Bisbee daily review., 1915-04-06
CHAMPIONSHIP OF WORLD ID
 WILLARD
Question As to Whether Johnson Was Knocked Completely Out Discussed By Prize Fight Fans.

HAVANA, April 5--Jack Johnson. expelled from his own country. today, lost his claim to fistic fame ss the heavyweight chanpion of the world. the title being wrested from him by Jess Willard, the Kansas cowboy and the biggest man who ever entered a prize ring,
 The fight probably has no parallel in the history of ring battles. For twenty rounds Johnson punched and pounded Willard at will but the blows grew perceptably less powerful as the fight progressed until, at the last, l he seemed unable or unwilling to go on Johnson stopped leading, and for or 4 rounds the battle between the two big men was little more than a | series of plastic poses of white or black gladiators.
 so it was until the twenty-fifth round, when Willard got one of his wild-swinging. windmill, right hand smashes to Johnsons heart. This was the beginning of the end. When the round closed, Johnson sent word to his wife that he was all in and told her to start for home. She was on her way out, and was passing the ring in the twenty-sixth round when sting | ing left to the body and a cyclone right tn the jaw caused Johnson to crumple to the floor of the ring, where he lay partly outside the ropes until the referee counted ten, and held up WiIard's hand as a token of the new l ly won laurels.
 There is much discussion tonight. and probably will be for some time, among followers of the fighting game. as to whether Johnson was really knocked out In the sense of being smashed to unconsciousness, he cer- tainly was not put out.
 The consensus of opinion is that Johnson expected and knew there was no possibility of his winning; so when he was knocked down he chose to take the count rather than rise and stand further punishment.
 Automobiles returning to the city from the fight flew white flags, thus the news was spread far and wide that the white challenger defeated the negro champion. As Willard came along. crowds in the streets waved flags and handkerchiefs tied to sticks. At one point group of negro chil- dren. who evidently had heard John son was the victor, waved a black flag at the white champion, who was much amused.
 Willard was probably the most mod est champion who ever stepped out of a prize ring, taking the victory as philosophicany as he looked forward to the fight. Neither he nor Johnson showed much evidence of having en- gagged in a heavyweight championship battle. Willard's lip, right ear and left cheek showed slight cuts, but at no time was there more than drop or two of blood in evidence.
 In this respect the fight was a great
 contrast with the Johnson-J -Jeffries fight of Reno five years ago when Jef-
 fries was cut to pieces, and blood ! splashed over the spectators at the | ringside Evidently thinking this condition might prevail again today, | Johnson objected to the presence of a white woman in the newspaper seats just outside the ropes and she was l relegated to a place further back On the contrary no fight between heavyweights, that has gone to a tin-
 ish, was cleaner or less brutal John
 ron's left eye was partly closed in
 the early rounds, but not sufficiently to interfere with his fighting. His l lip was also cut inside and his fa-
 nous golden smile flashed from a
 very red setting.
 The end of the fight came with a suddenness that dazed the spectators ] 1t followed two or three rounds of almost complete likeness on the part
 Of the contestants. The crowd had
 settled down to a long drawn out
 struggle and believed 1t would go the full limit of forty-fve rounds without
 eitrer being able to register a knock. out.
 The early rounds were filled with
 flashes Of Johnson's former wonderful
 speed when he would rain rights and
 loits to Willsrd's body and face. de-
 lvering ten blows to one of the big
 white challenger's Through all of
 this, Willard was strictly on the de.
 lensiye and on occasions Johnson
 P aVed with him, once standing with
 his guard down, letting Willard swing
 at him. He would only dodge and
 laugh at the awkwardness of his op- Honent