- Publish date:
The Question: What can be done to clean up boxing?
MRS. ALFRED BUFFIN, Richmond, Va.
Housewife
"Television got me interested in boxing. Now I go to 'live' bouts. The fight between Gavilan and Saxton had a peculiar aroma, even on TV. I've heard that some fights are controlled by racketeers. If that's true, fights can be fixed. The remedy? Either kick the racketeers out or stop boxing."
JOE BENJAMIN, San Francisco, Calif.
Former lightweight contender
"Eliminate incompetent judges and referees. Take the politicians off the state commissions. Even if honest, they don't know boxing. They can be fooled by the undesirable element. That's because they don't know the difference between good and bad fights, honest managers and racketeers."
JOE WOODMAN, New York, N.Y.
Fight manager
"Boxing is a great game. It must be to survive all the scandals. Today people are calling it a dirty business. I'm the oldest manager in the game. The great Sam Lang-ford was my boy. I say we need more good commissioners like Bob Christenberry who can smell out dirty business."
MAX WAXMAN, Montreal, Canada
Fight manager
"Boxing has always been maligned. It didn't become legal in Washington until 1936, under Congressman Hartley's bill. Those who claim boxing is crooked should ask themselves: 'How about crookedness in all kinds of business?' One bad fight shouldn't condemn the sport."
IRVING M. IVES, Norwich, N.Y.
U.S. Senator
"State commissions have not prevented boxing scandals. Therefore, a federal commission to license boxers and regulate the sport seems to be the logical solution. It will be difficult. Illinois will want one thing, New York another, Pennsylvania still another. But it can and should be done."
A. R. LAUBSCHER, Los Angeles, Calif.
Sales representative
"The federal government should take over from local politicians. I boxed at L.S.U. I know boxing. It's particularly slimy on the West Coast. Among our boxers are many Mexicans. Managers exploit them and make it a lousy business. A fighter is lucky to end up with $50 from a $500 purse."
BOB STEELE, Hartford, Conn.
Sports commentator
"Replace the state commissions with a national czar. Baseball is an example of what can be done under a czar with complete power. He should be very highly paid so he can't be reached. And he should know boxing. Gene Tunney would be an excellent choice. Everyone would look up to him."
JOHN S. FINE, Harrisburg, Pa.
Governor of Pennsylvania
"Boxing must be regulated and supervised by the states. Errors committed in its administration will be corrected without resort to a sprawling bureaucracy. Supervision of bouts and of the management of boxers must be more strict. Penalties for infractions will be more drastic."
AVERELL HARRIMAN, New York, N.Y.
Governor-elect of New York
"Boxing has its Scandais and I fully recognize the problem. As governor, I intend to initiate a concerted effort to drive the hoodlums out. I'm going to speak to the governors of all the states. Perhaps we can persuade the various state commissions to agree on standard rules and procedure."
MARIANO A. YENKO JR., Quezon City, Luzon
Secretary to President of Philippines
"In the Philippines, we insure good fights by having qualified men on our boxing commission. We have taken boxing out of politics and put it in the hands of ring-wise men. They love the game and work at it. The same can be done here. Our boxing is booming under Commissioner Nieto."
DOC KEARNS, Miami, Fla.
Former manager of Jack Dempsey
"Take politics out of boxing. I'm writing a book, Larceny Can Be Lovely. I never knew how lovely it could be until politics muscled into boxing. We can spot the fakes and we're fighting back. We'll save the game. We've organized the International Managers Guild with 1,000 members."
MRS. JOHN D. ANDERSON, Beverly Hills, Calif.
Housewife
"I've never been at a prize fight. But TV takes boxing into my home. I like it. But the Gavilan-Saxton fight looked suspicious. Bouts like this will kill boxing on TV. I won't look. The federal government can rescue the sport by putting coast-to-coast fights under a federal commission."
NAT FLEISCHER, Scarsdale, N.Y.
Editor of Ring Magazine
"The boxing commissions must eliminate objectionable characters who are the true managers of the best boxers. Match-makers want top talent. But they have to go to sub rosa managers and take what they can get. This sometimes leads to a flop and a lot of criticism, as with Saxton and Gavilan."
DAVE SODEN, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Automobile dealer
"Boxing can be brought above reproach only through federal legislation. The President should appoint a boxing commission. A man like Jack Dempsey should head this commission. Under him should be men who know every angle of boxing. The public would trust a commission like this."
TWO ILLUSTRATIONS
FOURTEEN PHOTOS
NEXT WEEK'S QUESTION:
Balzac once wrote: "I have noted that most women who sit a horse well are lacking in tenderness?" Are they?
