UNIQUE FIGHT PROMOTER

Shannon News, 19 January 1926, Page 1

UNIQUE FIGHT PROMOTER

A WOMAN IN THE GAME. HAS MADE MANY CHAMPIONS. Tlie last big fight at the Albert Hall was noteworthy not only for its noisiness, but also for the very large number of women present .(writes Trevor C. Wignall in an English paper). I am inclined to think that the total must have made a new record for this country. But women have always... been partial to prizefighting. At the firs: championship contest ever staged—that • between Figg the cu,dgeller and Sutton the pipemaker, at Tottenham Court Road London, in June, 1727—"fashioa was well represented by authors an<i a.c-' tors, and actresses and leading ladies of fashion, among them those whose names will live for ever and a day." Mothers and wives, in addition, have frequently assisted their sons and husbands to win their fights. la it not - established that Bendigo, among many others, was first taught Che principles of pugilism by nis mother ,and has it not been publicly stated by Jimmy Wilde that his first sparring partner was his wife? A Maker of Champions. What is not generally known, however, is that England possesses the only woman promoter of boxing in the world. For nearly 10 years Mn Burge, the owner of The Ring, a Biackfriars Road, London, has ooen making and controlling fights in a way that suggests that some of. her male rivals would do well to visH her for the purpose of taking lessons. She is the widow of, Dick Burge, once lightweight champion of England. Twenty-years ago she was one of the Sisters Lloyd, a popular music hall turn—she is an adopted sister of the late Marie Lloyd—but now she spends all her dife,cting the curious building that was once chapel and has turned out more champions than any other place oi its kind ,on earth. Practically every. title.holder in .England, Scotland, Wales', France, Belgium, and Holland learnt tnt tricks of his trade at The Ring. That is particularly true of Lonsdale Ftelthoiders. Mrs Burge, indeed, deserves to be described as the discoverer and maker of boxing champlona. For 10 years The Ring has been open at least three times per wsek. On every occasion there are at least eight contests. This means that since she went in for promoting, Mrs Burgt» has witnessed iat least 12,600 cot. fests. ■ Tine exa,ct inumben Is pjror uably many more; but how many punches these* fights represent can only be guessed at. Millions, certainly. What is more, Mrs Burge has seen more knock-outs than any othei woman in the worfd. Her life, ror & decade, has been mainly made up ol drives to the jaw and swings to the body. It is not suprising, therefore that" her knowledge of pugilism i» encyclopaedic. :* t _ She personally supervises the fy, out of any youngster who asKs to* an engagement at The Ring. She also makes ail the matches and controls the commercial side.,. Her ,officj is smaller than Tex Rickard's in New York, but it is infinitely more active. Owned by C/iergymen.

*'l -wouldn't change my job," she told me, "for any other that could be mentioned. What pleases me particularly is to know that I've made it a success and that here at The Ring we get as spectators some of the btstknown people in the, land. In the jnain, our patrons are working men, but it is no uncommon thing to see sitting in the balcony noblemen, statesmen, famous authors and paint, ers, and equally famous actresses." I can vouch for this. At The Ring I have seen more well-known women than at "any other boxing hall I havfc ever attended. Years ago it was the custom te run Monday matinees. They have ' now been discontinued, and the reason for this, as told me by Mrs Burge, seems strange. The matinees became un. profitable, she mentioned, because employers on the south side decided to do away with overtime. "Before the w.ar," she said, "working men took Monday off, knowing that during the week they could make up for the holiday by working overtime. But there is no overtime now, and, consequently, no afternoon shows." The Ring, which holds 3000 people when it is full, is owned by a number of clergymen. The men who appear there in principal contests are not given guarantied purses, but fight on a percentage of the gate. This, at times, is as high af 40 per cent.; the boxers in the smaller bouts are usually paid £3. Next June it is to house a conference of the clergy. Mrs Burge has offered the building free ot charge. Is it not permissible to suppose that the Rev. Rowland Hill, who once attracted large congregations to The Ring, will be present at the conference in spirit?