The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-02-13
(By James J. Corbett. Hormer Heavy
 weight Champion Of the World) .s
Special to The. Farmer9 x

only three weeks away-if the man agement intends to pull it off on | March 6-tIe fight fans would be taking greater interest in the affair were the champion on the scene of battle. While the promoters conf dently assert that Jack will be John ny on the spot the fight bugs are from Missouri and want to be shown. Of course, 1t is difficult of belief that such a shrewd promoter as Jack Curley would be wasting his time and money on a proposition that was so far up in the air as this match sap- pears to be at this writing. There fore those who know Curley well have faith in his statement that Johnson will be in Juarez on schedule time ready to defend his title against will Trad. However, until such time arr rives the fans will hardly take the thatsconditions make it i'm operative for Johnson to sneak into Mexico, but as l it is the belief that General Carranza. will prevent his landing if he can, such methods are absolutely neces- sary.
 But until Johnson does arrive, and \ the fact is made public, there will be little interest, and no betting. on the bout In this country.
 Without trying to hedge in any way to boost Jess Willard.s chances in the coming battle--for on. the dope they look mighty lSlim-the fact should not be forgotten that the ex-cowboy is not facing a world beater in Jack Johnson. However, the impr ression i seems to prevail that Johnson is un-
 beatab1e, though if anyone will take the time to figure out just what Johnson has accom- p1ished during his
 entire career he will quickly arrive at l a conclusion that so far the big smoke has not beaten a real first class man 1a<7 st hi 1 Johnson and Willard are matched
 to go forty-f1ve rounds. Unless John .son. and he has never yet won a bat tie in jig time, cops Jess early in the
 melee, the KansaIl's chances will be l growing greater with every clang fof
 the gong signifying a round is over. Fsorty-f1ve rounds are consid erable fighting these days. If Willard can Eget through, say a dozen rounds, without. being badly hurt, the light
 may develop into an endurance con
 test. And in the matter of condition,
 figuring age, dissipation, etc, Willard ought to have a big edge on his col- ored opponent. Johnson is in his Ithirty-seventh year, and has gone a pretty swift pace the last four or l five. Willard is ten wears younger and don't know what the word dis lasipaffon means so far as IraLeticing B it I in any of its many forms. Therefore if the battle does simmer down into | a. on his feet for two hours and a quar- ter. the odds will be in favor of the
 white.
 Another thing, Willard can hit and | hit hard too. think he can de1iver
 a much harder punch than Johnson can. Of course, having a punch and i knowing how to land it are two diff ferent things and that is where John son has the edge--in c1everness and experience. But if Willard lights on lthe defensive for dozen or more rounds, Johnson,s chances to get in
 simmer and simmer as the fight
 grows older.
 Many believe Johnson will fall be-
 fore the first real good man who meets him. But few regard Willard as good man. If Jack were to battle Sam Langford believe that the I Boston tar baby would be the favorite in the betting. And when we recol- lect that Frank Moran stayed the limit of twenty rounds with the cham pion last summer, it will not be sur prising if Willard. a much better man leveryway than the Pittsburgher, Isticks the forty-hve-if he doesn't do any more.
 Taking the records of the two men and comparing them, what do we get. Nothing that would give Willard a l1ook-in, but Jess has never fought Langford, Jeannette or McVey pop
 u1arly looked upon as the only first class men besides the champion, and there is no telling just how good he is. He has done nearly everything asked of him with the single excep- ton of beating Gunboat Smith, and if they were to meet tomorrow the chances are that Jess wouldn't find it
 very much of task to deliver the goods.
 l There are many fans who will back
 8 champion any time he stars regard less. But those who follow the game
 closely know that the sure thing in the betting is not always the sure thing in the fight Although, I, like all experts who figure a fighter $
 chances oh his known form, can't nat Il ural1y give Willard chance on the i hope, on g common sense basis we
 must not figure him entirely out of
 tn running. If Willard takes the de-
 fensive throughout and compels the of emerging the winner will be con
 stderably enhanced.
 It will be an unfortunate thing if
 interruptions promoters and managers are to be allowed to! meddle in box ing affairs in Hanava, Cuba, as it now appears they are doing. It was only
 a couple o weeks ago word was sent here that George M. Bract, of Ha- fyana, had matched Sam Langford and Sam McVey to box twenty rounds at
 the opening of his new club. Last } week we were told that the colored
 men would not meet and that Young Ahearn and Willie Lewis, the veteran,
 would box instead on February 13. don't know MT. Bract, but if he is trying in good faith t. develop the
 sport in Suba, then someone is put ting something across on him. Young Ahearn and Lewis are both under Dan McKettrick's managemeNt. Lewis was supposed to have retired.
 But that is not all. Local papers announced that the winner of
 the Lewis-AhearnS bout will be
 matched with Al Mccoy, so-caIled champion of the n1idd1e-weight di-
 vision. Mccoy is managed by Dan nv Morgan a nal and business asso-