Omaha daily bee., 1916-12-24
DARCY WILL Sub
FOR JESS WILLARD
Circumstances Now Indicate
Australian Will Be Opponent
of Georges Carpenter.
WOULD BE A GREAT BOUT

New York, Dec. 23-That Les
Darcy will be substituted in place
of Jess Willard against Georges Car
pentier looks highly probable now.
Tex Rickard is fast becoming con-
WINGED that match between the gi-
gantic young champion and the young
French idol would be mistake in
every way. Sporting men are prac-
tically unanimous in predicting that
the champion would be altogether too
big for Georges, and Rickard. who
always tries to please, is ready to
sign Darcy as soon as the latter
makes his appearance on the scene.
Rickard always consults the public
t&Ste, which is the one reason tor his
tremendous success as promoter.
He listens to the public and then
gives it what it thinks it wants. Other
promoters put on bouts of their own
choosing, and then proceed to try and
make the public like them, which is
a hard thing to do.
Richard has never been wrong on
the drawing power of match. The
Nelson-Gans match, his first venture
as a fight promoter, broke the rec
ord for gate receipts for lightweights.
The Jeffries- Johnson affair more than
doubled any previous gate receipts,
and the Willard Moran bout outdrew
all other ten-round contests. The last
two bouts did not result in great con-
tests, but that was not Richards
fault. There was great demand for
the matches, and Rickard merely
gave the public what it asked for.
Disastrous Aftermath.
So far every match Rickard has
staged has broken record, and if
the Willard-C Carpenter affair goes
through there is no doubt that it will
break all records for no-decision
bouts, but the aftermath is likely to
be disastrous. Since Rickard means
to continue as promoter of boxing
at the Madison Square Garden it
would be foolish for him to risk los
ing the popularity that materially
helped to make his matches success
full financially.
Rickard was not scored on account
of the Jeffries fivver and the Moran
HdolO' OCtduoG tuClS was d SCuullS
demand for those battles. There is
no demand Tor a Willard Carpenter
bout. 1t was never even surmised
that such a match was possible until
a few weeks ago when Rickard first
informed various sporting writer's of
his plans after binding them to. Sc
crecy. -'.
Demand for Darcy.
There is great demand, of course.
to see the famous Frenchman in ac-
ton, and there also is great de-
mand to see the equally famous Les
Darcy show his FORM Circumstances
have miraculously arisen which make
it possible to stage these two in the
one ring, and it would be flying i'll
the face OF fortune to pass it up in
favor of match that no one wants.
The demands of Willard's man
ayers are absurdly high, which is
another reason for substituting Darcy.
The Australian would come much
cheaper and he would be sure to
pack the Garden at the highest prices.
Willard could do no more than that.
1t is unfortunate for Willard, but
his great size really is detriment
in one way. His great bulk spoils
every match that might be arranged,
and for that reason he is not as val
liable to promoter as moderate
sized champion would be. For exhi-
bition purposes-and that is all a
short, no-decision bout can be called
he is not great success. He proved
to be great card with Moran, be-
cause it was his first bout as cham
pion and ring followers were curious
to see the man who defeated John
son. Having seen. they were salts
fed that he is real champion, and
that no one is likely to beat him,
but there is no particular desire to
see him maui a man almost 100
pounds lighter than himself.