The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-06-06
TALKING
IT OVER
BY JOE WILLIAMS

NEW YORK, June 5.-"The man
IN who doesn't go to prize fights
any more" picked up his paper ana
read:
"Riots Mar Ring Battles in Madi-
son Square Garden" And was his
jowls pink!
mean to say he Just could not get It,
What was this, a gag? Here. for years.
he had been going to fights, and the near
est approach to riot he ever saw was
when the depressed customers all started
to walk out at once and the main artery
to the street got all clogged up.
To be sure this was an amateur Tight
and that might make difference. Gen
orally speaking. the amateurs who have
nothing to fight for fight like fury. Where
as the professionals who have plenty to
fight for. do not fight at all.
Maybe this is point in the profession
ais favor. At least nobody can say that
they ever excite the customers sufficiently
to provoke unseemly social gestures and
vulgar demonstrations. True. they put
YOU to sleep quite often, but in big town
where so many people suffer from insom-
MIA. this may come under the head OF
kindly deed.
And there were knives thrown when the
decision went to the American amateur
over the italian amateur.
''You say the knives did not hit any
member of the boxing commissions" asked
the imam who doesn't go to prize fights
any more" "Weu, that was too bad
Too bad indeed. I hasten to add 1 refer
to the situation, not to the commission
ers. 1t is inevitable that a vast amount
of hooey will be written about the Incl
dent and its effect upon International
sportsmanship. What is even more pain
full is that great number of persons will
persist in digesting what is written, here
and abroad.
The simple fact is that an American
lied italian was given decision over a
visiting italian in an obscure boxing
match and the decision seemed to be
fair enough The visiting Italian had
never been beaten in the ring before,
and he proved to be g very poor loser.
1t may be that in order to become a good
loser it is necessary TO lose once in a
while. If this is so then due allowances
must be made for the visiting italian.
An uninterrupted winning streak ties
up logically with psychology. The man
who walks the streets in a cloak of in
vincibility is bound to be under a greater
nervous strain than the ordinary gent
who knows how it feels to caress the
pavement with his beak. Hasn't it been
written that philosophy is the sweet milk
Of adversely?
You may be right. Who cares? But
I an trying to say that it seems COM
pletely stupid that international conduct
should be involved in any way with a
prize fight. whether it be between
schmeling and stribling. or Glotz and
Glotz. Must it follow Of necessity that
we are all mugs Just because some men,
Der of our sports team -deports himself
like a fried egg?
Let's be optimistic and agree that the
answer is no. My personal feeling is that
internationalism in sport, taking it fore
and aft. is fraud and a pose. It's chief
importance. as look at 1t, is that it is
spurious device to be manipulated by
promoters with view to stimulating ac-
tivity at the ticket kiosks.
In the field of sport as in any other field
fellowship should be the basis of operation
Either you can beat me. or can beat you.
Either you are good loser or I am a
good loser. Nothing else should matter
And I don't believe 1t would If something
could be done to keep the word Inter
rationalsm' out Of the hands of the bally-
hoo department.
Certainly only very small percentage
Of the people give an underdone boot
whether an American team of amateur
boxers wins from or loses to an Italian
team. That the result should affect in any
way the relations between the two
countries is wholly ridiculous. Yet from
all the yip-yipping that follows or precedes
one Of these meets YOU might be led to
believe that the fate of the world trembles
in the balance.
At any rate it was very amusing to see
the young men of Mussolini drop a decision
and then go into purple-faced hystsria.
II was equally amusing 10 see the more
mature representatives of Mussolini rush to
the ringside seats to confer with official
looking countrymeu. assumedly pillars Of
power IN the community: And there was
nothing more amusing than the spectacle
OF the American A. A. u. representatives
trying TO get their own judges to re-
verse themselves in order to save the
show.
In short It was all a great laugh-and
you can have nv whole share of It.