The Alaska citizen., 1912-01-15


 space Of two years is going some says Otto Floto Yet such is the record of Cyclone Johnny Thompson. It's just about two years ago I saw him battle with Packey Mcfarland al the Hippodrome in Kansas City. This morning mail brought a letter from Hugh Mcintosh in which he states that he Contemplates match ing Iangford and Thompson during the winter Since that letter was mailed the wires confirm the match. ing of the men.
 Just by what process Thompson has accumulated flesh enough to al low him 10 enter the middle and heavyweigh divisions of puglism is mystery Yet he is there with the poundage and those who are close to him and have seen him on he scales shortly before he sailed, say he tipped the beam al 1S1 pounds. Whether this added weight will be of any use to him or wheth- CT it will act as a drawback is still 10 be decided IL really helped him when he fought and defeated Billy papke and 1t also stood him in good stead against Hugo Kelly But it would seem that the added weight would make him slow of foot and would also act in slowing down his speed in boxing
 soft" in going against Langford II the Boston Tar Baby is well. the betting should be about three to one on his chances of winning How ever, strange things happen in the fighting game and a fellow can't tell just what is to occur in bout of this sort until the same has hfen decided On all dope and according 10 all figures. Langford should canter home with the verdict on the knockout circuit
 But what if Thompson should win? Just think of what the world would say. know. IL would cry out "Fake!" from the housetops And yet for all We know of the bat tle it may have been as honest a win on the part Of Thompson as that in arena. However. ] don't look for anything of this sort to happen
 Thompson has never been knock ed out He has fought all kinds cf battles in all kinds of going and under all sorts of conditions. and the pleasure of hearing the band play while he is lying on the floor with the referee tolling the fatal ten over his prostrate form, has not been his 10 date However with Langford l look for the uncx pected 10 occur. It looks now as though the Cyclone would gel what he has been able to avoid fo- years lie $ one of that class of fighters out But that's a joke Any man ip the world can be knocked out if tapped on the vital spot with suf ficient force
 Remember when Tom Sharkey used to say Any man who claims he is knocked out is quitter There is no such thing as a knock out" Then Tom matched himself with young man called Bob Fitz- simmons. and in the second round of that battle Sharkey was kicked somewhere on the point of the jaw by Fitz's right hand. The answer was that Tom lay stretched on the floor while the referee counted hundred instead of the required ten. When he came to himself, he said: Il believe a man can be knocked out" Battling Nelson was another fighter who didn't think that any man Of his own weight could ever make him go down and out This idea was even stronger in Nelson's mind after his battle with Wolgast, when for forty rounds he man. aged to stand on his feet after the hardest sort of bombardment.. How ever, after Owen Moran turned the trick, Nelson now lines up with those who believe that any man can be given the k. o. jolt
 Of all the baseball managers Johnny McGraw will have the task of his life next season in produc- ing a winner for New York. Will he be equal to the emergency? It remains to be seen what lines he takes to develop his team. That there will be trades and other things is certain, for McGraw is a long ways from being a fool He realizes as we'll as the rest of the experts that the present team can not repeat. They showed just how weak they really are during the worlds series. McGrew was prob ably one of the first to take notice of the condition, and he will also be the one whose fertile brain will remodv