Evening star., 1938-11-16
Champ Out in Cold
As New York Bout
Bears on Title
RivoIs on Friday Night
Seek Crown Once Worn
By Greet Of Fistiunu
By GRANTLAND RICE.
Special Correspondent Of The Star.

Special Correspondent Of The Star.
NEW YORK, Nov 16.-The first
move to break up the middleweight
muddle will be made Friday night
at Madison Square Garden with
Fred Apostai throwing his hooks
at Young Corbett Sd, the veteran
southpaw from Fresno-while Solly
Krieger looks on.
Solly rates himself as the middle
weight champion on the strength
of his victory over AL Hostak and
has the support Of the N. B. A.
But the New York State Commission,
which refused to recogninze Hos
tax. refuses, in turn, to recognize
Krieger and leans toward Apostoli.
Indeed. the New York Commis-
sion-and when it comes to pinch,
the New York Commission seems
to carry more weight than any other
boxing body in the wordsworth
be just about ready to call Apcstoli
the champion and let it 60 at that,
Apostoli having stopped both Freddy
Steele and Marcel Thil.
But the squat and determined
figure of Young Corbett Sd stands
in the way. He holds a decision
over Apostoli and Fred must wipe
that one off the book before any
body can call him champion.
Corbett Remarkable Figure.
Corbett-the right name is Ralph
Giordano and he was born in Italy
and grew up in Fresno-is a very
remarkable figure. He is 80 years
old and has been fighting for 10
years.
For a time he was thought to be
completely washed up as a fighter
and, as a matter Of fact, he retired
from the ring once and stayed out
for a year. But, seeing chance
to make more money In one night
by fighting than he could in a year
at his Job of teaching the California
State highway patrolmen to box,
he came back.
Once the holder of the welter-
weight title and now holding de-
cision over Apostoli he yet may
hit higher peak than he has known
so far. He is rough. game. good
puncher and, because he is a south
paw, hard to fight
The odds were long against him
in this fight when the match was
made, but they have shortened re-
Gently. There has been sudden in
clination on the part Of the experts
to rate his victory over Apostoli last
spring as something more than
fuke
Ap0stoi Strong. Fast.
ApoStoli is strong, young fellow,
very fast and better boxer than
he was credited with being at first.
But he still places his main reliance
on his ability to keep banging away
round after round, throwing left
and right hooks and upsetting his
opponent.
For six rounds or so the aged Thil
gave him boxing lesson, but he
was wearing the Frenchman down
when he cut him over the eye so
badly the referee had to stop the
fight.
He completely overwhelmed Steele
who had knocked him out when he
was just raw hand at professional
f1ghting-and gave Steele a terrific
beating-so bad a beating that
Steele hasn't been any good since.
Meanwhile, Krieger surprised
everybody by beating Hostak and
getting at least claim on the title.
Solly is a rugged old war horse Of
the ring. There is nothing fancy
about him and he has been beaten
a number of times, but nobody
ever beat him easily.
His own explanation of his victory
over Hostak is that Hostak, a good
fighter, but young and unschooled,
can murder anybody who stands
up straight-as Steele does-but was
lost when Solly moved into him,
head on chest, weaving from side
to side and throwing punches out
of nowhere.
Solly isn't exactly a great cham
pion. But he came up the hard way,
prizes such progress as he has made
and will not be driven back with
out a furious struggle.
MdHy UTeat M1Q0IeS.
The title now in dispute among
these men has been held by some
great and glamorous fighters. You
can stir up heated argument by
picking any one of three old-timers
AS the best and then sticking to
your decision.
Jack Dempsey. the nonpareil-Bob
Fitzsimmons-Stanley Ketchel-all
these were middleweight champions.
And if you were looking for backer-
up in your choice of any of them,
it might depend a whole lot on
whether you looked for him among
fight fans who 60 back little way,
long way-or long. long way.
There are those who still think
the Nonpareil was the greatest
middleweight that ever lived and
lost to Fitz only because by that
time he was old and sick. There
are just as many who think that
Fitz not only could have licked
Dempsey the best day Jack ever
saw, but was the greatest fighter
as middleweight, light heavy
weight or heavyweight-and he
could make any or all classes practi-
cally at once-that ever lived.
However, later generation of
fans would give the palm to Ketchel.
Here, undoubtedly, was one of the
great fighters of all time and one
Of the most flaming spirits that
ever adorned the ring.
Ketchel Terror in Action.
He was a picture book fighter
handsome, 1.-THE, fast and terrible
in his execution. They didn't call
him the Michigan Assassin for noth-