INTERPRETING RULES.

NZ Truth, Issue 78, 15 December 1906, Page 2

INTERPRETING RULES.

A. news item states that Manager McC.arey, the fight promoter of Los t Angeles, is trying to bring about a general meeting qf club managers and promoters to revise the different classes and weights, says a New York writer. It is about time that something of that kind was done, and while they are about it, they should Eigree upon a universal interpretation of the rules. Every club takes it upon itself to say how the men shall break and whether or not they may. fight m clinches. The fight fans are the pnes who should be .considered, as they are the ones , who pay their money at the gate and thereby keep the game alive. It has been proved p. thousand times that they prefer isfe ! clean style of fightin?. and not the "•hit-and-clinch" ...brand that • some fighters favor so much. With "clean" hitting there ■is none of. that sickening pulling and grabbing about 'that so thoroughly disgusts the spectators; The rules say clearly and distinctly : "No wrestling -or . hurling allowed-" and they should be enforced, no matter whose corns are stepped upon. With no clinching, a fight is, bound to be clean and fair, and at the same time a hundred times more interesting. A fight of such a description is never hissed or hooted at, while the bouts that are replete with wrestling rmd dragcin.o; are.. Terry McGovern, Tommy Ryan,., Joe -Gans .and fighters of that ilk box cleanly, and those wwoh o do not should -be made to do so or be disqualified. ;.' , '> . . The weight question als 0 is of vast importance and. should be gone over carefully. A contest between champions that might- give promise of being close and interesting can be easily spoiled by the weight conditions. The Gans-Nelson bout proved that the club should have something to say m regard to the weight and the time of weighing m. It has been pointed out m these columns many times that ring-side weighing m is not Jair, and even if the fighters themselves agree to it, the clubs should not. stand for it under any circumstances. When a boxer has to run, work, abstain from food and water, and practically sweat himself out -to the vejcy minute of entering the ring, he is not m condition to do himself justice, or put up a fight that will please the spectators. A limit . should be placed upon weighing time, and no.club, under any imaginable conditions, . should permit the' men to weigh later than four pr ppssibly six hours before tha bell. With a content scheduled for 10 O'clock, and the boxers weighing at 4, it would give them a. chance to eat a good meal, take a little mild exercise and a napi After this they could get a little fresh air, a good rubdown, and when it came to time for action, they would be lite racehorses. bo^er is;tsc3ta-wnyr-<weaJi,vjßnd has-; an empty stomach, he naturally is cross and out of sorts. In that condition he is liable to give vent to his temper', especially if there is any personal' feeling m the figlit, and be is mpre inclined to fight roughly and foully than if he were strong and m good spirits. The move of Manager McCarey is a commendable one, an 4 he should not let it peter but. Its success -would prove a benefit to every one connected or identified with boxing. The Grans-Nelson contest is not the only bout wherein the . weight conditions proved harmful. The Terry McGov-ern-Frank Erne "bout at the Garden was another of the many that could jbe cited. We were with Erne the afternoon of the contest on tbe -top floor of- -the Hotel Bartholdi. There was a tin roof, and the heat was unbearable. He was drawn down so fine one, could count his ribs. He didn't dare eat or drink, and, as a consequence, blew up m the first quarter. He started well, -and" that is as far as be got.