Omaha daily bee., 1916-03-19
WILLARD WILL WIN BY K. 0.
Ringside Predicts Champion Will
Dispatch Moran TO Dresmlsnd
by Eighth Round.
FRANK POSSESSES NO CLASS
nN RINGsInE.

and Frank Moran will meet in the arena
Of Madison Square Garden n week from
tonight--if nothing Unforeseen occurs In
1 tho interim to cause another postpone
ment The bout is scheduled to endure
ten rounds. but to be brutally frank--to
the adherents Of the challenger--Will
should knock out Moran before the
eighth round IL reached. This prediction
/ Is made in good faith: assuming Of
course. that the bout will be in good
faith
While Moran is admittedly the most
formidable of the present crop Of heavy
weight challengers we fail to see why
he should be rated on a par with VIII
lard. as some experts" have seen re 70
do. The incumbent champion has every
physical and mental advantage. Willard
is the worlds champion and as such pos
sesses the confidence born Of supremacv.
/ Then. again, Jess is several inches .nller
than Moran. weighs about fifty POUNDS
more. has a more extensive reach, AMI
al hit equally as hard, II not harder
than Moran.
The one advantage Jack has over the
Pottawattamie giant Is In the matter OF
ring experience Moran started fighting
In 1910. while Jess embarked upon his ring
career less than year later. Not such
an advantage. after all.
Before willard arrived from Chicago to
resume his training IN this city. Moran
claimed psychological advantage
over Jess In that willard had never seen
him. and had heard OF him only In con
nectlon with his deadly punch" the wall
lop that flattenod Jim Coffey twice
A day before Willard reached New
York, Moran left for Saratoga. Willard's
first workout here was so impressive
that reports OF II surely must have drifted
into Moran's camp. willard was gener-
ally considered 100 per cent better
fighter than when he relieved Johnson OF
the championship down Havana way last
April he was put In Jim CorbetSs class
as boxer, and In Jim Jeffries' class as
a hitter. And after reading these stories
Anorans Psychological advantage" must
have dwlndled to no advantage at ali.
In fact, II is Mr.. Willard who now has
that psychological advantage"
One-Handed Fighter.
A fact not generally known is that
Moran is n one-handed fighter. His right
hand is his only asset The knuckles on
Franks left hand no longer serve him In
fight, for every one OF them is broken.
and to hit two hard blows successively
with them is to render the left hand
practically useless. In recent fights
Moran has swung that left quite often.
but he did this merely as a blind"
20 make the other fellow wary Of the left
and leave himself open for Franks right.
Willard, however. Is aware OF this fact.
and he will keep lynx eye on Moran's
right only. Jess has perfected a left jab
for this battle which should discount any
thing Moran may attempt with his right.
The latter is easily thrown off balance.
and Jess will feed him left jabs until he
has Frank primed for right upper
cut, the blow which started johnson into
pusillstic oblivion last year.
II IL coincidence that yesterday. 81.
Patricks day, the original date for the
willard-Moran embroglio. marked the
nineteenth anniversary OF Jim Corbrtl's
defeat by Bob Fitzsimmons at Carson
City. with II went Corbett's heavyweight
championship. which he held four and a
half years.
First Defense of TITLE.
This affair with Moran will be Willard
first fight In defense OF the title he won
April last. Jess has been criticisei for
not engaging in a battle sooner; but oil
Willard need do Is to point back to re-
cedent for his seeming delay in getting
into the ring again.
OF the heavyweight champions Under
the marquis OF Queensberry code. only
Jeffries and willard did not wait \ year
or more before fighting again after win
ming the championship. The others h'ded
their time about getting back in action
almost two years and more
Jim Corbett after winning tha title
from John l.. Sullivan on September 4
1899. did not re-enter the ripe until Jan
uary 25. 1884, when he knocked Charley
Mitchell out In thrce rounds, Thereafter
Jim fought at six-month intervals until
that fateful day at Carson City. when he
collided with Bob Fitzsimmons' big maui
ers.
FftK took the title from Corhett an
March II. 1897. 1t was moro than two
years before Ianky Bob returned TO
the ring to defend his crown against
Jim Jeffries on June s. 1899. Jeff did
for Fitz in eleven rounds. II is one
OF the oddities Of prize ring history that
such a wonderful fighter as Fitzsimmons
was could not carry his championship
through even one fight.
Jeff Loses NO Time.
Jeff didn't lose much time in getting
| back into the game. Less than five
months after vanduishing Fitz-on No
vember 8. 1899, to be exact-Jeff took or
and defeated Tom sharkey In twenty
! five rounds at Coney Island. Jeff ther
took rest until the following April
taking on mediocre heavy. and a month
later he knocked out Jim corbett fol
the first time. From then until he re-
tired from the ring in 1904 jeff engaged
In six actual battles.
In 1906 Jeff did appear IN the ring
but not as a principal, however. HI
refereed the Marvin Hart-Tommy Burni
miu and Jefrs appearance In the RIM
served to compueate the heavyweight
situations for five ensuing years.
Jeff awarded the decision to Burn
and Jeff told Tommy he was the legitt
mate heavyweight champion. And Burn
believed. Il. too, until Jack johnson
stopped him In fourteen rounds on De
cember Is. laoS. II was not until John
son knocked out Jeffries in fiftee
rounds on July l. lelo that the negr
was universally recognized as the undls
puted champion. Just two years later
July 4, lsl2-Johnson fought again. stoI
ping Jim Flynn in nine rounds.
/ Fs.N.us AZ 80