Charlie Griffin's Big Contract.

NZ Truth, Issue 128, 30 November 1907, Page 3

Charlie Griffin's Big Contract.

•Australian boxing- enthusiasts', have bad a lot of the steel taken . out of them by the dual failure. -of Squires to bol3 hip own 'against • the best of other countries. Before- 'we were ?< «3own antl eui," as the -saying is, at the news of "Boshter. BilVs"- aiiR#qsation, W© could have viewed With confidence the - departure of ligtttweigltt QhaaJie Gxdffin to tackle 3S? Eewk«r, tih& best of : -his class m, En^Laitd, ait the National Sporting CJ.IA. Loßdon. For just as we reckfined S,qwicea a world beater ataong heavyweights, so did we sizre up Charlie Qrjffiin as a P9cket edition ot S<paiiea— a real, -live; hustling, natural fighter, who relied more on his punch than on mere ring taciiicsj and more on his strength than on actual boxing skill. And had" Griffin left Australia at the same time as Squares, the fighiiurg nubiip wotdd have tapped them as a rare good double- to battle with the cracks o$ the old world and the land of Uncl& Sam.

the last few months/however, uriinn's stock has fallen almost as much as Sqoiires's. He has been fairly and squarely beaten o« more than one occasion* On top of this, again, comes tlie knowledge, very, painfully brought , home to us, that we have been overrating even the best of out fighters. This brings us down, to the bedrock of commonsense, exploding the long-prevailing idea that* while our own geese were all swans, there, were no swans m the fighting line except #bat we gxew' ' m, Australia. It is iMs feeling that inclines one to pause, ' even wjhil.e Griffin is yet m sights of the Australian coast, and wonder what it 'will all lead' to. Is he ; going home— the representative, although not the actual champion, .oft. Australia — to be cut to ribbons i just as poor Smjiies was ? Is he a fadr match for Bowker ? And if he be beaten, are we to accept it as the correct line between. English' and Aus-. ttajian boxi&g, instead of raising the very probable cry tfett we have better men at home ?

All these questions are ver^ hard to answer. In the first place, it seems Griffin secured the match with Buwkcr more m a private way. tha-n as a challenge from the champion of ©ne country to the champion ; of another. That's Griffin's owai ' funeral. I£ lie wins, good luck to him. Not a boxing man m Australia but will be pleased to hear of it. A def«at, however, will place us m a very •different position; £or while we can-, not for a moment regard Griffin as the chaiipian c-f Australia, the mere favt oi bis going all the way to meet the champion of England can obly be taken to mean, from the English stattdpoin't, that he represents the fraet of his class m Australia. It wjQl be no time after his defeat, if he is defeated, to cry out about having >«tte; men here. As to Griffin's chance with Bow-? k»t. so little is known of the latter's ability m Australia that it would fee • idle to. express an opinion. Against a rough, hurly-burly figliter of Ms owii style and weigM, Griffin will always give a good account : of hinaseli, for be can take as many hard knocks as mqst lads ; he can give as well as takie the medicine, nnd is dead game into the bargain. All of which are the best possible credentials of a natural fighter. It is f when the natural fighter meets th* real scientist that he suffers, just as Squires suffered at the hands ©f "Twin-" Sullivan.- Mere strength and force can then be broken down by the artistic— 4by the thousand and one little worrying tactics of the flnaslied boxer. Which means that if Bowker happens to be one of the ordi»arv cat-and-come-again sort, he wiU have his hands full with Griffin. If. on the other hand, he- possesses sciencp, backed up by ordinary grit anil stamina, then Griffin's rushes may certainly, lead to his, : own undoing; The best that can be. said for Griffin is that he is a plucky, hustling fighter. He knows as little of real scientific boxing as he pretends to know, possibly not so much. Yet as a same' and popular lad be carries with hitn the best wishes of all Australia for his success.—"Melbourne Truth.?'