Newark evening star and Newark advertiser., 1915-04-07

round he was weak, mucn weaker,
apparently, than he seemed to he.
Then and there he decided that he
could not win, and that his career as
champion was nearly over. He felt
keenly, no doubt, his cherished title
slipping away, and he know, in a
round or two at the most, he would
be stretched out on the canvas-cov-
cred floor of the ring pitiable sight
for anyone who might care for him.
so when this great, big black Fellow
brute, as some would call him-came
back to his corner after the twenty
fourth round he sent for Jack Curley,
the promoter, and asked would he
kindly take his white wife out of the
enclosure so that she would not see
him go down into the ignominy of
defeat. Curley went Immediately to
the box where Mrs. Johnson was sit
ting and sent an escort with her out
of the race track in which the fight
was held. During part of the next
round Mrs Johnson was still in the
arena. but as soon as she was out of
sight Johnson seemed more satisfied.
He took pretty fair whipping in the
twenty-fifth round and early in the
twenty-sixth round he looked over at
the box where his wife had been sit
ting, and few seconds later Willard
sent the fatal punch to his jaw and
Johnson went down-beaten and
knocked out.
"I felt myself going" the big black
said, land I didn't want the lady to
be there when it happened"
Just think this over, gentle read
ers, and decide If there isn't some-
thing about Jack Johnson that de-
serves commendation.
o
Already calculations are being made
how long Jess Willard will retain the
championship. Some say only until
he fights again, and others say he
will be the champion for years and
years. Johnson has had several
nice things to say about his
conqueror, and Jack predicts he
will be the champion as long
as he wants to hold it. The fight
for the championship is always a
hard one, and it is q troublesome
honor. We have had some pretty
good champions in our day, and Will
lard, as big gawk, as big boob, as
he appears to be, he is not the worst of
our champions by any means. We
have known the champions well since
John L. Sullivan's time, and we will
say, to please a good many admirers
of the old fellow, that John L. was
a great man. We do know that Cor
bett, who won the title from Sullivan,
was responsible for the tremendous
growth of boxing and for the wide
popularity Of boxing, and the game
would be in better repute today If
boxers of the Corbett type follow Cor
bett to the championship chair. Fitz-
simmons came next, was a fighter
pure and simple. He was little man
with a big wallop, and 1t was his GUS
tom to knock opponents cold with
ease. Then followed
Jeffries-big, ungainly and early in
his career; unclever Jeffries. How
ever, he eventually became SO su-
perior that he could not find op-
ponents and he gave his title over
to Marvin Hart, who, in turn, lost it
to Tommy Burns, another fnisnomer.
Johnson taunted Burns into a match
and the big black beat him and the
public called upon Jeffries to come
out and fight Johnson and win the
championship back to the white race.
That Is history, and so, now In the
defeat of Johnson and the crowning
Of Willard as the present king. Here
is little table showing the success