ALIBIS

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 134, 27 August 1927, Page 11

ALIBIS

McGrath was what was called an “ilibi manager/* He always had an ticuse ready whenever one of his Ighters was beaten. Promoter Crawiord had arranged a Frogramme of boxing bouts which win to be an innovation —distinctly a iovelty. It was to be a double mainevent; that is to say that, besides the wual preliminaries, Jack McGrath's two charges, the O’Brien twins, were «ach to appear in 20-round contests isainst the most formidable opponents that could be found for them. A double programme, two star bouts instead of one in a single night! There would not be a vacant seat in the house.

McGrath, besides being an astute manager, was a clever press-agent, and column upon column of publicity matter was printed about the merits of all of the engaged fighters, and, especially, about the O’Brien twins’ abilities. And much advertising capita was made of the O’Briens’ necessity of winning, for their widowed mother’s homestead was on the verge of being seized on a mortgage foreclosure. To make things still more critical, her health was in danger; in fact, her life depended upon her taing able to afford a serious and eostly surgical operation. These worries had upset the brothers considerably, but now that both *ere to fight before what promised to be a record “house,” their fears * er o allayed; prospects were rosy. Jack O’Brien won his fight, a thriluug battle. He won, not so much by •uperior cleverness and punching as by sheer grit, gameness, and determination. He had to win, and did win. % McGrath was jubilant over his pro'eSe’s victory. He paused at the pressbeach. “Jack fought like a tiger, didn’t he'” he said to the critics. Too much depended upon it, he 'was too worried to fight any other way.” Jim O’Brien lost his contest, being buccked out in a few’ rounds, after an uninteresting exhibition. He seemed to have had no heart for the struggle. Again McGrath stopped at “newsP a Per row,” saying, “Jim was too upby his troubles; he was too worj* e d. A man can’t fight when he’s jo such distress. His mind’s not on ois work.”