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Show . WISGOHSi'S BOXING LAW PROVSUGCESS Sport Has Been Placed on a High Plane; Supeivision Very Strict. By MANIKIN G- VATJGHAJT, Secretary State Athletic Commission of Wisconsin. That boxing can be raised to a plane of respectability and decency by state regulation has been demonstrated in "Wisconsin, where legislation of the stport has met with unqualified enccoBa. The game, tinder commission snper-viaioxi. snper-viaioxi. has been on trial for over a year, and in that time the commission has been able to eradicate eo many dis v . agreeable features of the old order of things that what opposition there is to 11 the sport is of a minus quantity. In a year's time the commission has . brought about dozens of changes for the betterment of the pame. Of course wo have had opposition, 'but a great many people who raised a din and cry when the sport waB legalized have been won over bv the suceesefnl campaijjn carried on by the commission. They know that the sport is now conducted on the square. Everyone gets a square deal the promoter, the boxer, and last-, last-, ly the public 1 , Fakes and frameups are unknown, j In only one instance has the commis- i sion been forced to discipline a boxer I , for not putting forth his best efforts Id tho ring. Other boxers hare been, punished, but not for stalling or shamming. In all the commission has been forced to discipline eight boxers, most of whom were caJled to account for violating contracts with clubs after signing to box. Promoters Substantial. The success of legalized pugilism in "Wisconsin can be attributed in a large measure to the class of men who conduct con-duct the clubs. The fly-bv-night gentry who have put boxing in disreputo in so many states aro unknown here. For the most part, the promoters are substantial sub-stantial business men who are in the game more for the lovo of the sport lh.au for the profit they may realize. Ten or twelve clubs, licensed by' the commission, have doctors and lawyers actively engaged in their promotion. Another club is owned by a weU-to-do real estate man, while still another is headed by the secretary of one of the biggest automobile factories in the stare. The class of men promoting the f hows is reflected ju the character of the crowds that, attend boxiug matches. They fire cosmopolitan in character, nnturally, but are composed largely of the better element. The ban of ' the commission on the giving of referee's decisions keeps the betting element away. When the gamblers are kept out clean sport and order come in. The commission absolutely requires that order be maintained in all snows, nud with one or two exceptions we have not had to "jack up' any clubs for their failure to do so. In fact, the average boxing crowd is much better behaved than tho average crowd that 1 attends an indoor baseball or a high school basketball game. The old cry of the reformer that box-i box-i ing is brutal has been given the lie by ' the record established in Wisconsin srJnce the creation of the commission. In that time 146 boxing shows have been held. This means, figuring four bouts to the show, thst there have been 5S4 boxing matches held iu the last, year, without a single fatality aud without a Bingle accident of a serious uature. Imagine the work a like number num-ber of football games would give the ; sawbones. In this connection it might be well to state that prior to engaging in a bout every boxer must pass a rigorous physical examination given by a physician physi-cian who has practicpd iu the state at least five years. The physical teat is thorough in every respect, and any : boxer who is not fit. or is not constitu- ( tionally right is not permitted to box. Clubs are also required to have their! rings well padded the posts must be j covered with heavy felt and every precaution pre-caution taken to prevent a boxer from being injured when sent, to the mat. Since the law became operative about $15,000 has been turned into the state treasurv, 5 per cent of the gross receipts of all shows going to tho commonwealth. com-monwealth. As the expenses of the conimissio -lu that time have not exceeded ex-ceeded &O0OO. the state has profited accordingly. ac-cordingly. The total receipts of all shows is around the $,"00,000 mark, while over 100.000 i'aus have attended these exhibitions. Not Financial Success. Despite the success of boxing as a sport it has been more or less of a financial failure under commission rule. This is due entirely to the large purses offered. Boxers have held up the pro moters rignt anci Jett. The club owners, own-ers, eager to get big attractions, hung up purses entirely out of proportion to what they would take iu at the gate. They aro getting dowu to a saner, basis, however, and iu the future a boxer who appears before a Wisconsin club will bo required to box on a jer-ientage jer-ientage or he won't be given an opportunity op-portunity to light. The attractions may not be as high class, but the promoters pro-moters won't bo forced to "dig" so ofteu, aud the sport will bo better all around. The chief difficulty encountered by the eonunisaion has been in getting capable referees. The clean breaks aud prohibition of hitting in the clinches have bothered the oihcials as well as tho boxers, and the commission has been forced to call several referees on t.6 carpet for not enforcing this rule, fciteady instruction in what is wanted has had excellent affect, however, so that Wisconsin now boasts four or five of the beet ring officials iu the country. Governor ifcCovern, who signed tlie Hedding act legalizing boxing, recently recent-ly commended the commission for its j work in elevating the sport. The governor gov-ernor was opposed to the commission when tho bill was lirst brought before him for signature, but be was finally won over. Tie says ho is gratified at, the success of the board and is now a, strong booster of boxing as conducted in Wisconsin. j |