By MILTON RICHMAN

NEW YORK (UPI) - Never
does it become more ob-

vious that hindsight is better -

than foresight than im-
mediately after a fighter dies
due to injuries he suffered in
the ring. ;

The first thing that takes

place is an investigation such
as the one going on presently
in connection with the death
of middleweight illie
Classen following his 10th-
round knockout at the hands

of Wilfred Scypion in~

Madison Square Garden's
Felt Forum three weeks ago.

The two. attending
physicians at the fight both
have testified they didn't see
the crucial punches. Now we
have another doctor, a noted
neurologist, testifying
Classen was “out on his feet”
while taking” a standing
eight-count in the , ninth
ruund and he was “a rag
doll" in the 10th.

The neurologist, Dr.
Bennett M. Derby. has seen
videotapes of the bout and
says there is no question but
that Classen suffered a
concussion in the ninth
round. He suggests ringside
physicians be trained in
concussion and given to

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collision re

sioeigter yarn Abel ape Bima Oo go

understand that concission.

doesn’t mean a man has to

be flat on his back.
Post-fight investigations.
by the large, are for

cosmetic effect and 1 can’t
ever remember any such

>probe bringing a dead fighter’

back to life-or in any way
preventing ‘a future fatality,
in the ring.

As someone who was a
fighter and referee himself,
and also managed a boxer
who died as a resujt of in-
juries in the ning. former
-world heavyweight cham-
pion Jack Sharkey agrees
these investigations rarely, if

ever, accomplish anything
constructive.
“You get a couple of

things like this happening,”
Sharkey says. ‘referring to
Classen’s death, “and
everybody sours on the sport
and calls for an in-
vestigation. Then you get a
lotta guys who never fought
a lick in their lives telling
you what went wrong and
demanding legislation.”

Sharkey is 77 and lives ‘in
Epping. N.H.. from where
he spoke to me. He saw the
Scypion-Classen fight) on
television. ;

pairs = body painting

“My . observation ‘of. the
fight. was that he. (Classen)

had his back up against the.

ropes, . the started dow’. and
that was that,” says the ex-
champ, who won the title by
beating Germany's Max
Schmeling in 1932 and then
lost. if to Italy’s’ Primo
Carnera a year later.

“It looked as if he was hurt
because he wasn’t defending
himself: When he got hit, he
had no protection what-
soever. A man can get hit on
the chin, even have a
concussion and still not show
it. He may even come on to
win the fight.

“I don’t know. how many
fights I refereed in my time.
but I know it was a lot. !
remember refereeing the
Archie-Moore-Y¥ von Durelle
fight in Montreal. They'were
fighting for the tight
heavyweight title and the
first time Moore got
knocked down, I kneeled
down and looked at him and
saw his eyes were crossed.

“He was defending his title
and I didn’t want to stop the
fight just because of one
knockdown. But although he
was knocked down a couple
more times, he got up.
snapped out of it and came
back (o knock out Durelle .”

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Sharkey calls professional
‘fighting “a. horrendous job, a-
helluva way to make a
living.”

*
‘

‘The worst thing that ever
happened to him in boxing,
he says, was the death in
1933 of heavyweight Ernie

Schaaf. whom he was
managing and training.
Schaaf died after being

‘kayoed by Carnera in the

13th round.

“It was pathetic,” Sharkey
remembers. “I picked him
up after Carnera knocked
him out at Madison Square
Garden and took him over to
Polyclinic Hospital across
the street. I stayed with him
at the hospital all night until
the next morning when I was
supposed to go to Miami. I
told the doctor I didn’t want
to be like a rat deserting a
sinking ship, but he said to

“What can you do for
him sitting out here?” ~

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“So I went to Florida, but

it kept bothering me so .
much, I returned. I took the --

train back and during a-
Georgia’

stopover - in
somewhere, they came in
with a telegram right there in
the Pullman car telling. me
Ernie had passed away.”

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