The Washington herald., 1915-04-19
Willard D|DNOI
KAYO JOHNSON
Tom Flanagan Says Big Negro
Fought Himself Tired and
Then Flopped.
AGE ANDPOOR CONDITION
Factors that Defeated Ex-Champion
and Not Kansas Cowboys
Punches.
AGE ANDPOOR CONDITION

"All this talk about Willard's left
risht-left putting Jack johnson away
cold is all poppy-cock." declared Tom
Flanagan upon his return to Toronto
from the Havana fight. according to
the Ottawa Free Press. johnson was
no more knocked out than / was. He
wasn't even knocked down. He was
| simply hog fat. and couldn't so the
route with a big. strong boy like Jess
WILLARD. He simply fought himself to
a standstilI, and when he was so tired
he could scarcely stand up Willard
rushed at him. bumped into him. and
knocked him down. and he stayed
down. He knew he had no chance. and
| so he allowed himself to be counted
out.
II want to tell you that for nineteen
rounds Willard practically never laid
! glove on the old bla, :, master. He
couldn't. 1t was marvellous the work
the old boy did in spite Of his condi-
ton. Why willard couldn't have hit
him with a handful of shot as long as
his condition lasted. The old boy
simply failed that big Willard right
and left with both hands any time he
wanted to. but he couldn't stop him.
He only grunted and stood around and
took some more. The punches never
phdScu OohHSoh tIIcu ever lHlnR
he knew. and he couldn't put Willard
down. The big cowboy simply stood
up in the attitude of O. fighter. took
what Johnson had to hand him, defend
ed himself as best he could, and just
waited for the champion to wear him
self out. He could have won in the
nineteenth round If he had known it,
At the nineteenth round Johnson's
gloves weighed a ton each. He was
hat ha l..
chair without assistance by his sec
onds. His hands were dropped down
to the level Of his hips. He couldn't
get them up. so the old boy propped
himself. opened out a big smile, and
waited.
1T was a great stall. willards Sec
onds yelled frantically: Don't go near
him. Jess; he's stalling and waiting for
you They simply screeched at the big
fellow. and you bet your life willard
stayed away. II the ring had been
quarter mile around he would have
been half way across it. Well, the old
black boy stalled and gained strength.
and had something left for the twenty
second and twenty-third, but he said to
me at the end of the twenty-fourth:
I'm gone-what will 1 do?' Say, when
he said that I want to tell you think
i dropped tear. He took his lacing
gamely. and when Willard rushed into
him in the twenty-sixth round and fell
on him he simply doubled up and went
down and stayed. He might have tot
tered to his feet. but what was the use?
Willard had exploded his stall, and It
was only a case OF measuring out the
punch"
= Johnson's Lack Of Condition.
What beat Johnson"
His age and his lack OF real con- |
dition. He was IS years and five days |
old. and he weighed 239 pounds not |
226 pounds. as announced. He was hog
fat. AS soon as I saw him knew that |
he was not in condition, and his only |
chance was to win under fifteen rounds. |
He certainly tried hard to put that big |
fellow away. but he was like a piece |
of mahogany"
why didn't Johnson get in shape?"
Well, you know that when a man
gets to be IS years old lie hasn't the
ambition of youngster and does not
like the hard grind Of training"
What delayed the fight
johnson demanded 50 per cent of the
picture profits outside of the
United States and Canada. and he
wouldn't go on until he got an agree
ment to that effect"
What will he do now"
Go back to France and live as a
farmer"
Has he any money"
81 think he is worth $4,000 or
500, 000." was the reply. !
What sort of chap is Willard
Say, il he came in and signed his
name on my hotel register and I didn't /
know him, I would go up and show him
how to turn on and Off the gas" said
Flanagan. He is a great big good
natured country boy. and looks no more
like a prize fighter than I do like a
in Childs. He is game. tough,
and cool. and he won simply because
he is hard to hurt. and he did abso-
utely as ne was told. II Johnson had
been the johnson of Reno he would
have whipped him with a glove on one
hand ard a cream puff in the other"