Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-11-28
LITTLE SENTIMENT
IN FIGHTING GAME
Ieffries and Johnson Not to Be
Blamed for Making
Extra Money.
By Bill Blunt.
of The Star.

Special Correspondence OF 1 ne HIaI-
NEW YORK, November 81. 1909.
A number of writer's. especially in the
west. have taken a fall out of Jeffries
because he decided to put in few weeks
on the stage instead of Immediately piung-
ing into a strenuous course OF training.
They have absolutely no grounds for pam
ming him on that score. First OF ALL IL
should be remembered that fighting IS
business the same as ball playing. Fight
ers are in the game for the money there
is in it and not for sentimental reasons
If any of them have adopted the pfo1es-
sion solely through noble or artlstlc 1eei'
,nss they have taken great care that the
fact did not becom. generally known. a
fighter Is Influenced chiefly by desire
To gain a monetary reward and to add
tn his reputation Once he has the repu-
tation the money follows-but 1t is a
tough joh to gain the reputation. He has
to do lot of fighting for it If it is to be
lasting Here and there a lucky punch
in a fight may make fighter renowned
hut such fame is feeting. For instance
like the time Jack Mccormick leaned
that havmaker on Kid McCoy's chm III
Chicago and made the whole sporting
would sit I'D In wonder. He did not have
the ability to sustain the reputation ne
gained in a night, and it was but a monti
later that Mccoy gave him terrloIe
beating in this city. The protesslona
and they are entitled to all they get. IL
10 seldom they get any real soft money
In fight
= x x X X =
The money they get on the stage Is
easy in that they are not runnins any
risk of being defeated. AS 1T is the Gus
tom for all prominent boxers to take a
whirl at stage life, why roast Jeffrles Tor
doing what every heavyweight OF note
the mast twenty years has done? Every
single one of them has picked up this
stage money from SullivanS time DOWN
It is generally looked upon as an emoiu-
ment to which the prominent boxer Is
entitled between fights. Jeffries and
Johnson are supposed to fight July 4
more than seven months off. What dc
the malcontents expect Jeff to DO be-
tween now and the date of the hght-
lounge about sucking his thumbs? Sure
w no one who knows the first rudlmehts
of glove fighting can expect him to start
in training at this early day-that Is, re-
pair to the training quarters and go
through the regular routine every day
Such a course would be suicidal. ana py
the time the date for the fight arrived
he would be stale as fish and more iii
for the doctors shop than the prize ring
Jeffries doesn't need seven months train
ing, or half that much. He has done q
lot of work SO far in quiet way, and
is by no means the numbering hulk he
was six months ago. He is doing some
work every day and his condition is i'm
proving every day. He will be in pretty
fair shape by the spring, and after he
starts in actual training 1T shouldn't re-
weeks will fit him as fine as he can get
because he will have had the benefit OF
the long course of temperate preparation
Seven months arduouS training would be
downright ridiculous and would kill his
chances for victory as effectually as
though he entered the ring with hands
tied.
j !: =
There is one angle to the coming fight
that has occurred to but few; 1t will be a
hard matter, barring accidents, to keep
Johnson out of the championship ir-
respective Of how his fight with
Jeffries terminates 1t is dollars to
thin air that Jeff would retire even
though he defeated Johnson. Every
body knows the tremendous effort
it took for him to agree to fight this one
and the influence that was brought to
bear 1t isn't likely he would care to go
through it all again. Say for argument
sake he won and then retired AS ring
ethics would forbid him taking his cham
pionship into retirement with him, there
would be but one thing left for him to do,
cast his title into the open and permit
the other heavyweights to battle for 1t.
That is where Johnson's chance would
come in He could lay claim to the cham
pionship and agree to fight all Corners in
it's defense. Today there doesn't seem to
be any heavyweight able to take his
measure. Looks as though it would be
pretty easy for him. He has beaten
Ketchel, Kaufman, Burns. Ross. Jeanette.
Langforf and about everybody else who
classes at all. There aren't any new
Corners on the horizon who look promis-
ing and the present crop won't do against