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► 1 Offer LaMotta-Murphy Victor Title Fight; Forget Matthews HARRY KID MATTHEWS Kids Manager Wont Sign Exclusive Pact With IBC, Nor Accept TV as a Must By BARNEY NAGIER Staff Correspondent NEW YORK, N. Y., June 20.— The International Boxing Clubs monopoly extends not only to arenas in New York, Chicago, Detroit and St. Louis, but goes right into the offices of the New York Athletic Commission. This was indicated today when the B3Cs praise agent, Murray Goodman, who is unique among the fight clubs officialdom because the door to his office generally is open, said that the winner of next Wednesdays meeting between Jake LaMotta and Irish Bob Murphy, at the Yankee Stadium, would get first crack at Joey Maxims light-heavyweight title. Obviously, such a match would be fought in Madison Square Garden come the fall season and would be anointed by Eddie Eagan, who does the IBCs bidding with trained zeal. The question asked wherever fight men gather is: What about Harry "Kid" Matthews? Hes the scintillating fighter from the northwest who was restored to efficiency by that wielder of slug spells, Jack Hurley, and who exposed Murphy as the veriest kind of a ruffian, but nothing else, in a Garden match last indoor season. However, Matthews manager, the aforementioned Mr. Hurley, is regarded as per-sonna non grata by the IBC because 1 he will not sign an exclusive service contract and 2 he will not permit his fighter to work under television-must conditions. Won 21 Straight Under Hurley So the B3C tossed Matthews on the heap, despite 21 straight since Hurley took over, and is retailing LaMotto-Murphy as a challengers test. x Apparently, however, the public isnt falling for this blatant ballyhoo. They are not breaking down doors in quest of tickets. Murphy has knocked over characters regarded as somewhat less than outstanding hereabouts. He whipped a built-up middleweight, Jimmy Beau in the Garden, but was thoroughly and shamefully outclassed by Matthews. Dan Bucceroni, a guy who can punch but wont do much more, was brought in next. Murphy butchered Bucceroni. Off these performances he has been moved up to 175 -pound contention not so much because he is a busybody southpaw who provides action, but rather because the IBC has an exclusive on him and can be assured his managers, Travis Hatfield and Irving Cohen, will do Jim Norris bidding. LaMotta always has been an "item" with the IBC, as the Broadway columnists put it. Norris suddenly and mysteriously got LaMotta a shot at the late Marcel Cerdan when the IBC was first formed. The Bronxite, on the record, had no more right to the match than your neighbors pantry maid. When LaMotta decided discreetly to forget about a return with Ray Robinson for the middleweight title, after being stopped in 13 rounds, Norris got him the match with Murphy and announced the winner would get a shot at Maxim. The intrigue is not surface stuff. When Maxim was being prodded by the National Boxing Association to make a defense of his 175-pound title, the IBCs Chicago branch, wtih suddenness aforethought, signed him for a defense against Bob Sat-* terfield. It was never intended that this match should take place. It cant be said for sure, but it ap- parently was hoped in some quarters that Maxim would be so thoroughly battered by Ezzard Charles, as he was, that he would need some time before defending his lesser title. Thats the way it came to pass. The date for the Satterfield fight, which was to have been June 27, the night Murphy fights LaMotta, will pass without a defense by Maxim. Hell wait for the LaMotta-Murphy winner. French politics is a simple game of checkers compared with IBC maneuvering.
