The White Pine news. [volume] (Ely, Nev.) 1906-1910, 1909-10-31

The homecoming of Jim Jeffries
on top of Jack Johnson's easy vic
tory over Stanley Ketchel has set the
pugilistic pot a boiling, and 1t will
continue to boil until the battle,
which will decide the individual SUI
premacy of the white and black
races, has finally been decided. There
is no good reason to doubt that JEFF
fries intends to fight, now that he
has declared himself, any more than
there is to aver that Johnson will
funk when he learns that the ex-
champion really intends to fight.
There is good reason to believe that
each man in his heart is convinced
that he has it on the other. Jeffries,
when he was at his best, was so much
superior to every ma he ever met
in ability to give and take punish
ment, that he feels CONTEMPORARY
sure that he can beat the negro in
his present form. johnson, with his
wonderful defensive skill and great
bulk, which place him on a equality
with Jeffries physically, is SO thor
oughly convinced that the five years
the ex-champion was out of the ring
has left a mark which no amount OF
training will ever overcome that he
still offers to bet money that Jeffries
will never fight him. 1t will be re-
membered that jeff" before retir-
ing, refused to meet johnson on the
plea that a white champion should
never fight a colored man, and that
he only consented to come from re-
tirement after Tommy Burns had
been defeated by Johnson in Aus
tralia. The black man having cap
tured whatever claim Burns had to
the championship, Jeffries listened to
the call of the wild and began train
ing.
JEFF NEEDS PLENTY OF WORK.
That was ten months ago and now
Jeffries says he is ready to make the
match and will fight within six
months. During this period of pre-
liminary training Jeffries has reduc-
ed his weight to normal figures and
seems much improved in health and
appearance. AS a side issue he has
picked up about $4,000 in stage
exhibitions, and it will not be at all
surprising if both he and Johnson
should continue to pick up easy
money in this way after signing to
fight. This is the modern method of
making money by men of promi-
nence in all walks of life, but in this
particular instance the public will
feel greater confidence in Jeffries if
he decides to cut out the theatrical
business until he has proven that he
is still the champion. Let him do
that and he can collect a fortune in
exhibitions. His excessive weight,
the accumulation of five years of
leisure, necessitated Jeffries going
slow in his work at the start, but
there is now no such excuse. 1t Is
hard work he needs and plenty of
it if he wants to get in the best pos
sible condition for the fight. Moth
ing but a most thorough purse of
training will make Jeffries right for
a battle with Johnson, and he owes
it to the public to be in shape to do
his best. He can never be the JEFF
fries of old, but he should try to get
as near to that form as possible. No
half way preparations will suffice.
CAN JOHNSON HURT JEFFRIES.
Jeffries was born April Is, 1875,
while Johnson first saw light three
years later, March 81, 1878. Had
.Jeffries continued uninteruptedly
in the ring these three years diff
frence in age might not suit much
of a figure, but it ear a lot
under present circumstances. JEFF
fries knows the Importance and the
fact that he still thinks that he can
beat the colored man shows how
cheaply he holds him. He probably
holds him too cheaply for Johnson
is unquestionably a great fighter. No
one but a great fighter could have
done what Johnson did to Ketchel
in that twelfth round. Johnson did
to Ketchel what Ketchel did to o.
Brien. OF course Johnson had a
great advantage in size and weight
over Ketchel and also caught him on
a ruse in that final round, but that
should in no way detract from the
credit of his victory. Ketchel was
heralded as the coming champion
and he fought with a fearlessness
that caused Johnson to exercise
caution in avoiding the vicious blows
handed out in every round. Yet
when the big black once cut loose
Ketchel was beaten into submission
by a few puches. The question now
arises: What effect will such punch
es have on Jeffries. So far no one
has been able to knock Jeffries down.
Can Johnson do what no other man
has ever done.
JEFF. DIFFERENT PROPOSITION
But Johnson will find a very diff
ferent proposition than Ketchel in
front of him when he faces Jeffries,
for the ex-champion is a larger man
in every way than the negro. The
advantage of weight will be slightly
in favor of Jeffries, while the
crouching position Jim SO often as
sumes makes him extremely hard to
hit, except with left hand blows.
Granting that Johnson had a better