The weekly tribune and the Cape County herald. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1914-1918, 1916-03-31
Champion Breaks Bone in
Right Hand Trying for
Knockout in Third.
CORBETT CHEERS JESS
Former Champ Tells King of the
Ring "He Is a Cat'-Crowd
Pleased.
by SAM P. HALL.)

March 25.-Jess Willard, heavyweight
champion of the world, easily retained
his crown in his ten-round fight with
Frank Moran at Madison Square Gar
den tonight, although the champion
was not in the best of condition.
Fight fans VINO witnessed the exhi-
bItion went to their homes satisfied
that the better man won and were
convinced that big Jess Willard is the
mightiest fighting man in the world,
white or colored. He entered the ring
to take his man to a cleaning and he
'Succeeaed. 1t was all Willard from
start to finish. He displayed a clever
ness that surprised his most enthusi-
astic friends, and those who doubted
that he was of championship caliber
were convinced that he is human
fighting machine.
It was probably the most select
gathering in the history of boxing
audiences, and the champion won the
admiration of all who know great ring
men when they see them in action.
The crowd of 1900 people paid
around $4,000 for the ten rounds of
entertainment.
The battle was not of the sort that
stirs red blood in sportsmen and
d,,iyoc tho Hosb+ lo-,o,, - Al f,on,;ol
point, but the fans who saw Jack
Johnson's conqueror in action were
satisfied because he won; that the con-
flict was honestly waged and that each
contestant gave the other the best he
had in the way of fighting goods every
minute they were in the ring.
Wizards exhibition will be all the
more amazing to the multitude when
they learn that he fought from the
third round on with broken bone in
the back of his right hand. This
forced him to quit using the straight
right and to resort to uppercuts. He
did some wonderful uppercutting with
his crippled right in spite of the pain,
and in every round he rocked the red
head of the freckled Moran.
He tried to save his crippled hand
as much as was possible, but when it
was necessary to bring it into play,
he smashed his opponent with his
mighty right and sent him against
the ropes.
1t was apparent to the fans that
Jess entered the ring to knock his man
out. He landed terrific jolts to the
jaw, to the stomach and over the
heart, but Moran was game and prov
ed bear for punishment. The hard
est blows were delivered by the Cham
pion in the first three rounds. At the |
end of the third he went to his corner
with an aching pain in his right hand. |
An examination revealed that he had |
suffered a fractured bone, but he
sprang into the center of the ring at
the tap of the gong and was fighting
hard, but cautiously.
Moran fought his big antagonist
like a real champion, but he was
pitted against his master. He landed
some hard punches, but Willard met
each one with smile. Big Jess stood
as a stone wall while his opponent
battered him. Willard was the clev-
erer of the two, could hit harder and
the army of fans that he
could hit when and wherever he
wanted to. Those who came to scott
at Jess-and there were many among
the Moran well-wishers-stayed to adj
mire his scientific display of head slip
ping, ducking and blocking. His work
along these lines was SO wonderful as
to astound the ring stars and critics
about the ringside.
No one dreamed ;.lat Jess had so
much defensive cleverness, and all are
at loss to learn where he picked it
up. The Champion apparently gath
cred much of his defensive knowledge
while in HAVANA, where for twenty
six rounds he fought Jack johnson,
champion of all boxers when on the
retreat.
James ]. Corbett the former cham
pion of the world, sat close to the
arena and watched big Jess with ad-
miration. He predicted that Willard