GETTING A BIT OF HIS OWN BACK!

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 863, 6 January 1930, Page 6

GETTING A BIT OF HIS OWN BACK!

healthy squawk. It seems that after all he was commercial minded. He made it very plain that he wanted more than 2 per cent, for himself. SCHMELING’S PREDICAMENT “When Schmeling departed from these shores amid the lamentations of the chiselers of Broadway it was not quite clear how much of himself he owned. Some of the shrewd guessers as to what is going on among the money changers of Fistiana figured * that Schmeling was in a worse predicament than that in which Campolo found himself "Some of the financiers of the cauliflower industry estimated that Schmeling at the time of departure owned less than half of 1 per cent, of himself, which would have complied with the Volstead Act. Others insisted that it was worse than that, and that Schmeling. as a matter of fact, would owe his various managers something if he fought. “At any rate, Schmeling made a hurried getaway. Mr. James J. Johnston, the Boy Bandit, who handles the financial interests of Phil Scott, of course, insists that Schmeling left in order to avoid Scott. That seems hardly probable. “Schmeling left for purely economic reasons. He could not afford fight. It would have been all right if the managers took out only 100 per cent. But Schmeling was reared with a horror of debt, and saw terrible consequences if he continued to fight until he got into the big purses. “For instance, supposing there should be a revival of the cauliflower industry, and Schmeling should find himself fighting for a 500,000 dollars guaranty. Ho would fight himself so deeply into debt that he might never be able to extricate himself. “Some; insist that the managers and other chiselers of Broadway have claims on Schmeling to the extent of 12*5 per cent. Consequently, if Schmeling did draw a purse of half a million and all the claimants had to be satisfied he would find himself in debt to the extent of 125,000 dollars. When that sum was translated into marks Schmeling fled in the night. THE GREAT SENOR FIRPO “In view of what has happened to Campolo and what is happening to Schmeling, one wonders just how Senor Luis Angel Firpo got away with it. You may or may not recall that Senor Firpo visited these shores, fought several fights, including the

ducking grand juries and what not, was claiming 25 per cent, of Tunney and—for all I know—still ’S claiming. Mr. Tim Mara, the former bookmaker, also claimed 25 per cent., and the case is still in court. “By decree of the Boxing Commission, Mr. ‘Will Gibson, Tunney’s manager, was allowed a third of the former heavy-weight champion. There were some smaller claims, hardly worth the mention, just a few per cent, here and there. Extracting the claims of Mara, Hoff and Gibson, that would have left Tunney something like 16 2-3 per cent, to settle up with the little chiselers. “Mr. Tunney made himself very unpopular, indeed, with the chiselers of Broadway, and other places, by refusing to be chiseled. The boys have not yet recovered from the shock of realising that hee got out of the game, retaining a majority of the pieces of himself." Illuminating, is it not? And now note that fight-promoting interests in the eastern part of the United States, at any rate, have been practically “cornered" by the Madison Square Garden Syndicate in New York—playfully called, by some American writers, the “Six Hundred Millionaires of Madison Square Garden." For a time an independent promoter, Humbert Fugazy, was operating in New York, but he was “frozen out." Jack Dempsey is promoting bouts in Chicago, but only, it is reported, as an agent for the Madison Square Garden Crowd. Recently it was announced that Madison Square Garden had purchased, for £15,000, the rights to the services of Phil Scott, Max Schmeling and Campolo. It already has Jack Sharkey “sewn up.” But the Madison Square Garden people are not at all fond of British boxers, and there is a suggestion that their purchase of rights over Phil Scott is just in pursuance of their monopolistic policy. Having bought Scott’s services, so far as America is concerned, they may simply put him on the shelf. At latest advices Campolo was on his way back to Argentina, glad to escape from the New York wolves. But that does not make Scott’s prospects of a fight for the championship any better. If they can get Camera into their clutches, the promoters may match that raw giant with Sharkey for what they are pleased to term the world’s heavy-weight championship. What a travesty this position is on championship “honours"!