The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1914-10-28
UP AGAINST TT
Gunboat smith was Whipped When
He Met the Zeal Thing
international News Service Dispatch,
by Frank G. ,Menke

IuhOOdI EoAl&Ll " eaS MEL -IRbO the
ring against real fighter in real
condition AMI Glntoat Smith was
battered to a pulp in the first two
roan1s AMI sent down ana out for
the fusi count n ahe tnlrd.
The suayio.on that many have hal
FOR a year or more aaat sinlah as a
fighter. was a joke proposition has
been confirmed. And when Sam
Langfor1 sent Smith = Fhe mat in
Boston dhe OIL her night he crushed
any ambitions that Smith may have
na1 OF becoming the champion heavy
weight cf the world
Smith put UP a Few cool fights,
but he never put up real exhibit
ton. He neither looked like, nor
acted like a man of championship
calibre. He was lucky-that's all.
He managed to stay On HIS feet
against a few real foes. hut he man
aged 10 turn that trick because he
was shifty ON his feet-beoause he
kept far away from we'll aimed
punches as he could
Something like eight or nine
mcaths ago Eln,eh, fought Langford
AMI the newspaper critics gave the
fan. 70 Smith on points. The vic
terry made Smith cocker than ever.
And it ma lie the general public be-
iieve that Smith really was a fighter.
But one thing shat the public dddn' t
know siaoett the fight was the fact
thai La@ggfcr1 was about 80 pounds
overweight, and so bulky that he had
trouble moving about the ring.
Smiths continual iboasting of his
victory" over Langford piqued the
negro Fighter He gearned for an
other chance at the white hope .
After camping on the trail off Smith
Fer many months he finally caught
up with him and coaxed him into a
match that resulted in the fight in
Boston a week or SO ago.
The Gangfor1 that met Smith that
night was a different Ian giford than
the one he met mine months before.
1T was almost the Langford of old -
the trim, sleek, ag.l Langford 1.-The
Boston Tar Baby trained for that
second fight with Smith. He shed
every ounce of superfious flesh. He
got down to Fighting form Age has
slowed Langforid somewhat, but he
figured that he could ibe about 10
years Older and still win from Smith
And he did win from Smith, in
manner so decisive that 1T left Smith
the ''Alibi King absolutely no
chance to issue forth with an alibi.
1t was a crushing defeat for Smith
and a decisive victory for a negro
fighter who has been called a has
been.
The elimination of Smith as a con-
tender for the heavyweight cham
pionship of the world has not clari-
fed the situation, however. Smith S
defeat has caused Jess Willard to
rush into the glare of the pugiIistic
spotlight and Shrek louder than ev-
er that 81 aim the mantle only
man-who can whip Johnson.
It's a toes up as to which fighter
is the greatest joke Smith or Will
lard-so far as championship cali
bre is concerned. Willard one of the
hugest men that ever donned pair
of boxing gloves, endowed with an
enormous reach and great weight and
endurance lacks the greatest asset
of a real figihter-the fighting spir-
it.
Willard is not a natural fighter
and he never will he a real fighter.
He has been mfngltng in ring en-
gagements for several years. What
has he accomplished? A few knock
outs over dub Cneavyweig hIts who
wouldn't have fared much better
against a rushing lightweight VIII
lard fought Smith a year ago. The
fight was little better than a lburles-
que show. He tackled Carl Morris,
as big as himself, and he seemed to
be afraid TO wade in He was as
clumsy as a sea lion. His punches
hacked steam, his defense was weak
and aggressiyeness was a foreign
quality.
And this is the man who has an
idea that he can whip Johnson,
Willard couldn It whip Smith Lang
ford, not rated nearly as high as
Jack Johnson, turned the trick in
ithree rounds. Where does Willard
enter?
The heavy weight championship
situation, as far as the white race is
concerned, is in just the same situa-
tion as it was in 1910 after johnson
ness. There is not white man in