Evening star., 1933-10-14
NEW YORK, ILLINOIS
MAKE INITIAL STEP. .
Cooperation Of Four More
State Bodies Needed to
~ NMIify N. B. A.
BY FAIR PLAY.

n YEW YORK, October IA
M The first step in the for
/ nation of a 'big six" in
boxing became an assured
possibility with the announce
ment that the New York Boxing
Commission has approved a work.
ing agreement with Illinois.
AL that Is needed now to minimize
the influence Of the National Boxing
Association is the friendly cooperation
Of Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Mich
jgan and California. The detection Of
Illinois and Michigan would be q body
blow to the national organization.
Jim Farley. the Postmaster General.
hit the nail on the head when in his
farewell address to those who served
on the local boxing board he said.
there is nothing wrong with the sport.
It simply Is suffering from the same
malady which has attacked other sports
and all business"
Ed Foster of Rhode Island, newly
elected president Of the N. B. A.. states
his position clearly and II the same
impulses govern the actions Of those
setting up an independent body they
will consolidate the good work per-
formed by the N. B. A.
Wants Standard Rules.
MY main objective" said Foster,
N is to form . close alliance with
those States which, for political
reasons or because of the peculiar set
up in their formation, have found 1t
impossible to become members Of the
N. B. A.
"In other words, very much want
to see q coordination Of all the States
Of legalized boxing so that all rules
and regulations, with few minor ex-
ceptions, will be practically the same
all over the country"
No one can definitely state whether
big six" is really planned. The lead
certainly gives credence to the report.
But II the parties concerned have the
best interests Of the sport in mind,
this Is not the time to work at cross
purposes. Things have been bad enough
without governing bodies jockeying
among themselves It would seem logical
for this State and Illinois to get to-
gether and work out plan that would
be satisfactory to all.
May Not Be Law Proof.
THE danger Of working agreements
Lies in the authority vested In the
several boxing commissions by
law. No one has been able to show how
the power Of q local body can be ex-
tended to q national organization. An
ofense against the boxing rules tn one
State cannot, In justice to those in
volved, be punishable in another State
unless the offense was deliberate and Of
such magnitude to work to the detri-
ment Of the sport. By this Is meant
throwing fight, connivance with
gamblers, hribing an of1cial, etc. An
unintentional foul, or failure to fight
up to what some particular referee con-
siders standard, should not deprive a
boxer Of the right to earn q living In
another State. It Is then up to the
promoter to Judge whether the fans
think enough of the boxer to attend Q
performance in which he appears.
One Of these days q smart manager
will engage q lawyer to test the au-
thority Of certain boxing commissions
and 1t may be found that their con-
CuIIeuCc Will Ilc Iufc6 u pOhIOS IN
other States is Illegal. The operations
Of the N. B. A. or any other national
organization may be found to infringe
upon the sovereign authority Of q par
ticular State.
If the courts 50 decide, all the good
accomplished by the N. B. A. during
the last eight years will have gone for
naught and politicians and favored
promoters win run the boxing game to
suit themselves.