The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-04-02
.LEW|S-DRAAK BOUT EXPECTED ID PROVE
 GREAT EXHIBITION
Wrestlers Evenly Matched. Best Bout Ever Staged in Birmingham Is in
 Prospect

Local wrestling fans are expecting the best mat bout ever staged in Birmingham next Monday night at the Jefferson thea ire, when Ed CtStranglera) Lewis. who claims the championship, meets Tom Draak, the clever Belgian Grappler. Draak, who has wrestled with and thrown many of the acknowledged big ulen of the arena, thinks he can beat the craft Lewis, while the Blue Grass grap- rler is equally confident that he can dis pose of the Belgian champion and thus add another scalp to his already long string.
 Draak is in tip top condition .s. he ba 6 nad excellent training lately and states his physical condition was never bette,
 lie believes that, while he will have a nara time with Lewis, he will not fail.
 Ihe interest in next Mondays match petween Lewis and Draak is not confined to Birmingham alone for wrestling fans throughout the country are interested ;,, the outcome. The result of this match Will be of great importance to bo+h
 Tor this is considered to be one of Yho prlnclpal contests held so far this seo son. Tn the early part of the season the local promoters announced that it womb stage some important bouts here and # offers this bill as one of the best oh. tainable
 III one way this may be carreo cnam- pionshlp bout for the only heavyweight belt now in existence hangs on the re- suit. Lewis is the present holder of tho belt, but many believe it will charga hands Monday night. This match will draw record breaking house, the fact that both wrestlers have had a number of important bouts recently insures that they Will be in the best of condition for a hard match. Both mens style of wrest- ling appeals to local fans who are in favor of fast and clean wrestling.
 MEN EVENLY MATCHED
 1t is doubtful if any two men ever seen here were more evenly matched than Lewis and Draak appear to be- Draak. who has appeared in three matches this season, is daily making friends by his pleasing personality and his Willingness to answer any questions about his mat career. Ed Lewis is well known in Bir- Bingham and local fans are in for a big surprise when the clever young cham pion strips for action next Monday. night. When Lewis appeared in Birmingham two years ago he only weighed about l9O pounds, now the Kentucky strangler tips the beam at 230 pounds Two years ago few would have linked his name With championship wrestling. Still. he was a sturdy youngs,er in those days. and local mat fans will remember the great battle Lewis put up against pr. Roller, then in his prime. Roller found the young college boy bad customer Roiler defeated Lewis then, but his knowledge of wrestling and wrestlers led him to predict glowing prospects for the college lad if he did not abandon his mat exercises. Lewis did not abandon it. The Kentucky grappler continued to train and meet all corners. In the autumn of 1915 Lewis started in a whirlwind campaign, which carried him to all sections of the continent, campaign which for the number of miles travelled and opponents defeated will scarcely ever be duplicated This grand tour eliminated in January, 1916, in New York; when Lewis won the worlds heavyweight championship tour rament at the Manhattan opera house in New York.
 More than 50 of the worlds best wrest :. lers competed in the tournament, and Lewis carried off first honor of the catch-as-catch-can championship. Some of his experiences in flattening the big specimens on their backs were among the most thrilling in the history of the wrestling game. Lewis wrcstled his final match with Zbyszko. The American grappler had no trouble in beating the glant Pole. Lewis victory over Zbyszko and the rest of the tournament cham plons makes the Kentucky grappler the undisputed champion of the world, as ho field of 800 during the tournament held in Paris