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: Gavilan Truly at Crossroads In Bout With Jones Tomorrow Defeat for The Keed Also Will Hurt His Long Ambition To Emulate Robinson Career By OSCAR FRALEY United Press Sports Writer NEW YORK, N. Y., Aug. 24. The Cuban Hawk was at the parting of the ways today. Kid Gavilan, boxings master showman, ; climbs through the ropes at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night and if he wins, he will be a legitimate middleweigt chal-langer. If he loses, he will be a welterweight i champion with nowhere to go. There Has been whispers along the fight beat for some time that "The Keed" is slipping. This one will tell the story. For he will go up against Ralph "Tiger" Jones, sixth-ranking middleweigt who posted one of the major upsets -of 1952 by beating tough Johnny Bratton. "The Keed" must win this one if his ambitions are to be realized. Those dreams are to duplicate the feat of Ray Robinson, winning first the welterweight title and then moving up to become middleweight champ. Hell never make it if he doesnt beat Jones. There are many among the fight mob who dont believe he ever will, win or lose in this one. But at least hell still have his chance if he does take "the tiger." The whispers that the hawks wings were tiring increased recently after Gavilan dropped a non-title decision to Danny Womber; a good fighter, but not accepted yet as. of championship caliber. The talk started even earlier when Gavilan persistently evaded a scrap with Bratton. Competition Not Too Stern Giving support to the idea that "The Keed" was fading were his "easy" defenses of the welterweight crown. Not meaning that they were done with ease, but that the quality of the competition was not too stern. It was poitned out by keenly analytical boxing men that he caught Gil Turner when the young Philadelphian still was coming up; took Billy Graham on the latters way down and thumped Chuck Davey because the college southpaw chiefly was a victim of his own publicity buildup. It is no secret that Gavilan, despite his avowed intention of campaigning for the middleweight tiara, wanted no part of Jones, The deal was struck by giving "the Keed" a larger than usual percentage and promising him top consideration in the middleweight mess should he beat "the tiger." Meanwhile, Gavilans welterweight commitments could, throw a custard pie into the electric fan. His six-months time deadline for a title defense has expired and hell go against Carmen Basilio with the winner Gavilan supposed to defend against the long-avoided Bratton within 60 days. These supposedly iron-clad agreements have proved to be so much tissue paper in the past and the theory is that he would make a determined middleweight bid if he beats Jones. Yet the feeling among boxing men is that the "if" is the biggest little word Gavilan will ever see. So, for Gavilan, this is it. And, should he lose to Jones, the doubters dont believe "The Keed" will dominate even the welterweights very much longer. All at once he must prove his middleweight hopes to himself, and the fact that he isnt on, the way out to the boxing world.
