Evening star., 1938-08-15
TITLE FIGHT GATE
HELPED BY DELAY
Ambers vs.. Armstrong Bout
Wednesday May Click
With Switch Indoors.
BY GAYLE TALBOT,
Associated Press SPORTS Writer.


NEW YORK. Aug. 15.-Postponed
from last Wednesday when rain doused
q sparse gathering at the Polo
Grounds, the Henry Armstrong Lou
Ambers lightweight fight in Madison
Square Garden Wednesday night may
yet be a financial as well as artistic
success.
Tickets have been selling at a faster
clip than before the bout was trans
planted to the Eighth avenue shelter
and indications now are that the gate
will crowd 100000. That is at least
twice the amount of money that had
been taken in when the rain came
last week.
1t indicates something fairly i'm
portant: That it takes powerful
big fight to necessitate a ball park
or an outdoor arena these days. Joe
Louis himself is the only man fght-
ing now who is too big for the Gar
den and its approximate 10000 ca
pacity. The days when Benny Leon
ord and Lew Tender could pack the
big orchards with their lightweight
feud appear to be far away
A ball park is an unnatural setting
for a pint-size prizehght. anyway.
Nobody likes-.the set-up except those
who can plank down $3.50 for a seat
in the ringside section, which nestles
In splendid isolation out in dead cen.
ter Of the vast diamond.
Garden Affords Intimacy.
From the back rows Of the ringside
to the grandstand in any direction Is
a good, spirited walk, and to GUS
toner squatted far up under the slop-
ing roof a couple Of little guys like
Armstrong and Ambers could easily
be mistaken for spots before the eyes.
In the Garden, now. they will come
to life and the spectator will be able
to feel certain intimacy as his IA
vorite Is jolted on the chops.
The fight, itself, still looms as a
good one. The pair is certain to set
a blistering pace. and the dusky Arm
strong, ruler of the featherweights and
welterweights. remains 12-to-l5 IA
vorite to knock the lightweight crown
right of Ambers' stubborn head.
There is no change in the curious
situation that will arise should Ambers,
the man without punch, upset the
dope and gain a 15-round decision
over his slugging, crowding antagonist.
Ambers, in that case, will claim Arm
strong's welterweight toga, which to
the initiated would seem to be the
logical maneuver. Yet the mental
big applers of the New York State
Athletic Commission have ruled that
Henry's welter title is not at stake.
Ambers Strangely Confident.
Ambers and his entourage remain
more confident than they have any
earthly right to be, considering that
Armstrong has pole-axed 35 Of his last
SO opponents. They aren't a particle
afraid of the homicidal little Negro.
AL WE'LL, Ambers' portly pilot, Is espe-
cially confident.
Who did Armstrong ever lick" he
asked yesterday, except a lot Of feath-
erweights and worn-out welterweight.
Barney Ross? Has he met a first
class fighter like Lou? The answer Is
exactly no. He won't look like a super
man when Lou ties into him. Lou
amt going to tire out. either, like
these polookas Armstrong has been
beating up"
WE'LL might not be strictly impartial
about it, but there's at least an angle
to what he says. Don't let it come as
too great surprise If Ambers should
win. There has been slight swing in
sentiment toward the Italian boy
lately, though 1t hasn't been backed
by important money.