Evening star., 1939-09-18
Interest in Detroit
Keener in Arbiter
Than in Odds
Champ Expected to Be
1-6 Choice Over Man
He Outpointed in 81
BY SID FEDER,
Associated Press Sports Writer.

DETROIT, Sept. 18.-For one rea-
son or another-either that Joe
Louis is too top-heavy favorite
or Bob Pastor is too dangerous a
question mark to fool around with
there wasn't enough betting today
on Wednesdays heavyweight cham
pionpionship bout to cover thin
dime.
Whether this timidity was the
fault of the odds-layer or the bettor,
the price" for the tussle was largely
"rumor.' 1t ranged, on the one
hand, from the possibility that the
former New York University foot
baller would be either one Of the
shortest priced punchers ever to
tangle with the Brown Bomber, to
the other extreme which made
Deadpan Joe 1-to-8 shot to knock
Boms ears down sometime along
the scheduled 20-round route.
No Rush to Back Opinions.
In either case. the betting was
about as active as a dish of cold
tripe. The boys and girls were
falling all over themselves keeping
their mad money" in their pocket
books.
The chances were that the cham
pion, rated off his comparatively
recent short and sweet sleep -produc-
ing victories over Max Schmeling,
John Henry Lewis, Jack Roper and
Tony Galento, would enter the ring
at something better than l-to-6 fav-
orite over the one-time collegian
who went 10 rounds with him back
in 1887.
Of more interest at the moment
was the discussion over which of
three refereeing possibilities would
be the third man in the ring when
the gong goes off at 10 pm. Wednes-
day in Briggs Stadium, with crowd
of some $4,000 sitting in on the
party.
Those mentioned most promi-
nently are Slim McClelland. veteran
of 80 years of ring "arbitrating"
Sam Hennessey, who has been do
ing the job for two decades, and
Clarence Rosen, well-known here
as boxer and referee.
Hennessey Likely Referee.
McClelland was the third man in
Louis victories over Matte Brown and
Patsy Perroni, and, oddly enough,
both of these bouts went the route.
Hennessey knows the ring manner
isms of both fighters we'll. He worked
most of Louis amateur fights here
abouts and also took care of the more
recent bout in which Bob Pastor
soundly whipped Roscoe Toles to
become an A-No drawing card in
this city.
! Usually informed fellows felt Hen
nessey, acquainted with both prin-
cipals, would be more likely to get
the call.
This motor city, incidentally, has
gone for the fight whole hog. Even
Promoter Mike Jacobs was all
around town distributing the "glee-
fullest smiles about the parade to
the box Office
He said today his most conserva-
tive estimates put the probable gate
at the $500,000 mark, with a crowd
of $4,000 or more on hand for the
festivities.
Fighters in Fine Fettle.
Pastor again took it easy today,
while Louis got in his last training
licks. Fully recovered from the
cold which put him to bed with a
temperature last Thursday and Fri
day, the champion boxed four rounds
then put his training togs back in
the mothballs.
State Athletic Commission physi-
clans examined both boxers and
couldn't find anything wrong that
a big steak dinner wouldn't cure.
Louis expected to 60 into the ring
at 200 or 201 pounds. Pastor. heavier
than for his famous battle of the
bicycle" with Louis in Madison
Square Garden, will weigh about 1877