BIG MONEY THE MAGNET

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 43, 13 November 1937, Page 12

BIG MONEY THE MAGNET

CALL TO BOXING RING - 1 1 !"!* WHO. WOULD NOT BE WORLD'S CHAMPION? E .!! , -L.I i-M STARS WHO HAVE MADE. GQOD

• "5f one could obtain tHe votes o t ; «vary ambitious youngster in English- - spoaking countries whether he would prefer to be a President, Prime Minw a world boxing champion, I am certain that an overwhelming majority would declare ip. favour of ring stardom," writes James Butler in the Daily Herald, London, It is no exaggeration to deelarp that big-time boxing is infinitely more internationai than raeing, football, cricket or any other popular pastime. Thpusands of boys have been ardeht hero-worsMppers of an Alex James or a Jack Hobbs, Millions have enthusiastically discussed the quafities of Joe Louis, Jack Dempsey, Gene Tupney> Georges Carpentier or Tommy Farr. Youth — and Age— have always been fascinated with the prowess of a champion pugilist But the real magnet is the big purse.

They remembep Tumtoy's stupenfi? ous share, £247,612, when he defeated Dempsey the second time at Chicagp, and Dempgey's £W7,259=-St the rate of £30,009 a mhmte—when.he knoekod out Luis Angei Firpo, the ItafienSpaniard from Buonos Ayre5fcThfs was the most jsenaaticmal of all Dempsey's fights, when the powerful ex-buil flghter eent the then world champion crashing ihrough the ropeg ciean out of the rlng; Dempsey's £75,009? Carpentiei'e £50,099 for the greatiy discussed to-cslied feattte of the rentury at Jersey City » 1921. It le this j^antastig fight flnanee that intensifies public interest mere than the aetual nmteh, Nowadays matchmaking is gucb a eommerciaj a?t that boxers' managers generally arrange for a percentage of the "gate," car park, bars, programmeg. Some of them have even, demanded and received their cash income tax free. Because of the enQrmous sums paid to a few world champions you will frequently hear the insane remark: "J wouldn't mind being knocked out by Louis or Farr for £12,000!" Proving that the speaker has covetousness, but not courage, Romance and Tragcdy

How many, I wonder, would be ready to take a cheque beforehand o£ £12,000 for an awful hiding such as Dempsey inflicted upon Carpentier; the xuthless hammering Mickey Walker dealt to the plucky Scots battler Tommy Milligan at Qlympia; the massacrlng -of the Senegalese negro, Battling Siki, administered to the French idol. Carpentier, before thousands of faghionable Parisians of \ both sexes one Sunday afternoon! •Ring romance and ring tragedies stalk side by side in every championship fight. The champion of to-day is the discard of the morrow is a truism of the sport, it is a paraphrase of the age — old tag: "The king is dead; long live the king," .With the exceptipn of perhaps Tunney and Dempsey, most pf the former champions are forgotten — gome of tliem brpke. While Jpe Loufg was defending his title against Farr at Yankee Stadium, New Yprk, the fopnder, shall we say, of the "big purse" movement, Jack Johnson, so it was stated, was an exhibit in h side shpw at a nearby amuseinent park.

How Gene Beat the Grafters Tunney can thank his lucky st.e Ihat he was given an exeellent educr

ance for a boxer of obtaining cbmmercial knowledge while employed as a clerk in a store. This proved of |hcalculabie value in the yeara when he was to become a championahip contender and champion, When he decided to retire for gpod he settled up his indebtedness to his agents, His fortune was thus prptected from the grafters. Dempsey has become the most popular fighter fg! Ameriea, but he lacks Tunney's flsdr for keeping the "dough." Two of his greatpst friends told me that the oid "Mauler," a§ he is affectionately called, made pyer hest part of his ring earniiigs tp his fprmer wife, Estelle TayJoc, the film actress. ' " ik Dempsey has few illusions In nre' His description of his romantic career is picturesque; "From Rags to Riches," and is more or less true. A youngster, must have remarkable assets if he hppes to reach the top of the boxing world— the hide of a hippopotamus; the diplomacy of a, Disraeli; the courage of a cougar. Beqause there are heartbreaks at every corner of a boxer's life. Mana? gerial problems. The risk of accident. , . . The possibility of beiiig blinded. . . and maybe some permanent injury. Betired Wittx Fortunes Jack Petersen has retired with a fortune. He is too wise and careful to squander the hard?earned money that nearly cost him the sight of an eye. Tommy Farr is anything but a free spenddr — indicating that he possesses, among other qualities, wisdbm. The champion, to make a lot of money, must look after the pennies as well $» the pound^ Len Harvey is another brilliant Britisher who is a comparatively rich man. You would like to know which boxer won the largest sum of money in the ring. This is an easy question to answer. Gershon Mendeloff, more famUiar to readers at Ted (Kid) Cowis, srn Of a cabinetmaker in East London, must have received. nearly £200,909 for his many fine dghts in Ameriea, He has told me that sometimes he beiieyeg it was more. He neyer kept any rocords pr books to show the aggregate of hig earnings. What an extraordlnary fife i§ his! " I reoaii him as a shinny-buiit youngster boxing for purseg of less' than hajf a erown. He crashed hi§ way to the top by sheer strength of will as wen a§ phygieal power. Easy Come, Easy Go Had he been abie to possess some degree Of philosophy and thrlftiness, the Kid would still he well off. . . . But he spent money almost as fast as he earned it. What a grand fighter was he at his peak, An example to

every boy who starts in the game. Ounce for ounce J regard Lewis as the equal of Jack Dempsey^ Mickey Walker and Jimmy Wilde. Sporting Jewry has reason to be prpud Of, the fighting spirit that carried Lewis to a world champion's title. - "" Yet, while these champions I have menliongd provoke admiration from followers of the fancy, what about the thousandg of boxers who haven't any? thing ta show for their heroic bstties -^exbept thick ears and brOken nOses? Tortuous Path I meet these pathetic derelictg oi the ring hoyering about the entrance halls when big fights are being staged, These agg "down and outs"- mogtly because they lack initiative or have not begn taught some trade or business. It is a tortuous path to a champion's title, a long way even. from serving an apprenticeghip among the novices, to becoming a six and tenround perliminary fighter. Eyery boxep has his tough times, some of them much -worse-than others, J have jknown many lads who have provided thrilling batties on an empty Stomach . , . sometimes with only the sustenanee of a cup of tea and a slice of bread and butter, Their wages have varied from 3s 6d to £1; out of the latter sum half-a-crown commission is coilected by the °V ^W° seconds'