The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-01-10
fBy James J. Corbett, Former Heavy
 weight chanpaon of the World.1
fanacial to the Earmer,

weight Champion of the World.l dapecial to the Earmer.)
 New York, Jan. 1u. = By beating Tommy Burns highly tnuted fighter, Arthur Pelkey, Gunhoat Smith has strengthened his position as one of the, leaders of the heavy-weight divtslensi But until he disposes of big Jess Will. lard thep reas and public win hard-s H conc4de hi suathe title of white champion.
 Willard in knocking out the Buffalo aspirant. One Round Davis, and more recently George RodeI. the Boer, has done his share in bringing the white hope situation to a point where a battle between Smith and himself will satisfactorily determine the question of the best big man in Atnerican pn- gi1isrn.
 Willard occupaes q peculiar posi- ton in the game At times he shapes up as the best big man who has been
 uncovered in the past three years, and at others his work is decidedly medi- ocre.. But the same thing can also be said of his rival. the Gunboat- Smith shows flashes of real class now and thens and also pulls an occasional performance that makes him look an eligible for the 11bona head" club. Against Carl Morris the Gun boat must have known that his ruslzes against a man outweighing him fifty pounds would hardly help his cham ces. Still every round found him takinsa head-on collision with the gi7 eantfc Oklaho1nan, and gradually growing weaker from the efforts 1t cost him. Finally, and it was appa- rently a lucky thing for Afr. Smith, E the eagIe-eyed referee caught Nor ris hitting below the belt. and stopped for the Gunhoat. Judging from ap- | nearancea If ever boxer looked ready to lay down and curl up for the rest Of the evening Gunboat Smith was the gent,
 Strange that while Carl Morris is regarded as a bis dub who will new CT know enough Of the finer points of the game to get htfn anything, he manages to give the leading hopes an awful time of 1t when they get in the Smith .down when he pulled the .sbone" and atruck the Gunner amid ships. Not from punishHnent he had administered with his fsEs. for Carl, while possessing pair of nusrular arms, never seena to know what to do with ttern--~but simply by force of superior weight and bulk, by Iean71 ling on his smaller opponent whenever the opportunity offer red-Which was
 half dozen times or more in each tround.
 When he clashed with Willard a few
 weeks later Jess fought his worst bat tie. It looked to me at the time thar Willard could have ended the affair almost any time he cared to. hut he refused to extend himself. Now and then he cut loose a few healthy wal-s Tops and on each such occasion 1t looked like 'tcurtairs.' for Morris But Willard would fall to follow up his ladvantages. seemingly content to win on points. Evidently the newspaper criticism 4eveled at him must have
 had its effect, however. for he has
 won two battles with knoek-outs since then, stopping One Round Davis in Jis time and the tough Roer Rodei in nine rounds.
 he is going abroad after Jack Jonn- son If he does take the trip # Will probably be in search of easier game. Georges Carpenter is the man he .s really after; Johnson will keep. Jim Buckley, who manages Smith. is Ear from a. sucker in the game of match | uaking and doubt if he would send his man after the champion, even were that gentleman In the mood to consider challengea, while such 8 soft
 proposition as Monsieur Carpentier awaits.
 WiliarRs enormous bulk, his mighty punch, and a very good de. fense make him look the class of the white division in spite of the fact that
 
 twenty round bout San Francisco critics who reported that fight refus- ed to endorse the decision of the ref 1 cree, insisting that the worst the giant should have been handed was a draw verdict.
 doubt if there is a whiee heavy iii the game who can decisively defeat Willard. Jess might not lick the Gunboat, but it is extremely doubt ful that the Gunner can beat him <14 s4- lrealize that fighting is q business, and 1 inject a little more aggressiveness in- 1 to his style of milling, I will not be
 surprised to see him clean up all op-
 position, not excepting the formidable
 MT. Samuel Langford, otherwise the
 white hope destroyer.,'
 Willard has almost everything need ed to make champion except the fighting spirit. It remains to be 1 seen whether he can be taught that important part of the game. If he l can he ought to become the cham
 pion of the world in the course of an- other year or two.
 AS for Pelkey, he simply will not do.
 was not surprised at Smiths victory, although disappointed at the length of time 1t took. There was nothing in Arthur's record on which one could figure him q winner over the hard
 accident which resulted in Luther McCarty's death last May gave Pelkey
 undeserved notoriety cad place him , in position to demand a match with the best of the other fellows But it ] seems to me Tommy Burns did not use very good judgment in pitting Arthur against the Gunner the first , crack out of the box in seven months Since the McGoorty affair PeIky had
 not been in the ring excepting in friendly exhibitions with his spar
 ring partner or in training for the Smith match. 4 bout or two with. 1ien below the Smith grade would have helped him a great deal more Than all t1,e nraetice stunts and pos