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_ On Second Thought Ez Weight Puts Doctor on Spot _ By BARNEY NAGLER . NEW YORK, N. Y., June 17— The principals hadnt arrived yet and in the quiet of the Garden, which still is mezzanine and and shoulders shoulders above above _ and and shoulders shoulders above above any other arena in the country, Johnny Addie, the announcer, was warning against interlopers ascending the ropeless ring. "Nobody is permitted up here," Addie said, "except members of the boxing commission and the Garden staff, Harry Markson and and Murray Murray Goodman, Goodman, and and Murray Murray Goodman, Goodman, and members of the boxing commission staff. The ring wont support everybody." The warning was accepted in good grace. Nobody rushed to stand on the platform, not even when the principals came in from their dressing rooms, Ezzard Charles first and then Rocky Marciano. As it turned out, Addie could have saved some breath. Charles came in weighing a surprisingly light 185. The extra two or three pounds he was expected to carry might have proved too burdensome for the platform. Marciano did come in a little heavier than expected, 187%, and when Addie announced the weights, a murmur went through the hundreds of journalists and witnesses who had come to see the ceremony. The concern was with Charles poundage and there wasnt one in the place, excluding the challengers entourage, who didnt pause for a moment and say to himself, "Just like LaStarza." Youll recall that LaStarza also came in surprisingly light, at 184, when he weighed in for his bout with Marciano last September. He had weighed as high as 190 in training and some said he would be 188. "Must have worried over it," somebody said of LaStarza. They thought the same of Charles today in the half light of the Garden, and there was more cause to wonder when Dr. Clilan B. Powell, Bob Christenberrys sidekick, announced that Charles blood pressure had been 150 and that his pulse was 78. "Could be bad, those figures," one said. A while later it was learned that Dr. Alexander Schiff, who wielded the medical gadgets for Christenberry, wasnt worried .about Charles condition. A courier from that inside the inner sanctum reported that Charles blood pressure and pulse had receded after he had exercised a bit. "Thats a good sign, a real good sign," a medical man who prefers to remain anonymous said. "That shows that Charles has a real lot of reserve." "What about the weight?" the doctor was asked. "Ill tell you about weoght," Dr. Anonymous said, "it isnt important except in a relative sense. They didnt weigh Charles in camp five days ago like they should have. If it was shown he weighed 190 then, lets say, and hes down to 185%, it might mean trouble. "Youve got to have a control. The only one theyve got is the weight Doc Nardiello announced 16 days ago, when he examined Charles up at Monticello. That was 198. Taking off 12 and a half pounds in 16 days isnt too much of a load. Id say the fellow just lost the weight the right way." It was suggested that 185% might be real good weight for the challenger and Dr. Anonymous agreed. "Hes always been a light-heavyweight built up into a heavyweight," the stethoscope sawant said, "and at the weight he is, he could be real fast. . . . Fast enough to take care of Marciano." "Well see tonight," the other one said. "I like him real good," the good Doc said. "Dont look at the figures the way they gave them out. Youve got to know what they mean, and I tell you they mean Charles is okay." This was this afternoon. Tonight, Marciano and Charles go into the ring at the Stadium. Dr. Anonymous is on the spot.
