Salt Lake Tribune | 1915-11-07 | Page 48 | Decision Rule Has Its Drawbacks, Too

DECISION RULE HAS ITS DRAWBACKS, TOO System Would Have to Be Universal to Prove Ex-pected Ex-pected Worth. By RINGSIDE. NEW YORK, Nov. 6. Decision fights over the ten-round route in New York state probably would kill the boxing box-ing game here unless a similar law were passed in all states. That's undoubtedly undoubted-ly the reason wh the state boxing commission com-mission has ignored the hundreds of thousands of requests that referees be pormitted to render decisions. None of the preseot-day champions would risk his title by appearing in a New York ring for ten rounds only if the decision rule were in force. Even the leading aspirants for championships would balk at offers for bouts, and the only fights that would be staged here would be between dub pugilists. Jess Willard probably wouldn't run the chance of losing his crown by fighting fight-ing in a ten-round decision bout. Willard Wil-lard is not a boxer. He rarely shows up well in a ten-round bout. A smaller, inferior man might be able to keep out of Willard's way for ten rounds and if. he outpointed hiin would win the championship, cham-pionship, although Willard might be far the better fighter in a loDg bout. Would Keep 'em Away. Freddie Welfh would stay away from these parts if decision fights we're permitted, per-mitted, because Freddie probably would lose his lightweighf title in his very first bout here. Since he won the championship, cham-pionship, Welsh has engaged in no-decision bouts with Willie Kitchie, Charlie White and others and each time he was decisively beaten. But because decisions de-cisions were barred, Freddie still is tho champion. The same thing goes concerning Johnny John-ny Kilbano. The featherweight king, who has gathered unto himself some many thousand shekels through no-decision bouts here and elsewhere, would go elsewhere in future rather than take a chance of losing his title bv points in ten rounds. There is no denying the fact that, the rendering of decisions would benefit the fight game immensely but the adoption adop-tion of that, rule must be-universal to prove-'a boon. If it were put into operation opera-tion in New York slate only it would mean the killing of pugilism and the booming of it in states where decisions are barred. The fight game has .been dealt, a crushing blow by those no-decision laws. The fighters are reaping a rich harvest the champions especially. Ninety times out of a hundred the champs or near champs, when fightiug for big guarantees fight merelv a defensive fight. Their sole ol. ject is to protect the .law and the heart, stalling through the six, teu or twelve rounds, as the different state laws provide. Are Disappointments. Practically everj- bout during the past two years, in no-decision states, in which a champion participated, was a huge disappointment. Champions do not fight in short no-decision scraps. "Why should they? If they actually fought they would have to assume the offensive offen-sive at. times. That would menu that the vulnerable parts of their heads and bodies would be exposed to the risk of a sleep-producing punch. A champion has nothing to gain and everything to lose if. he actually fights in a no-decision bout. So why should ho fight? If tho decision rule were put into forco in all states, it would be a great boon to the fighting game. It would force fighters to fight, it would compel com-pel champions to extend themselves to their utmost limit. It would stop the practice of champions obtaining money under false pretenses from the fans by putting up joko exhibitions. But, alas, there is no likelihood of the stite boxing commissions universally universal-ly adopting tho decision rule. And. as a result, the pugilistic, game is becoming more anemic, every day.