Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1914-12-13
PUGILISM SEES CHANGES
Ring Sport Varies as Time Goes on
and Conditions Are Altered.
MANY ARE AFTER LANGFoRD
Once Terror I'm Heavyweight Circles
IL Now Being sought out by
white Hope Aspiranss from
All over Country.
ny RINGsIDE.

NEW YORK. Dec. 12.--Time and custom
change IN pugiiism. as they do In every
other walk of life. This Ia typifIed b,
events OF the last week, insofar as San
Langford Is concerned For the frs
time In his ring career, the engine Of the
black dynasty In pugilism Is literally
swamped with challenges.
Langford has ever been a bugaboo e
aspiring white heavyweights. Those
Caucasions who had pretensions to pre-.
inier honors avoided the Langford per.
son as they would the plague. One never
heard OF q white hope" Being rash
enough to hurl a def at Langford and
mean II.
II does not require an elastic magma
ton TO reason out why Langford was
thus carefully Stunned. UNFORTUNATELY
for them. he was the possessor OF a
peculiar right Jolt that traversed less than
six inches. and meant the rulnaton OF
what boxing ambitions the recipient ever
cherished
But. as we remarked in the introduce
tory sentence. time and custom change
even In the boxing game. SO we now
hear Of Langford being challenged at he
never was challenged before
The reasonf Well. the white heavy
weights have a faint suspicion that the
LanEford OF 1914 Is not the Langford OF
last year. or, other years. What this
suspicion Is the fact that In his bout
with Harry Wills. the wilIowy ana
dusky heavyweight. Langford was
floored no less that four times In the
first two rounds. Also Sam was so be-
fuddled at the end OF the second round
that the black death" had to be
directed to his corner
jaw Punch Effective.
Up to the time Langford eoIiided with
Mr.. Wills. Thams jaw was thought to be
impervtous to any bombardment OF
blows directed at his medulls obloggata.
But since Wills has demonstrated that
Langford can be knocked down with a
punch TO tho jaw-and the feat per-
formed four times IN six mlnutes-the
white heavyweights are fairly stepping
on one another's eorns In their haste to
have their challenges reach Mr.. Lang
ford first
Even Jess willard, is on the trail OF
Langford. When Il was first announced
that Willard had signed with Johnson
Tor championship battle, Il was also
divuiged that Willard would not taxa
part In any other bout until after the
johnson fracas. But since the wills az
FAIR. Willard has openly declared war ON
Langford. and has expressed supreme
confidence in his ability TO make Than
close his eyes and be obliyious of his
SURROUNDINGS for at least ten seconds
during the course OF the encounter.
And then there il rGunboaf. smith
who has been a dead issue since Lang
ford slowed him away in two rounds up
in Boston a few weeks back. The
''oooner"-now looked upon as The
''G0ner'-was so ashamed OF being
knocked iifeless for brief spell by Lang
ford that he went into hiding and could
not be located until the Langford up.
heaval by Wills.
Not 10 forget Carl Morris. who was
supposed 20 be back al his old engineer
Ing Job out in that dear Tulsa. Okla
Morris has resurrected himself for the
occasion and win not be denied IN hurl-
Ing 4 challenge at poor. old dilapidated
Thammy
Others VIII show Up.
II there are any other white heavy
weights not mentioned, as challeneers
OF I.angford AZ the present moment,
you are sure 20 hear from them In the
Immediate future. Not one Of them Is
going 70 overlook the chancc 20 chai-