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Show England Bemoans Lack of High-Class Heavyweights International News Service Staff Cor-j respondent LONDON, May 8 Tho great international inter-national sport question, "Why are there no great heavyweights?" which It seems, Is debatcable anywhere, in the world, except France, has reached an acute stage In England. It Is evident that this question has become acute because finally the classic London Times lias given it attention, at-tention, not hastily, in slap-dash sport stylo, but carefully, even ponderously, In nearly a column of close type. Tho treatment Is in the best scholarly schol-arly manner, but, sadly, it carries the subject Uttlo further than the laconic conclusion of the man in the street that "We haven't got 'em because wo haven't got 'em. "Unless we aro prepared to admit that the dearth of such fighters is due to the want of some more effective and scientific methods of training, it is difficult to account for tho lack in our omplre of first-class boxing heavv-wejghls," heavv-wejghls," says the Times. "In spite of the enormous prizes' which aro offered and the great monetary mon-etary advantages which accure to the successful boxer, there is not at the' present moment within the British empire em-pire a heavyweight boxer who Is fitted to compete for a world's supremacy in boxing. "So poor Is the supply in this country coun-try that it is now believed miserable dictu that unless Tommy Burns, the Canadian, can discover and train suitable suit-able matorlal, we shall not bo nble o produce any heavyweight of sufficient ability to iter the ring against our foreign rivals. Wo have the brawn, wo have tho muscle we have the i" jck wo have the weight, but alas, wo havo not, apparently, tho trained article, or, indeed, any system of training, which is necessary to produce the scientific boxers fitted to uphold the boxing honors hon-ors of the empire. "The lack of scientific fighting ar 1 want of skill, which is particularly noticeable no-ticeable in our boxing contests, find: moro particularly In the heavvwelght classes, undoubtedly arises from lack of correct and sclentifh instruction." Tho TImos has its theories as to why .big mon don't fight. As boys, their sizo has automatically insured them against attack and against having to learn to defend themselves. Therefore, when tho embryo hpavyweight grows up and becomes ambitious for ring honors, he has had no natural training train-ing in speed and aggressiveness. Ho , has to be started at the beginning, and leaching a fully grown big fellow to bo quick Is rated as a considerable task. "Beckett Bhould from tho physical standpoint bo able to hold his own with any heavyweight tho world can produce," the writer continues, "but he lacks quickness, lacks ability to I avoid punishment, and also, lacks many of those necessary habits of correct cor-rect foot and hand work, which muBt be associated with anyone who has the right to bo considered a champion boxer." box-er." Which to those of us who saw him meot Carpentier, seems to bo one way of saying ho has everything but the essentials of a fighter I "There are many other heavyweights weight men," the article continues, "who have all the essential physical qualities which should make them world's champion boxers, but until they arc properly trained to avoid pun-lishment pun-lishment to move nnd to hit correctly, they will never bo able to hold their own against scientifically trained boxers box-ers of their own weight, the one and great difficulty appears to be that thero is no one who can thus train them." In this country, where big fights are evening dress affairs, attended by lords and ladles and the "upper crust" ! of the nation, tho Times sees decadence decad-ence rather than a boom in the Anglo-Saxon Anglo-Saxon manly art. "Does a boom in boxing really exist?" ex-ist?" the writer asks, "Or is it merely a promoter's boom, which whether justified jus-tified or not, gains its reward by pandering pan-dering to the betting man or an eager craving for mere excitoment? No level-headed observer can honestly claim thaht tho majority of the people witnessing wit-nessing such contests appear to be clean, scientific and effective boxing or that their applause signifies anything any-thing more than an ebullition of some one or other form of animal excitement. excite-ment. A boom in boxing If it means anything, that tends to promote and advance the skill and science of those who box." |