Evening star., 1938-05-18
TRAINING ENJOYED
. BY LITTLE BOXER
Checking Weight Gain at
1856 Henry's Sole Worry
in Tuning Toll.
By GRANTLAND RICE.


written, Barney Ross Is favored in
the betting on his fight with Henry
Armstrong on May 26. But Ross is
losing favor gradually and people are
beginning to talk more and more about
Armstrong.
The little Negro has caught the
imagination of the public. Fighting
every week or so-and sometimes even
more often than that-over the span
of the last two years, rolling up an
impressive string of knOckouts. fight
ing featherweights and lightweights,
moving up and down the scale, MAX
ing 1875 pounds for this one and COM
ing in at 1875 to accommodate the
next, fighting anybody anywhere and
never haggling over the price. he has
made himself one of the most at
tractive ring figures Of recent years.
He always puts up great fight and
generally fattens the other fellow.
On the few occasions when his oppo.
nent is on his feet at the finish,
everybody is disappointed. l saw his
fight with Baby Arizmendi in CALI
fornia last winter, for instance. and
there we're howls from the crowd be-
cause Arizmendi still was in vertical
position when they raised Armstrong;
hand in victory.
Batters Good Boxer.
Armstrong took that fight at the
end Of long campaign that had car
ried him back and forth across the
country. and he was tired and weary
and comparatively slow as result.
Besides, Arizmendi is a clever boxer
and was in there simply to stay the
distance, and, what with one thing
and another, Armstrong couldn't
knock him out. And yet. at the
finish, Arzmendi's face didn't look
human His mouth was swollen, his
nose was battered out of shape and
both eyes were almost completely
closed.
Armstrong should move up to the
meeting with Ross refreshed by long
rest and sharpened by weeks at his
training camp and should be better
fighter than he has been in any pre-
vious showing around here-provided
the comparative luxury Of training
camp doesn't spoil him.
Up to now Henry has had few op-
portunities to indulge himself in a
training camp. For the last couple
years his fights have been so closely
spaced that. dashing from town TO
town, he has spent only few days in
gymnasuns and. in lieu OF the boxing
a fighter does in training. he has been
engaged in actual warfare.
Training Strange to Henry.
It must seem strange for him to
stay in one spot for two or three weeks,
to get up early and 60 on the road
along quiet countryside and come
back and eat leisurely and then work
out in the afternoon and box a few
rounds and rest for while and then
have his dinner and 60 to bed early.
And to have no use for time tables and
taveling bags.
His usual routine Is to move into q
town, do his road work around q
park, work out for day or so in a
crowded gymnasium. climb into fight
club ring. belt his opponent in few
rounds, hustle back to his hotel, get his
stuff together and move out on mid.
night train. And reaching the next
town. to start all over again. running
around a park. working in crowded
gymnasium and so on. An endless
round of hustle and hustle and wilis-
tling trains.
So Henry's big brother Harry
Harry explains that when they were
y, ~ la W. ly,n
and Harry were the same names--nlust
watch Henry to see that he doesn't
soften up. Harry being Henrys trainer.
Must Watch Weight.
Seriously. it would seem that one
danger Harry must guard against IS
the temptation to build Henry up
for this fight, because Ross is a
welterweight Henry must weigh at
least 1856 pounds in order to qualify,
technically, as welterWeight him.
self That shouldn't be difficult for
him. The last time he fought here
he weighed 1875 pounds and he has
been growing steadily. But to pile
any more weight on him to bring
him and Ross closer together at the
scales would be a mistake.
The aim at Pompton Lakes should
be-and undoubtedly will be, because
Harry is smart trainer, and there
are no flies on Eddie Meade. who
manages Henry-to bring Henry in
at 1856 pounds right on the dot.
At that weight he is big enough
to fight Ross. who is unlikely to
weigh more than 143, and still be
fast and sharp and strong enough
to strike that amazing pace Of his
in the first round and hold it until
he or Ross is flattened-or the bell
rings at the end of the fifteenth
round.
To put any more weight on him
would be to slow him up. I may be
Wrong-but I don't think ever saw
a fighter built up to an unnatural
weight who wasn't toppled as much
by that weight as he was by the