colleagues. as ] often find my
self, anent the significance cf
Willie Striking having KO'd
Phil Scott so soon after they
climbed into the ring together
a few evenings ago ct WimbIe-
don, England.
No few lines Of type have
been devoted in the meantime
to the Importance Of Stribling'e
feat, 50 much 30. that lest the
stamp Of .iInariimity be placed
on It. ! must be quick to regis
ter q dissenting voice.
Personally I am unable TO
grant that knocking out Phil
Scott means. anything at AL,
for he Is about as far removed
from my idea Of . fighter as
any man could be. Whit !
mean to say Is that he never
seemed to fit into 3 fight pic
.ture ct al. He looks and acts
in q ring Ike the whole h1si-
ness were digtastefuI to nifn
and that he hopes the thing
will soon be over and he can
be carried hack TO the privacy
Of his dressing room.
But that Is only half Of my
contention. The other half ID
that Striking, too, has seemed
to me to be quite an Indifferent
fighter, taken by and large.
and Of poor ci1arnpio Ilship cali
her. strata with which his
name has been no little con
nected since he suffered him
self 30 K.O. Scott right on top
Of having suffered himself to
do the same thing to Otto Won
Rorat.
OF course. . leopard may
change his spots, but I iaarliy
think Striking Is changiro any
Of his characteristics at the eye
Of 26. after having been ia the
fight business since he started
as q weller niHae yearg ago. 1t
seems to me that Stribling has
spent the. years since he turned
seventeen and went for the
fight racket more in seeing, how
many gates Of from 81, COO I'D he
could be q part Of, than 10
seeing how good a. fighter he
could be. He can't be con.
defnned for the former. hut he
can for some Of the EetiipS lie
has deliberately booked.
Naturally. In this day and aee.
when there are so few killers 81
the business, any heavyweight
who scores two knockoIitS IA
succession must attract some
furry Of attention, and while he
may be q God.send TO Madison
Square Garden, which controls
all the good heaVyWeights with
any rating whatever excGRt
Striking, lido not believe attllis
late stage in his career Strihling
has changed his stripes to The
extent. where he can now be
called the answer to the fight
fans prayer and q dangerous
uSurper Of q throne once douii-
mated by q Dempsey, q; Tunney,
9 Corbett Or 9 Fitzsilnus IONS
all real fighting men.
For instance, Ican't kid my
self for q minute into think.
ing Stribling can lick jack
Sharkey right now, Tor aS In
different 4 performer IS Hhar-
key has been. he has. lu61n6d
very savage indeed Ia some Cf
his more recent fights, such &c
the Scott, Lougllran and SchEae.
ling fights.
Yes, Jack actually vas saw
age. in all three Of those fights,
although IN the Scott i1cid ent In
Miami his SayageneSS alIAoSt
took the form Of hysteria. Nor
do I think that against fight
ing men like Sharkey or SChIne.
ling either. Stribltllg would go
after them in the early rounds
as he went after Won Rorat, or
Scott:
Striking was nearer beating
Sharkey q year ago last Feb
ruaI:y in Miami than The prob.
8 ably ever will be again Id hts
/ life, IN the fourth round having
hurt Slarlseys right much alld
not being safficisntly i wafe soe
it TO- 60 hi and finish lail,l.
Remember, too, tIist In both
Stfiblidg's Chicago and Wimble-
don fights, he wasn't touched
before the early ondiIgg Of
those bouts That makes p lot
Of. difference. Men don't fight
as well or as ageressiVely Ter
they've been slowed up. Rather
they fight more cautiously and
lay back for q lucky opening.
Had Won PoI,at or Scott laid 3
heavy hand, or any hand ct AL
on Striking, he may not have
been so vicious nor looked so
wen when the end came.
Let the others rave about
Stfibling as putting q new nsht
on the heavyweight situation.
We viii hold our peace until he