The Sentinel=record., 1915-04-03
ODDS ON JOHNSON
 ARE CUT DOWN
OPINION PREVAILS THAT THE CHAMPION IS NOT IN THE BEST
 PHYSICAL CONDITION.
By the Time the Men Enter the Ring the Indications Are That the Bet tnq Win Be Even--Johnson' Man a9er Refuses to Give Odds.

tween heavy doWnpours of ram for their championship fight on Monday The storm and a high wind made the task unpleasant. The roadwork in the early morning was light owing to| the wet and slippery roads Their exercise at the afternoon exhibitions was Of d harder nature, particularly in the case of Willard.
 The challenger went through hts stunt in a sawdist-coyered ring before a large holiday crowd, each of whom paid 40 cents admission. Willard boxed three rounds each with Hemp hiu. Savage and Monahan. showing unusually good form. His infiehting was the best he had shown thus far He tried using the crouch this after noon He was fast with his left. oc casionally using his right and slugged Savage and Monalan at times. After the boxing he Nrested and threw the medicine ball.
 Johnson worked this afternoon be- fore a moving picture machine, de. seIting the regular ring for a re strlcted space on the floor. He boxed eight rounds with Mills, Scott and Bell. His final round which was with Bell. lasted eight minutes. and the champion joked with the specta tors as he finished showing no sign of eXhau stion. Johnson's masterly al Havana people.
 There is much uneasiness among members of tae fight syndicate over Johnson's intention to box Sam Me. Ney six rounds on Saturday. A par ently no amount of argument can change the champions mind He says that those of the public who have bet on him are entitled .o get a final line on his fine condition The bout Saturday, he asserts, of course, will not be a fight but hard. fast exhibition. He declares that as champion he can and should be able | to protect himself against all corners at all times, and that if he could not, | he should retire and give others a chance at the title Johnson said he broke his arm on Jim Johnson and
 then couldn't be defeated There is no chance of his being injured by Me Ney, he believes.
 | McNey says he wants to return to | France with Johnson, where he eX- | poets if Johnson is still champion he | will turn the title over to him when he announces his retirecent from the
 ring. Johnson states that he will re- | tire but is not certain that he will give the championship to McVey as Jim Jeffries did to Marvin Hart.
 The champions continued improve ment with the little public work which he has done has given rise to story of secret training, which Johnson denies with laugh. It is reported that he was seen boxing on his roof at daybreak with McVey, but
 the latter also denies the report
 When advised by his friends to do
 more work, Johnson replied
 T am the best judge of my condi. ton and l am satisfied. 1 know that
 | can fight three hours at a stretch ! if necessary
 Some of the fight followers say
 they are not sure whether Johnson is in such good shape as he claims. They say that while the champion is fit in appearance they cannot tell his actual physical condition since they l have not seen him in a test fight. They assert that they are sure he Is slower on the offensive and defens @ l than he was when he fought Jeffries at Reno in 1910. The battle, they be lieve, will go 20 rounds at least and they express the opinion that Willard
 will enter the ring an even money | favorite.
 Many packers of Johnson apparent. | ly are not anxious for bets and Will lard's followers are gaining conf. aence as a result. Requests for a 8 to odds last week dropped today to eight to five Tom Flanagan, John sons chief adviser and former man. ager refused to give these odds. He says ne has much money to bet but ! OAAtg ob bNNh bNA AAAoi anu NlAA 6Gt lA0ob before Monday
 The continued rain is worrying the promoters but the fight is sure to be held on the date set, the pugilists. if necessary, fighting under a canopy. l This would mean no moving pictures, entailing a great decrease in the | profits. The moving picture men say there is no question but that they | will show the films all over the world if Willard wins, owing to the popular demand. It rained hard at times dur ing the day and the natives say that the storm may continue for several 1 days.
 The American fight followers are arriving on every steamer The Key West boat which arrived late today, having been delayed by the storm, had 250 fight fans on board. The steamers are making special trips as
 fast as they can cover the route.
 The hotel headquarters for Ameli
 cans report that all reservations have
 been booked The scenes in the lob