a

ee left wing

By MIKE GIDORA

Big business

In the old days, two brawny men sporting handlebar moustaches would square off bareknuckled in the middle of a cow _ pasture somewhere and fight until one of them could no longer stand.

After the combat, the two central figures would probably head off to the local saloon and verbally relive the battle, surrounded by ' their admirers. More than likely most of the money which changed hands would be as a result of bets placed-by these admirers.

The Marquis of Queensbury, the man who drew up the rules for the sport of boxing, would have been proud.

Later on, someone figured out that bareknuckle boxing led to serious injury so he invented boxing gloves. Someone else figured out that if people were

going to watch the spectacle, the _

least they could do for the privilege was pay, so fights were moved into smoky arenas.

Some smart gambler figured out that he could make more money on - bets if he knew beforehand who was going to win, so he started fixing fights.

Professional boxing had become big time, and like anything else that was big-time, it surrounded itself with leeches of all stripes; promoters, racketeers and plain hangerson.

But now, professional boxing has become even bigger time.

When boxing promoter Don King brought his travelling medicine show into Manila for last Tuesday’s heavyweight champion- ship fight between Muhammed Ali and Joe Frazier, you can rest assured that he wasn’t paying the shot. The government of the Philippines was picking up the tab for the whole circus. All King had to do was take his share of the profits.

The leeches are still hanging on.

Last Tuesday’s ‘‘thrilla’’ in Manila is the latest of what seems to be a new trend in professional boxing — state-supported bouts. Only last year, the government of Zaire paid out a little over $6 million to stage a fight between George Foreman and Ali. This week the Philippine government paid $10 million for the privilege of - having Ali and Frazier hit each other for 45 minutes on its soil.

Neither country could afford the expenditure, but both made it, primarily because they saw in it an opportunity to shift public at- tention away from the internal problems of their country and onto

and boxing

the. gala presentation they were staging in the centre ring.

Now that some governments have decided to get into the professional fight promotion game, an interesting comparison comes to mind. That, of course, is a comparison of the Manila fight and boxing matches staged in a country such as Cuba.

Boxing is state supported in Cuba too, as are all sports in a socialist society. In fact boxing is the second most popular sport on the island, with only baseball at- tracting a larger following. Cuban boxers are consistently at or near the top of any world or Olympic event.

Despite its popularity, boxing in Cuba ‘is much different than the shell game that people like Don King insist on foisting upon us under the guise of presenting a world championship bout. Cuban sport, like the society itself, has rid itself of the leeches that dominate professional boxing, using modern- day gladiators to line their own pockets.

A boxing match in Cuba is carried on as a sporting event, not as a Roman circus. Sport- smanship, and not salesmanship is prime.

To see Tuesday’s fight at the Coliseum would have cost you a minimum of $10. If the same fight were staged in Cuba, it would not have cost anything to watch.

Boxing is a violent sport. Nobody can argue that it isn’t. But Tuesday’s fight was sold on the promise of violence, the possibility that one of the fighters might be hurt, and was sold as a grudge match. This is pro boxing’s appeal.

Pro boxing is a sport in which riots are commonplace when a bout is stopped because of injury or possible injury to one of the fighters. The crowd feels cheated since they paid to see someone get hurt. And they were told by people like Don King that someone would get hurt.

In Cuba, fights are appreciated on the basis of boxing skill, not on the promise of blood. To stop a bout is not an act of courage for the referee in Cuba, it is simply protecting the athletes from in- jury, and it is welcomed by the crowd.

As I said before the comparisons come to mind easily, but perhaps the greatest shame of all connected with the Manila fight is that a boxer with the athletic ability and personal courage of his convictions such as Muhammed Ali is totally submerged in the razzle dazzle of pro fighting. .

In Cuba we would be allowed to appreciate his boxing skill, and not

his poetry.

‘ DON'T MISS

ANNUAL YCL

OCTOBERFEST

on October 17

Mark this date and enter the contest — last year’s champs will defend their titles.

Details announced next week

-

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—OCTOBER 3, 1975—Page 10

CIA using ‘socialist’ channels in Portugal

Mario Soares, who claims to be

. no friend of the CIA, has had up to

$60 million of CIA funds channelled into the Portuguese Socialist Party, of which he is the leader, in the last six months.

