Imperial Valley press., 1933-02-14
Editorial Page
and
Features
A SORRY NESS

PROFESSIONAL boxing. given a well
deserved touch of respectability dur
ing war times and subsequent thereto.
when it was adopted by society. is ran.
idly reverting to the unwholesome status
1t held in grandfather's time, thing
summed by decent people.
1t is affairs such as happened in New
York last Friday night, costing the life
of a splendid specimen of physical man.
hood today, which is helping to give pro-
fessional boxing a black eye from which
1t will be years in recovering.
Not all the respectable" boxing COM
missions that can be created will save
the game. Indeed, there is good found
alton for the belief that these same box
ing commissions are responsible for such
disgusting matches as cost the life of
Ernie Schaaf
He was permitted to enter the boxing
ring less than 10 days after rising from
sick bed, to meet freak antagonist
who never should have been permitted
IN any boxing ring-a man who out
weighed him by SO pounds, and pos
sessed enormous advantages in height
and reach.
One cannot help but wonder why The
answer is easy-for money. Not the
money the dead boxer or his opponent
would get, but for the barnaces who live
off the earnings of boxers. Their man.
ayers, promoters, arena owners. politi-
clans, and the whole sorry mess of hu-
manity attached to professional boxing
like barnacles to a whale, are the ones
responsible for such things as fatal
fights. And with them must be includ-
ed the boxing commissions, appointed
to keep boxing clean, but in reality
working hand in glove with the barn
acles.
1t was known before the Schaaf-Ca
nera fight that the latter had been signed
up with a contract to meet Sharkey, the
champion, in June, in case he defeated
Schaaf. No such contract was made
with Schaaf in case he defeated Car
nera. Why? The barnacles knew Schaaf
could not meet Sharkey, who owns part
of the formers contract, and that a
Carnera-Sharkey bout would draw more
money than one between Schaaf and
Sharkey, even could such match be ar
ranged 1t was expected that Carnera
would want him to win at such a COST
but they are capable of anything if it
means money to them.
We need cast no accusations at the
New York boxing commission, however,
not while we have one equally as bad in
California The bout in which frankie
Campbell was killed by Max Baer is not
entirely forgotten, though it happened
two years ago.
More recently little man (Walker)
won in single punch over a giant (De
Kuh) at Los Angeles, and the several
thousand spectators present knew it was
a fixed fight Sports writers openly
charged so, but the boxing commission
kept quiet about it. Why? For the easy
money there is in it.
Forfeits are claimed and incessant
haggling occurs because boxers weigh
half ounce over an agreed weight. Cham
pions do not lose their titles even when
Knocked out, because they happen to be
a pound or two over the weight limit
i'm their class-and the boxing commits
sion stands for such stuff as well as
permitting countless matches in which
the contestants are in no way evenly
matched Why? More easy money.
We cannot exempt those who attend
boxing matches from all responsibility
By their patronage they encourage the
barnacles Until the lovers OF clean