El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1915-04-14

led and unQerJralned body. Johnson
| fought as he never fought before. car
| rying the attack into the enemv's ter
ritory. Willard replied with counters
| and allowed the black to tire himself
/ out Then when the sledge hammer
blows began to lack weight willard {
| pulses quickened perceptiblv and he
J started on the last lap Of the cam
! paign to which he had cIung so
] tenaciously.
1t cannot be classed as one OF the
1 great battles for the heavyweight title.
( 1t was too methodical for that Some Of
/ the rounds saw scarcely any fighting
i at all But the air was so surcharged
] with excitement and there was such a
l dramatic tinge to the grim determina-
] ton Of the towering Willard and the
[ sudden end which began to forecast it.
self a few rounds earlier that the
( crowd forgot all about the tagging
/ periods.
johnson beat himself. said many. but
/ il must not be forgotten that the fallen
champion taxed his skill to the utmost
before his strength began to ebb His
blows did not carry the old steam.
TO be sure, and his judgment Of dis
lance was bad at times but his brain
was alert as ever and he had all his
old knowledge Of every angle Of the
game Of fisticuffs.
Ringsiders Amazed.
That some Of his blows did not .opple
the young giant amazed the ringsfders
/ as they saw them land flush on VII
lard's jaw This also had a dispiriting
erect on johnson himself. But, al
though Wizards knees sagged n score
OF times and he seemed about to 90
down under a rain of blows he ALWAYS
managed TO keep mis- feet This was the
triumph Of youth and right living
Forty-five minutes late. Johnson and
his party, including Tom Flanagan,
GeorSe Monroe and a horde OF bucket
holders ana towel wielders. made their
way 10 the ring Willard and his en-
tourage followed a few minutes later
the only preliminaries after the men
donned their gloves was a pretended
conference IN the center Of the ring
Win re1eree WEIGH This was for the
benefit OF the battery Of moving pic
ture machines. Of which there were
five The principals had met earlier
with Welch in their dressing rooms,
where the question of rules was gone
over carefully
White Man awkward I'm Contrast.
The men shook hands. the bell
changed and the history making fight
was under way Johnson started a left
Jab, which fell short because he merely
was attempting to draw Willard on. but
the white man jerked his head back
and tented very deliberately, so much
so IN TACT that 1t caused a laugh. But
this merely was a fOrerunner Of what
was TO follow many, many times John
son walked in close and Willard fairly
1ell into a clinch- Johnson tried to IN
percut as the hugging match was re
the negro began 10 dance about, jab-
bling with his left and shooting the
right for Wizards head without doing
any damage Even this slight exertiOn
started Johnson 10 putting and he said
to his seconds during the minute re-
spite that he was going TO box slow
for a time.
For the next few rounds Willard con-
unued cautious and worked largely on
the defensive, making most OF his play
Tor The negrO's corpulent stomach when
they came close enough 10 take a
chance without exposing his jaw. John
son also was crafty. but let go a few
vicious swings that rocked Wizards
head Not making any great amount of
neadWay by this method Johnson cut
loose in the fifth and started TO rough
It he soon found that he had met his
equal in strength and could not man
handle Willard as he did Jeffries and
some Of his earlier opponents
One left that found the pit Of Jess
stomach made him vince and hold his
guard low as though the blow hurt
Johnson lowered his arms for mo-
ment and made some gibe, but the
white refused to be drawn in. OF a
sudden johnson made a sudden dash
that carried Willard to the ropes. VIII
lard's hands grew busy in the enforced
exchange and Jack emerged with a |
mouth Emboldened by the /
sight Willard caught Johnson with a /
right clout on the side OF the head
just as the bell rang.
Negro Metes Out Punishment.
Johnson was breathing hard when /
they resumed. but he lost no time in i
leaping out of his corner and swinging /
with both hands. Willard took consid- !
cradle punishment in this session. His 4
hurts included a cut cheekbone from i
one Of JOhnsOn's swings that landed 4
high. This sting seemed to arouse him i
and he showed a sudden rally. but went 1
back to his waiting tactics a moment /
later
In the seventh round Willard's body
began to show mottled red spots from /
the tattoo Of blows which Johnson ]
5noWered in seeming desperation. In
stead Of jabbing and awaiting an open
ng for his right, johnson again began /
70 fail away with both hands. VIII
ard merely jabbed back and a trace
II crimson appeared from the Negroes j
mouth Every time the color appeared /
L seemed to stir Willard from his
In the eighth round he let I
Nv one Of his occasional leads and as |
lis right hand grazed JOhnson's head
[ threw him off his balance and he
vent Ioundering.
Johnson's efforts began to tire him
Is early as the ninth round He was |
blowing hard and began TO look so
Worried that one enthusiast waved a /
oil Of breenbaclzs and offered TO bet I
500 to $500 that Willard would win. I
This shout Of defiance was lost IN the
sries Of encouragement 70 the two
lighters
johnson kept Up an offensive in the
9th period that merely made Willard
little more cautious and ended with
Tut gaining the black much advantage /
)nce he got through Wizards guard
With his famous right punch, brought
rom far back Willard rocked but did
lot turn a hair and Johnson was so
uriOus that he rushed and carried the !
white man 10 the ropes without land
ng a single clean blow. Both rested
ID in the 18th. which had little real
.cton- Johnson continually tainted
lis opponent in a low tone Presumably
his was a vOlley Of abuse, but it failed
4 its purpose, for Willard made no re-
lly nor did he alter his tactics IN the
degree
VictOr's Gameness Tested.
The 18th was one Of the best rounds
Johnson showed His old skill was in !
violence and he boxed with greater
recession Willard jabbed in reply to a
ozen well placed blows and the white
mans face was smeared with red when
lie went TO his corner Wizards game
Z