Evening star., 1936-12-29
SMART, R|NGW|SE
AND PACKS PUNCH
Smoothest to Appear Since
Louis-WaIker Another
of Great Promise,
BY SPARROW MeCANN,

NEW YORK, December 29.-The
quest for . white hope" Is even more
earnest today than 1t was in the days
when Jack johnson ruled the heavy
weight division. Since those days
when Jim Jefiries received the un-
believable sum OF $4,000 to fght
johnson, boxing gate receipts have
passed the niiiien dollar mark and Q
good sized fortune awaits one good
enough. or fortunate enough. to pos
sess the qualities to win the high.
est prize in pugilism.
In the days when johnson ruled,
. champion of . lighter division vas
lucky 10 get $1,000 to defend his title
against worthy challenger. Now.
adays. . fairly good heavyweight can
draw that much money for meeting .
mediocre antagonist That's how it
goes. A fsir-to-middling heavyweight
can earn enough to tog himself and
his manager in good clothes. stop at
high-class hotels and demand plane
transportation to fghts. No wonder
the Wisenheimers Of the game are
beating the bushes and highways for
q white hope"
Several good ones have appeared Of
late to justify the opinion that Joe
Louis may be riding to a fall within
the next two years. Gunnar Bar
lund. a likely looking Finn. appears
much smarter and ringwise than his
manager cares TO make known. Ale
though Barlund, former amateur,
has had but IS professional engage
ments against $3.50 rivals, he shapes
up as by far the smoothest piece OF
fighting machinery this city has seen
since Joe Louis made his debut against
Primo Carnera.
Plays With Connolly.
A GANsT the giant Frankie Con-
nelly, the Finn moved around and
stabbed Connolly In the body. He
showed menacing fists, as though he
intended To punch high, but, as each
round progressed. 1t dawned on ths
fans that Barlund was only using
those lodges to make Connolly keep
his guard high. When Barlund fg-
ured he had his man. he switched TO
the head and finished the job. There
was nothing Of the amateur about the
way he went about his work.
Getting closer to home, one hnds
such names as Phil Brubaker. Sonny
Walker, Harry Thomas and Johnny
Erjavac among the young'uns breaking
into print. The likeliest Of the lot, and
the least publicized, Is Sonny Walker.
This 2o-year-old youngster from Ari.
zona, who boasts a fine fighting mix
ture in his Scotch-I Irish parentage. Is
attracting attention because he was
smart enough TO catch up with the
Willy Tommy Loughran and send the
former light-heavyweight champion TO
the floor several times. This deed
cannot be passed OF to lightly.
Has Displayed Ability.
7 OUGHRAN may be too old TO keep
step with the youngsters. but the
week before he proved smart and
nimble enough to outpoint the hard.
hitting Tom Beaupre Of Dallas. Tex.
There is plenty Of ring science stored
in Toms head and he knows how to
use it, This makes Walkers feat the
more pronounced.
Whipping Loughran is not the only
bright spot on Walkers record. He
has q convincing win over the French.
man. Andre Lenglet. which must not
be overlooked. Lengler was on his way
back to the bright lights for further
fortune and glory after q successful
stay on the Pacific Coast when he met
up with Sonny Walker. Lenglet's plans
were rearranged after Walker had I'm.
ished dealing out full measure Of
wine -colored leather.
Brubaker is too uncertain. He lost
to Jack Sharkey and Ray Impellitiere
toned him down as Just another fair
heavyweight. Phil has not lived up
to early promise and. barring an
unlocked for brace. will be just .
native son" favorite.
Johnny Erjavec is q bit too light
to count for much at the present
writing. His punch is a potent one.
however. and the fact tnat he is willing
to fight six-rounders. and is not being
rushed too fast by mis- manager. Is q
creditable sign that tie young man is
serious about his business and is willing
TO wait until he fills out to be sent
after the better sort. The same opinion
holds true about Thomas. who, while
a giant in size and weight. has yet
to acquire the needed ring generakhip
TO barge out for the time being. This
pair is under smart handling and may
be the answer to q fight managers
v,~a mac