Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1915-04-13
fBy Latest Mail

HAVANA, April Jack Johnson,
fugitive from his own country, to-
day lost his claim to fstic fame as
the heavyweight champion of the
world. the title being wrested from
him by Jess Willard, the Kansas cow
boy, the biggest man who ever enter.
ed the prize ring.
Today's fight probably has no paral-
lei in the history of ring battles. For
twenty rounds Johnson punched and
pounded Willard at win. but his blows
grew perceptibly less powerful as the
fight progressed, until at last he SEEM
ed unable or unwilling to go on.
johnson stopped leading, and for
three or four rounds the battle be-
tween the two huge men was little
more than q series of plastic poses of
white or black gladiator.
So Il was until the twenty-fifth
round. when Willard got one Of his
widely swinging, windmill righthand
smashes TO Johnson's heart. This was
the beginning of the end. e..
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 the way ont, and was
passing the ring in the twenty-sixth
round when singing left to the
body and cyelonie right to the jaw
caused Johnson TO crnmple on the
floor OF the ring, wehre he lay partly
outside the ropes until the referee
counted ten and held up WIZARDS
hand In token Of his newly won lau-i
rels. - ~.
There is much discussion tonight,
and probably will be for long time,
among the followers of the fighting
game as to whether Johnson was real
~ Knocked out. In the sense Of being
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 win
ming, so when knocked down he chose
TO take the count rather than rise
and stand further punishment.
Did johnson ouitf
Johnson has often stated that fight
ing Is a business, and he would not
foolishly submit to repeated knock
downs when he found he had met
his master. "A second or two after
Jack Welsh, the referee. had counted |
ten. johnson quickly got up. It was
well that he did 90, for q moment
later a rush of spectators to the fight
ing platform all but smothered the
pugilists.
For an instant II seemed as IL trou-
BILE was threatened, but some fifty or
more Of the several hundred soldiers
stationed about the fight arena jump
ed into the ring and formed circles |
around the vanquished and victor, es-
corting them to their dressing -rooms. |
Willard was out Of his dressing
room ii few moments and in an au-I
tomobile on his way back to Havana.
He was escorted half way to the city
from the Mariana race track, where
the fight was held, by a troop of Gu
ban cavalry.
Crowds lined the streets and mar
row roadWays, and the new white |
champion was loudly cheered. He was |
decidedly the fayorfte of the crowd all |
through the fight. and tonight is the
hero of the island.
Automobiles returning to the city |
from the fight few white flags. and
thus the news spread far and wide
that the white challenger had de-
feated the negro champion As Will
lard came along the crowds in the
streets waved flags and handkerchiefs
tied to sticks. At one point group
OF negro children. who had evidently /
heard that Johnson was the victor,
waved black flags at the white cham
pi0n, who was much amused
Willard probably Is the most mod
est champion who ever stepped out of
q prize ring, taking his victory as
philosophicaIly as he had looked for.
ward to the fight Neither he nor
johnson showed much evidence of /
having been engaged in heavy
weight championship battle. The new
champions lip. right ear and left
cheek showed slight cuts, but at no
time was there more than drop or
two of blood In evidence.
Nothing Brutal About Fight.
In this respect the fight was In great
contrast to the Johnson-Jeffries fight
at Reno five years ago, when Jeffries i
was cut to pieces and blood splashed
over the spectators at the ringside.
Evidently thinking that his condi-
ton might prevail again today, John
son objected to the presence of
white woman In the newspaper seats
just outside the ropes, and she was