The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1909-11-14

excess. but at the same time he de-
uicd himself nothing. ile did not re
fuse a glass of wine or higbball when
invited to Join his friends, neither did
he refrain from treating them ION the
house, Living in this manner JEFF
ries took on flesh. until a year ago, ac-
cording to reliable information, he
weighed nearly 300 pounds. He seldom
indulgcd III running or long distance
walks and went for months at time
without putting on the gloves. lie
was hog fat and short of wind when
he began his "traiuing' last March,
and even his best friends did not be
hove that he could recover anything
like his old form.
Careful Training
JctIries, however, went about the
task of reducing himself in the proper
way. He began daily exercises gradu
ally. He changed his method of living
radically. He cut out liquor, selected
his meals carefully, got into the habit
of sleeping nine hours each night and
by means of limited road work and
light exercise he managed to work of
the fat slowly but surely. AS he stands
today .Ietfries, as far as outward ap-
pearanccs 60 looks rs we'll trained and
as rugged as in the DAYS of conquest.
tl' SdNS Hf l'tlS SllpuE duh dplp w
stand a hard fight. In boxing with a
partner he seems to step around with
the same agility that made Corbett pro
nouncc him ''tho fastest man of his
weight and inches in the world. - He
seems 10 be able to punch with the old
power and he certainly knows as much
about ring tactics as he ever did,
But Jeffrics will admit privately that
his chief fault is n lack of wind. He
Ill,
vigorous rounds and puffs like n gram
puS. Yet he says that when real hard
training begins this defect will he easi.
ly rcmcdied He knows that johnson IS
defense will proloug the fight and for
that reason he says that he must have
enough stamina TO go the route with
the negro .jeA' has host OF support
ers who believe that he will "comc
back and put johnson away One
of them in predicting the outcome of
the mill said recently:
Midget Fighter
johnson lras never beaten first.
class man In Burns aud Kctchel he
beat Il pair of midgets who arc Just
good middleweights When he meets
Jeff he ii have man before him IN the
ring who is taller and heavier, also
stronger. harder hitter and more
TO throw Jeff around in the clinches
and TO hurt him to any great extent
with his punches Jeff. on the other
hand, can hit hard enough TO put John
son out in jig time, If he gets an open
ing. The bollermakcr rs not "A fool and
if he thought for an instant that he
could not whip johnson he wouldn t
fight him. Jcffries has taken his own
time about reducing his bulk and hc
=, Il. l. Id r l..
fore he enters the ring. lie doesn 4
think much Of Johnson, anyway. and is
going ahead with perfect confidence.
He is light enough now to fight any
man. But it IS his wind that is both
| cring him. A few months IN the noun
taius OF California viii fix that all
right, and then YOU III sec the Same old
Jeff, big and strong. with a punch that
Will put an end to this controversy
Never Come Back.
Looking back through sporting his
tory ono can find many instances of
athletes who failed to come back.
John l.. Sullivan, after beating Jake
| Kilrain, loafed for thrco years before
meeting Corbett and then proved to be
all in Only Il year ago Kid Mccoy
after a long layoff, tried to come
back in bout with Jim Stewart, a
second rater. and was n pitiful failure
Tod Sloan, one Of the greatest jockeys
that ever lived, after remaining on tho
ground for several years. tried to ride
| for Edward Corrigan at New Orleans
but quickly found that he had lost his
skill. Though Mike Donlin has moi
been idle for moro than a year. Mana
ger McGraw believes that he has lost
his grip and can never be the Giant
mainstay again. Joe Corbctt, once q
star pitcher in the National league
tried to shine once more in California
last summer after several years Of idle
ness, but was quickly convinced that
he had seen his best days How many
college football players on the gridiroI
this fall could quit the game for tbret
wears and then show the old prowess
1t is the same thing with sprinters like
Bernie Wefers. wrestlers Like Hacken
schmidt and oarsmen like Young Ter
Eyck. They can never Comeback
II Will James j. Jeffries, however, provo