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Show 9EMPSEY MAT MEET BECKETT Champion Invited to Replace Re-place Siki; McGann Gives Boxing Dope. BY SPARROW M'GANN Special Correspondent Of The Standard- I a miner Copyright, 922, by The Standard-Examiner.) Standard-Examiner.) WASHINGTON. Nov. 11. When word of the downfall of Jack Hritton and the crow ning of MIckev Walker, as king of the welters reached Eng- j land, one fighter quickly held up his head and took notice. He is Ted (Kid) Lewis, the English welter, who Is keen ito win some sort Of a world's title. Joe Beck tt, according to experts familiar with European fighters. ls now the finest heavyweight in Europe; and will beat Battling Slkl If the two ever go through with the bout origin.-ally origin.-ally scheduled for London on December Decem-ber 7. but against which the British home office has set its face The big Englishman has Improved a great deal since Carpentler knocked him cold and besides that he seems to have replaced the glass In his Jaw jwlth something closely resembling re-llnforccd re-llnforccd concrete. Even granting that Frank Moran Is I not qualified to leat any of our second raters, his old Mary Ann wallop Is still something which no fighter of what-)evcr what-)evcr class would be willing to slop Iwlth his Jaw, if ho could help It. Yet. Beckett took the blow, blinked, sat down, took the count of eight and then arising stowed the Plttsburgher away. It is no wonder, therefore, that Beckett just now Is the white hope boy of England. Yet he agreed to a December bout against the warlike Senegalese. Either Joe has gained In courage or else somo powerful hunch took the curse off the 'twelfth month. Ueckett's grouch against December has been bulwarked by some dlsagreeablo facts, blel among which is a knockout by Carpentler Car-pentler In that month and another one by Frank Moran For Beckett to fight in December would be like Johnny Dundee fighting in black trunks. Fans may or may not recall that Johnny Dundeo has sustained but on knockout In the course of bis long career. The successful suc-cessful walloper was Johnny's old rival, Willie Jackson. I'pon the occasion oc-casion of this fight Dundee mislaid the White trunks he invariably wore and had to go Into the ring with a pair of black ones. That was the lost time 'anyone ever saw Dundee In black 'trunks. , Other fighters have had little customs cus-toms born of superstitions. Charley Beechcr, for Instance, doesn't object U wearing a Christian moniker in the, ring but the initials he wears on his trunks must always be embroidered in Hebrew characters. Sam Langford always al-ways used to place a bead of a rosary in his left sock bsfore entering tho ring. Johnny Summers habitually bound his scapular around his left ankle before going against an opponent oppon-ent John L. Sullivan carried a rab-bltt's rab-bltt's foot in his pocket, although tt Ib not known that he ever took ono into the rlne. with him. There is a report that Oempscy Wlll be Invited to England to take Slkl s place against Beckett. |