The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1942-11-18
(RIFAlN'S FREDDIE MILLS ANXIOUS FOR
WARTIME Co WITH AMERICAN CHAMPS
By GLADWIN HILL

lde WORLD FeatufeS
LONDON, Nov. 18.-Hearken,
olde TYNE followers of Phaint-
g Phil Scott and Tommy iFarr,
tidings of Britain's outstand-
& fistic offering of the present
y, yclept Freddie Mills, de-
ribed by partisans as "a sec
d Mickey Walker-only strong
" and aspirant to the mantle
Joe Louis.
(That last may sound far
Fched, but so have been some
Uncle Mike Jacobs matches
OF Louis-viz. Johnny Pay
III eck.)
Freddie Mills is a dark, curly
ha bred good-looking youngster of
tod Billy Conn type who in the
last two years has surged up
thu Tough a Hollywood Cinderella
risIe in British boxing, manag-
ing, in tandem with a career as
sergeant physical instructor in
the Raj, to become at the age
of only % the British-recognized
world ELECTROMAGNETIC cham
pion, as well as virtual British
heavyweight champion, having
decisively walloped the title
folder Len Harvey in technic-
o1IX NON -fifln FIGHT
The American-recognized light
heavyweight champ is Gus Les
nevich, which presents an inter
national problem-a problem
which Mills would like to solve
by beating Lesnevich. This ap-
parently is impossible, for Gus
is in the U. S. Navy.
Prefers Co With Joe
Then Mills, who, at a current
weight of 1875, hops back and
forth between light-heavy and
heavyweight classes as facilely
as Winston Churchill changes
hats, would like to have what
our English call a "go" with the
Brown Bomber. But Joe, like
Lesnevich, isn't fighting these
days.
They have something in COM
mon, because Freddie is known
as the Bournemouth Bomber,
Bournemouth being a coastal
town.
There is a story that Freddie,
infatuated with pugilism from
his short-pants days, was peer
ing down through the skylight of
a Bournemouth boxing hall
when his 15-year-old visage was
espied by a horizontal fighter just
coming to on the canvas below,
who was so impressed by Fred
dies interest that he helped him
get started on his fighting ca
reer.
The story is generally accepted
as romantic hyperbole-the truth
seems to be that Mills actually
was hanging around the ringside
when friendly manager offer
ed him guidance-but its exist
ence is an indication of the Ho-
ratio-Algerian aura surrounding
Freddie'S career.
In English boxing, which al
though a national institution sell
dom attracts crowds of more
than 5000, there is not the we'll
defined ladder to success of gold
en- gloves, the tank-town circuit,
and eagle-eyed promoters waiting
to lift likely youngsters out of
the preliminaries.
The traditional testing-ground
is ''the boothS"-the challenge
all-comers rings of carnivals and
fairs-and he jump from these
to the big time often comes only
through some Hollywood-like
break. That's what happened to
Freddie.
Get into a booth, and if you
come out alive, you'll be OK,
the friendly manager counseled
him. -
So Freddie sought out the
nearest carnival, where a hairy
giant was challenging the world
to go five rounds with him. He
happened to be Gypsy Daniels, a
one-time champ himself, but
Freddie bithely climbed into the
ring and, as a started, popped
him in the eye.
That was as far as he got
Something happened, and Fred
die came to about five minutes
later, with the laughter of the
crowd in his ears. Blu Daniels
was so impressed by his plucki'
ness that he took him on as a pro-
tege.