Evening star., 1938-05-16
BEL|EvES0T OTHERS
COWED BY HENRY
Would Like Nothing Better
Than Stand-Up Battle,
Barney Declares.
BY JOHN LARDNER.

FERNDALE. N. Y. May l6.-Henry
Armstrong never has run from any
one but Al Jolson, and that . only
and assistant manager. took to sing
ing his instructions off-key.s to the
tune of Sonny Boy" You have to
draw the line somewhere in the prize
fight business. Henry drew the line at
minstrelsy, and retreated with great
speed.
But he never has run from any
one else. He is the most ever-forWard-
moving man of recent history. He
has moved forward against all the
good featherWeights and lots of the
pretty good lightweights. On the
night of May 26 he will move forward
against the welterweight champion of
the world, Barney Ross-up to a GER
tain point.
And then he will stop" says Mr..
Ross, with calm finality When he
moves against my right glove, the
only place he will go from there is
down.
A Good Fight in Prospect.
Mr.. Ross IS training here in the
chilly Catskills for what should be the
best fight between small men since
Tony Canzoneri fought Jimmy Nc
Larnin two years ago In some ways,
1t should be better even than that one.
Tony and Jim fought an Indian sum-
mer fight. Their glory and skill were
waning. Barney Ross still is in his
prime. and Henry Armstrong, dark
and deadly little fellow with slender
legs and bison's chest and shoulders.
is the newest sensation of the ring.
He is so forward moving, so strong
and relentlt IS. this Armstrong. that
many of his victims have been scared
half to death before they came out to
meet him. That is Ross theory.
Scared kids and palookas,' says
Ross. I'm not taking anything away
from this boy, because he must be a
Sood fighter, you see and know that.
certainly, sure, but he'd had this kind
of fight and that kind of fight, none
very tough, and here he gets fight
that he never had anything like be-
fore, that I'm going to give him.
Likes Stand-Up Fight.
IT like a straightaway stand-up
fight If you ever believed anything
believe that I don't worry a bit about
how this boy can hurt me. Maybe he
can, but he can't stop me coming at
him, and I will like to mix it with
him. I will hit him the way he never
has been hit before and I think
maybe that will be the end of Henry
for the evening"
Ross speaks earnestly, excited by
what he says. but stopping now and
then to choose and sort his phrases
He is careful about his speech when
he thinks of it, and his voice always
is soft. Barney grew up in Chi
cago's Ghetto, on the toughest of Chi
cago's streets, side by side with boys
who became notrious mobsters. He
probably is the best-mannered fighter
IN the game.
He has small. circular face with
sna Oriental cast to the nose and eyes.
1t takes on the look of japanese
war mask when it has been punished
end redeemed. Barney is vain of his
appearance, and keeps slicked up be-
tween bouts, but, in the ring, after
few rounds of mixing have mussed
him, he is like a small Jewish boy
eornered in a street fight and fight
ing back desperately, with his wits, to
prove himself.
Watches Clock and Score.
The trouble is, he proved himself
long ago, and much of his present
style is play-acting, the reverse of
adventurous. He keeps an eye on
the clock. He produces last-second
furries at the end of each round,
calculated to leave the crowd roar
ing and the judges impressed as he
walks back to his corner. Not being
a knockout specialist, Barney is very
conscious of his standing with the
judges. He has his mind on the
score. He likes display without risk.
That's a businesslike way of fight
mg, and Ross is a businesslike young
man. But PUT him in real trouble
hit him hard. keep hitting, get him
in = corner where nothing but courage
can extricate him-and you will see
one of the best and games of modern
fighters in action Though he seldom
has to do more than fake it, the
fighting spirit is there.
Keeps Character Clean.
After all. young Ross, or Rasofsky,
had to fight against odds when he
was kid, in a fighting neighborhood
He had to fight to keep out of the
mobs. Many Of his playmates grew
up to the rackets in Chicago and else
where. Barney didn't. Maybe his
motives were Algeresque. and maybe
they weren't, but he kept his small
nose clean.
This time he fights a man who is
bound to be tough, against whom the
show of skill and science will not be
sufficient, and the chances are that
Ross will fight one of his real fights.
However tough he is, can lick
him." Barney says, lingering the crease
in his flannel pants, because he's not
as tough as McLarnin or Canzoneri.
He has to set himself for a punch.
Well, so did McLarnin, but McLarnin
was lightning fast, and I know he
was a harder hitter than this boy.
Any Canzoneri-why, Tony didn't even
have to set himself He hit you from
anywhere, any angle, any time"
That's the gist Of Ross conyersa-
ton. and he probably means what he
says.
copyright. 1888 by the North Americ IN
NeWSpape Alliance. Incl