American support for the counter-revolutionary drive in Portugual was revealed in a_page one article in the New York Times last week. The Times said that their information was based on separate interviews with four “official sources”? in Washington.

The American money has been funnelled through west European socialist parties, and right wing trade unions. In particular, the West German Social Democratic Party, and the Belgian Socialist Party have served as pipelines for large amounts of U.S. money.

According to the Times article, the CIA cash flow has ‘‘revived dormant but traditional con- nections between the agency and anti-communist West European Socialist. and labor movements.”

In addition to the direct cash flow to Portugal, the CIA has been shipping arms and money to Angola in an effort to sabotage the popular revolutionary movement in that country as well, the paper reported.

- The CIA action in Angola has led to the reactivation of Holden Roberto, head of the National Front for the Liberation of Angola. Roberto was chosen by the CIA and U.S. president Kennedy in 1962 as

_the ‘‘man to forge a link between

the United States and the in- digenous groups which were ex- pected to drive Portugal from Angola.” :

The Times article also revealed that the CIA ‘judged that U.S. support should also be thrown behind Jonas Savimbi, the leader of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola.”

Maoist Chinese leaders also back

position to the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) which is headed by Agustinho Neto.

The report continued with a statement that it could ‘“‘not be learned whether Chinese and American officials have ever discussed or sought to coordinate their efforts against Neto. What was learned was that American funds were being used to buy arms for both Roberto and Savimbi, and that the Chinese were providing military advisors for Roberto, and perhaps Savimbi as well.”

Canada-Cuba trade up as U.S. embargo fails

Writing on the breakdown of the U.S.-organized economic boycott against Cuba, Soviet commentator Vyacheslav Lupinovich pointed to the growing trade between Canada and Cuba as an example of the changing times. —

“A noticeable increase in Canadian-Cuban business cooperation took place in 1974,” said Lupinovich, ‘‘trade and economic relations have now reached a level permitting them to be put on an international legal and long-term basis.

“This is seen in the signing, during a recent visit to Havana by Minister of Industry, Trade and Commerce Allistair Gillespie, of a program of expansion of trade, the granting by Canada of $100 million in credits to Cuba and the con- clusion of a number of contracts.”

The Soviet writer noted that these moves are frowned on. by some Western circles, notably in the U.S., but that they reflect the changing reality in Latin America and the growing prestige of socialist Cuba.

“Cooperation: among states be- came. the dominant idea,’ he stated. “The decision’ by many Latin American states to establish relations with Cuba despite the OAS ban reflects their deter- mination to exercise their sovereign rights and further their national interests.”

Lupinovich said, “‘though the

‘Cuban issue’ was rot on the of- ficial agenda of the OAS General Assembly in Washington earlier this year, it nevertheless dominated the talks.’”” He also emphasized that. many capitalist countries have revised their at- titude toward Cuba and are beginning trade and economic cooperation with the Republic — Britain, France, Sweden, Japan and Norway being among. those.

The Portuguese Connection

~ both Roberto and Savimbi in op-

7

The revelations led Do Porter, coordinator for the © Estate, an anti-CIA group — Washington, to say that “dovetail exactly with what P Agee charged in his letter t0 © Portuguese people.”

In his letter, Agee, a former ™ agent, warned the Portugl” people that the CIA was opera

- out of offices in Madrid, Paris London and was using Democratic Parties and right W, trade union leaders as cover sabotage in Portugal. ;

The letter was first printed 1? New York progressive pape! || Daily World, and was reprittl some weeks ago in the Tribu”

The Times article also chale U.S. president Gerald Ford maintaining the ‘fine traditio?,

__past American presidents of to the American people. It po to an interview which Ford last month where he had said” it was “‘very tragic” that be“, of our current investigations © CIA, “we weren’t able to FY ticipate’’ in Portugal. :

While Ford was Ppl bemoaning the U.S.’s inabili “participate” in Portugal, the had already been funding Portuguese Socialist Party months. The Times said that knew of and had approved thé actions.

~ PUBLIC MEETING

WHAT IS HAPPENING IN PORTUGAL?

An analysis by JACK PHILLIPS Provincial Organizer CPC

Vancouver

600 Campbell Ave. Lower Hall ;

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 15 |

8 p.m.

Sponsored by VANCOUVER CITY COMMITTEE ~

COMMUNIST PARTY OF CANADA