Evening star., 1940-09-23
Stiff Right Gives
Phil Chance in
Bout Tonight
Gathering Of Il TO Is
Thousand Looked for
At Title Contest
By LEWIS F. ATCHISON

BY LEWIS F. ATCHISON,
Phil Furr, the old firehorse coma,
snorting out of the barn tonight m
answer another bell at Griffith Sta.
dium, but whether he has the eouin.
ment to quell the four-alarm CON.
fiagration await him in the person
of Welterweight Champion Henv
Armstrong is a moot question.
1t Is advertised as a l5-rouna
bout but not expected to 20 mueh
farther than half that distance. Pc.
tween II and IS thousand fans ara
expected to cough up 20 or Is thou.
sand dollars to witness Washington,
first title match above the feather.
weight limit and every penny In.
vested in a ticket will be well spent
1t not only shapes up as ar A-plu,
f1stic attraction with enough blood
and thunder for the most critical
fans. but proceeds will 20 10 tn.
Variety Clubs fund for Charitable
purposes.
The first bell will sound 3 new
AAAe ~ OA NuANNlt ~ VII. No
either the death-knell of his check.
cred saga or the first triunphart
clap heralding the beginning q.
one Of the rings most astonishing
upsets. 1t does not seem 10 be in
the cards for the former trooper IN
whip champion acknowledged as
one Of the greatest in history al.
though he could have a trump up
his sleeve.
Furr is old as fighters 60 but, IKE
all good firehorses ready. nav
eager to kick up his heels when the
gong hits and the smoke Of compe-
tition assails his nostrils. He's COM
ing out for the first round with that
familiar cold gleam in his ewes
drawing a bead on the target;
pretty fair country punch and lot
Of hope. He's pinning most Of that
hope on his right fist, confident one
good poke in Armstrong; kisser
will prove the title-holder' undoing.
Furr's Ambition Is to Last.
He doesn't crave particularly a
knockout. Rather. he would be
pleased TO be around at the finish
and hear what the judges and
referee have to say about who won,
because some mighty peculiar de-
cisions have been handed down in
local rings and it is possible the
officials might see FIlrr outpoint
A fhafr
And he's trained to go the limit,
down to needle-point edge. A little
too fine some think. an argument
which may have merit. for he was
obliged to forego training vester-
day to guard against further loss O.
precious poundage.
The challenger is expected 10
come in at 146 pounds-one under
the limit. He may be light on the
scales but heavy in confidence. for
Phil really believes his advantage
in height and reach. plus Arm
strong's style of coming to his op-
pOnents, gives him an excellent
chance. Whatever else happens Phil
IS ready to punch it out if necessary.
and if Armstrong follows the pat.
tern of previous performances Fur
may have to fire his big guns early
in the bout.
Armstrong IS no stranger here
Three years ago, before he had
earned the regal toga of one cham
pionship-much less worn the triple
crown-he put the chill on one
Johnny Cabello in two rounds at the
ball park. Two winters ago he took
on three opponents in a SR-round
exhibition at Turner's Arena. TAX
ing great care not to damage them
beyond repair.
The coffee -colored battler un-
doubtedly is one of the greatest fstic
attractions in history. His list o,
conquests is too numerous 10 put
down here, but his climb 10 fame
dates back to the night he over
powered Petey Sarron for the un.
disputed featherWeight champion
ship at Madison Square Garden
Sarron boasted a sizable reputation
and following in this bailT1ck.
List Of Victims Impressive.
Armstrong has met and defeated
such as Barney Ross. Lou Amoers'
Lew Jenkins. Ernie Roderick Of Eng
land Baby Arizmendi and All the oeSt
fighters in the featherweteht ana
lightweight divisions. Ambers is the
only one to reverse a decision against
him, recapturing his lightweight
crown a year ago.
Armstrong; buzz saw stvle should
bring Furr to heel whenever ne 1eeS
like applying the pressure. True, ne
has slowed down appreciably in ne
last II months. but Furrs legs aren't
what they used to be and you've got
to have strong legs as well as thick
hide to stick around with Henry
He moves in from the first bell WIN
both fists pumping leather 10 he
head and body, never relenting.
In action he is little steve
Mamakos, but much better punchel
than Mamakos, although not clean
hitter. Armstrong wears EN- down
with those busy fists. Never mas nc
fattened an opponents worthy op-
ponent, that is, with single punch
Tonight he figures to wear Gown
Furr within the first five ROUNDS. Il
1t goes eight you'll be getting more
than your moneys worth.
Armstrong trained easily for tnS
match and is In rare form. He Will
be around LA pounds at ringsloe'
Although his eyes are highly suscep-
tible to cuts. he isn't afraid OF losing
by a technical knockout because nc
doesn't think Furr can reach MN
with the right to begin with anu
secondly, he is confident of stretcn-
ing the contender before he does any
damage.