The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1909-11-17

IaAtIornIas not only neBleCTGu phyelCai
exercise during his long Iayoff. but al
so drank steadily. He did not lmbibe
TO excess, but at the same time he
denied himself nothing. He did not
refuse a glass OF wine or highball
when invited to Join his friends.
neither did he refrain from treating
them ION the house." Living in this
manner, JefFTiea took ON flesh, until a
year ago, according to reliable infor-
nation, he weighed 265 pounds. He
seldom INDUCED in running or long
distance walks, and went for months
at a time without putting on the
gloves. He was hog fat and short Of
wind when he began training" last
March. ad even his best friends did
not believe that he could recover his
old form
Jeffries, however, went about the
task Of seducing himself in the proper
way. He began daily exercise grad
ually He changed his method Of liv-
ing radically. He cut out liquor, Sc
lected 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
off the fat, slowly, but surely. As he
stands today Jeffrfes. as far as OUT
ward appearances go, looks as well
trained and as rugged as In the days
OF conquest. He says he feels strong
and able to stand q hard fight. In
boxing with partner he seems TO step
around with the same agility that made
Corbett pronounce him "the fastest
man OF mis- weight and inches in the
world" Hs seems to be able to punch
with the old power and he certainly
knows as much about ring tactics as he
ever did.
JefFries admits privately, however,
that HIS chief fault is lack of wind.
He appears TO tire quickly after few
vigorous rounds and puffs like gram
pus. Yet he says that when real nard
training begins this defect will be
easily remedied. He knows that
Iohnson's defense will prolong the fight
and for that reason he say that he
must have enough stamina to so the
route with the negro. JEFF has a host
of supporters who believe that he will
come back and put Johnson away.
One of them in predicting the out
come of tn mill said recently:
Johnson has never beaten a first
class man. In Burns and Ketchel he
beat a pair OF midgets who are just
good middleweights. When he meets
JEFF he'll have a men before him In
the ring who Is taller and heavier, also
stronger, a harder hitter and more
game. Johnson will find 1t impossible
to throw JEFF around in the clinches
with his punches. jeff on the other
nand can hit hard enough to put John
son out in Jig time IL he gets an open
ing. The boilermaker is not fool,
and IL he thought for an instant that
he could not whip Johnson he wouldn't
fight him. Jeffries has taken MS own
time abou. reducing lis bulk and he
intends to do lot Of hard training be-
fore he enters the ring. H. doesn't
think much Of Johnson anyway and Is
going ahead with perfect confidence.
He is light enough now to fight any
man. It's only his wind that is
bothering him. A few months In the
mountains of California will fix that
all right and then you'll see the same
old jeff, big and strong, with punch
that will put an end to this contro-
versy"
Looking back through sporting his
tory many instances can be found OF
athletes who failed to come back"
John l.. Sullivan after beating Jake
Kilrain loafed for three years before
meeting Corbett and then proved to be
all in. Only year ago Kid Mccoy
after long layoff tried to come
back" in a bout with Jim Stewart, a
second rater, and was a pitifA failure.
, Tod Sloan. one Of the greatest Jockeys
that ever lived, after remaining on the
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 not
| been idle for more than year Man
ager McGraw believes that he has lost
his grip end can never be the Giants
mainstay again. Joe Corbett, once a
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 gridiron
| this faM could quit the game for three
years and ten snow the old prowess
| II is the same thing with sprinters like
Bernie wefers, wrestlers like Hacken-
schmidt and oarsmen like young Ten
Eyck They can never come back. "
Will James j. Jeffries, however, prove
an exception.
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