Evening star., 1940-03-30
The
SpoRTLIGHT
Jenkins Punch Revives
Lightweight Glass
By. GRANTLAND RICE,

special correspondent OIL nc 6tal.
Lew Jenkins, wiry little fighting
man from Sweetwater, Tex. is the
best puncher the lightweight divi.
sion has known since Benny Leon
ard. In a rapid climb. peaked by
his one-round knockout of Tippy
Larkin. he has revived the class and
caught the imagination of the
crowd. which always goes for q
puncher.
Leonard. greatest boxer among
the lightweights since Joe Cans
and nobody has topped him in that
detail in the years following his re-
tirement-also was a deadly. dam
aging puncher A marksman with
leather, he seldom missed punch
and he seldom landed without hurt
ing his opponent. He fought his
way toward the title by knocking
out his most dangerous rivals, won
the title on knockout from Freddy
Welsh and defended 1t by knocking
out all the contenders save Lew
Tender. although he battered Tend
Ter badly In their second fight.
The crowds flocked to see him-he
was the greatest drawing card the
lightweight class ever has known
because he was the almost perfect
combination of boxer and fighter.
He could bedevil and bewilder an
opponent with his feints and jabs
and then knock him out.
Punching Liqhtweiqhts
Have Been Rore.
Actually, there have been few
lightweights who could punch-and
that goes for some Of the great
ones. although Cans was a better
puncher than his record indicates
because there were too many times
when Joe was handcuffed in the
ring-When he had to stall and
stumble through round after round
with an opponent he could have
knocked out.
Back beyond Cans, Frank Erne,
Kid Lavigne and Jack McAuliffe
were not terrific punchers, although
Lavigne was best of the three,
/ On the list of champions between
Cans and Leonard, generally re-
garded as the two greatest light
weights, were Bat Nelson, Ad VOL
CAST. Willie Ritchie and Freddy
Welsh. Nelson and Wolgast were
savage, durable fighters, but not
devastating punchers.
/ Wolgast, however, was a better
puncher than Nelson. Richie was
boxer. So was Welsh.
Since Leonard, along the line Of
champions have come Jimmy Good
rich, Rocky Kansas Sammy Man.
dell, Al Singer. Tony Canzoneri,
! Barney Ross and the present title
holder. Lou Ambers.
| Goodrich. Kansas. Mandell and
Singer were inferior fghters-com-
pared to the champions before and
after them. and there wasn't a real
puncher in the group
| Canzoneri was better puncher
at the end of his career than he
had been when he was Younger and
faster. Ross. one of the fastest of
all lghtWeights and very good
boxer, never knocked out a flrst-
rate opponent.
Ambers. like CanZoneri. is gaining
ss puncher as the years slow him
down. He has very few knockouts to
his credit, even over second or third
raters.
Herrero Hordest Hitter
Of Light Gloss.
Oddly enough. the best punchers
among the lightweiehts usually
have fallen short of the title. Listed
with these are Leach Cross, Young
Otto, Knockout Brown. frankie
Madden, Owen Moran, Joe Rivers.
Charley White, Tender, Billy
Petrolle and Aurelio Herrera.
Herrera. who was fighting in the
time of Nelson and Woleast, gen.
orally is rated as the hardest hit
ting Of all lightweights. He was
a tawny, cigar-smoking, whisky
drinking Mexican from Bakersfield,
Calf. and he reached the top fight
among the lightweights of the era
on his heart and his punch, because
he had little else.
He wasn't much of boxer. and
he never was in condition but he could
punch like a middleweight. Bat
Nelson told me once that Herrera
hit him on top of the head so hard
be thought his skull was split right
down to the chin.
Jenkins, of his record is deadly
puncher and quick finisher. He Is
no master boxer, as Leonard was,
and in some of his fights he has
had to take beating for a few
rounds. But when Lew lands he
usually has his opponent zrosgy-
and once he is groggy, he doesn't get
away.
Whether he can beat Ambers I
don't know Id hate to make q
prediction at this time But he has
punched his way to within firing
distance Of the champion and. In
his progress. has rekindled interest
in the little fellows
(Released by the North American