The Waterbury Democrat., 1939-11-01
DAVIS II TO 5 OVER CANzONERI M. s. 6. TONIGHT
Tony to Quit If He Loses; Win Will Get Him
 Title Bout
BY HARRY FERGUSON United Press Sports EditOr)

(OmtGU 1TCSS OpUEtS GuAtVAV
 New York, Nov. 1.--(UP).-Out oa the long ago, like some Halloween ghost that returned to earth last night and then fingered past sunrise comes a little man with 8 gargoyle face to gid us on journey into yesterday.
 The journey begins tonight when the soke hangs heavy at Madison Square Garden and the clock stands at 10. There he will be, with tha old-time grin on his funny face, thd scars of too many battles around his brows and his nose sniffing thS resin and the liniment.
 Tony Canzoneri fights at the Gars den tonight!
 He lights with the burden of IA years in the ring on his shoulders, l fights on legs that have lost their bounce, fights young hungry boy named Al Davij, who throws a left hook that shakes you to the toes. Al Davis has never bene defeated in 35 professional fights, but you will have to look elsewhere if you want to know more about him, for this is a story about Tony Canzoneri and the stony, uphill road he is walking. It must be written and read fast, for tonight may be the last time we ropes and lift hand in salute to the ever will see Tony duck through the roar that cGmes rolling out of the galleries. If he loses tonight, Tony quits the ring.
 You could make ine1odrama of the gas-lit era out of this story, for Tony is fighting to save the old homestead. He has farm up near Marlboro, N. r., and be needs money to run it. Maybe wou want to know what happened to the $400,000 he earned during his IA years in the ring. Well, it went into series of improbable business ventures, and Tony found out that you can't bal- ance a ledger by throwing a left hook at it.
 Hard Grind
 So late last year he came back to the wars, fought 9 fights and slowly and p p,infully worked his way up to to the great chance that will be his tonigt. For if he wins he goes on to bout for the welterweight cham- pionship with Henry Armstrong and the golden flood will pour in again.
 He fought anybody and anywhere in that march up out of retirement and many 6 Small-time fight club capitalized on the name and fame of former lightweight and feather. weight champion. It was a gruelling. heart-breaking job, for Tony bal, looned up to 160 pounds after he re. tired in May of 1897 and the weight had to come of when he began fighting again.
 Some record books say Tony is 34, but actually he is 30, It is not so much his age as 1t is the many fights that have taken the spring out of his legs and arms. He was an ama- teur fighter at the age of 12, when he weighed only 75 pounds, and he has been at 1t almost endlessly ever since.
 Now he is almost the only link be- tween the present and the golden age of sports-1920- 1930. The years have taken their toll out of Demp- sey, Ruth, Jones, Helen Wills and VI uAlSC, buI 4OIlyJ WHO was klIlB among the kings in those days, goes in the Garden again tonight.
 Davis II To 5
 That is why it will be a journey into yesterday when the bell bangs and Tony bounds out to battle. There is no such thing as sentiment in the prize fight business, so Davis is favored at Il to 5.
 But if the going gets too bad, if too much blood reddens the little gargoyle face and the senses reel under too many left hooks, I think there will be many a face turned away from the ring in that blood thirsty mob that sees fights at the Garden. They will be travelling into yesterday, going back down the years with Tony, remembering his three desperate fights with Bud Taylor; remembering his battles with Jackie Kid Berg, Al Singer, Lou Ambers an dBarney Ross; remembering what great little fighter he was before the clock and the calendar stole from him that priceless thing called youth.
 So I think I'll have some of the short end of that II to 5 and charge 1t up to Auld Lang Syne Il I lose.  Seattle - The Seattle RainierS