The star-independent. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1904-1917, 1915-04-06
JOHNSON THROUGH With
The Prize RING Forever
Former Champion Will Settle Down on
= Farm in France-The New Cham
pion VIII Come Back to States to
Reap Harvest

4 Havana, April Slack johnson, ex-
| lie from his own country, yesterday lost
his claim to fstic fame as the heavy
weight champion of the world, the title
being wrested from him by Jess VIII
Iard. the Kansas cowboy, the biggest
man who ever entered the prize ring
and "white hope" who at last has
made good.
Tomorrow johnson, his wife and 1T
tie group of friends will said for Mar
Sinique, there to await passage back to
France, where johnson purposes settling
down and leading the life of farmer,
raising pigs and chickens. There is no
doubt that he is through with the ring.
g Willard, who is being acclaimed as
The new champion, is going back to the
| limited States to win the fortune which
was denied him yesterday, when John
SON got $4,000 before the fight start
de, Willard taking only a small share
of the net receipts Just what ms snare
was is not known.
Yesterdays fight probably has no
parallel in the history of ring battles.
Ind pounded Willard at will, but his
Blows grew perceptibly less powerful as
fhe fight progressed, until at last he
seemed unable or unwilling to 60 on.
!, johnson stopped leading, and for
three or four rounds the battle between
Che two huge men was little more than
b series of plastic poses of white or
black glsdiators. .
O. =, until Ia tvrn ntN-tiftn rnnnn
when Willard got one of his widely
= Swinging windmill right-hand smashes
10 johnson s heart. This was the begin
ming Of the end.
When the round closed Johnson sent
word to his wife that he was all in and
4old her to start for home. She was on
the way out and was passing the ring
an the twenty round when sting
ing left to the body and cyelonic right
10 the Jaw caused johnson to crumble
ON the floor of the ring, where he lay
partly outside the ropes until the ref
cree counted ten and held up Willard S
hand in token of his newly won laurels.
There was much discussion last night
and probably will be for long time,
among the followers of the fighting
game as to whether johnson was really
knOcktu Utl. III IHt oSusS VI bS1hS
smashed into Inconsistencies, he GER
tainly was not put out.
The consensus of opinion is that
johnson expected and knew that there
was no possibility of his winning, so
when knocked down he chose to take
the count rather than rise and stand
further punishment.
johnson has often stated that fight
:. ! l.. al al
ishly submit to repeated knoekdowns
when ne found he had met his master.
A second or two after Jack Welsh, the
referee, had counted ten johnson got
up. 1t was we'll that he did so, for a
moment later rush of spectators to
tine fighting platform all but smothered
The pugilists.
For an instant it seemed as if trou-
BILE was threatened, but some fifty or
more of the several hundred soldiers
stationed about the fight arena jumped
into the ring and formed circles around
the vanquished and victor.
Under escort of the soldiers Willard
and johnson left the ring and went to
their dressing rooms, while the crowd
cheered and broke into wild discussion
Willard was out of his dressing room
in few moments and in an automo-
bile on his way back to Havana. He
was escorted half way to the city from
tho iMarianao race track where the fight
was held, by troop of Cuban cav.
airy.
Crowds lined the. streets and narrow
roadways, and the new white champion
was loudly eheered. He was decidedly
the favorite of the crowd all through
the fight, and last night was the hero
of the island.
Automobiles returning to the city
from the fight flew white flags anC
thus the news spread far and wide tina
the white challenger had beaten thu
negro champion. As Willard came
along the crowds in the streets waved
flags and linen handkerchiefs tied t,
sticks. At one point group of negro
children, who had evidently heard tina
Johnson was the victor, waved blacl
flags at the white champion, who wa
much amused
Willard probably is the most modes
champion who ever stepped out of ;
prize ring, taking his victory at philo
sophically as he had looked forward t,
the fight. Neither he nor johnson show
ed much evidence of having been en-
gagged in heavyweight championship
battle. The new champions IS lip, righ
ear and left cheek showed slight cuts
but at no time was there more than
drop or two of blood in evidence. II
this respect the fight was in contras
to the Johnson-J Jeffries fight at Rem
five years ago when Jeffries was cut t.
pieces and blood splashed over the spec
tators at the ringside.
On the contrary no fight between
heavyweights that has gone to a finisl
was cleaner or less brutal. johnson
left eye was partly closed in the earl,
rounds, but not sufficiently to interfer
with his fighting. His lip also was Gu
inside, and his famous golden smil
flashed from very red setting
In many respects the fight resulte,
just as many predicted, Willard and hi
friends particularly prophesying that i
the battle lasted 20 rounds johnson