Omaha daily bee., 1917-06-24
Muggsy Makes Boot on Ed Rousch;
Morris to Smoke Willard Out of Hole
Promoters to Offer Champion
Seventy Five Thousand
to Fight Oklahoma Man
Mountain.
BY RINGSIDE.


portunity to land a match with
Heavyweight Champion Jess Willard
is at hand. There is no doubt that
Morris, through his victory over
Frank Moran, is entitled to it, but
that question rests with the champion.
1t is a matter OF very great doubt
whether Jess Willard has had any
serious idea for some time of ever
boxing in a ring encounter again.
Indeed, his whole attitude bespeaks
the utmost lack of ambition as far as
real battle Is concerned, and, al
though Jess will tell you, if you ask
him, that he will battle when the
money is hung up, his close friends
doubt much whether he would really
go through the awful regime of train
ing for any amount of coin.
Be that as it may, they are going
to make it real interesting for Jess,
at any rate, and will attempt, with
the aid of big offer of purse of
$4,000, to smoke the big fellow out
and get some sort of definite state
ment from him. Ths people behind
tHC ouSl dtS oolii lolhoy IL oahu
who have no interest in either fighter,
but intend to have a substantial in
terest in the promotion of the affair.
Willard has said time and time
again that for personal reasons he
never would fight Carl Morris. The
latter, it seems, once told Jess to 60
and get a reputation. This so in
censed the champion, who wasn't
topnotcher at the time, that he swore
to himself that he would some day
get even. Whether he can continue
his crouch in the face of the offer
of $75,000 is something that only the.
champion himself can tell.
Morris, the Sapulpa man-mountain,
won from Moran because he literally
smothered the lighter man. 1t was
Morris fight nearly all the way.
Mary Ann" but the big Oklahoma
giant kept out OF harms way, and
when Moran appeared dangerous he
came into close quarters, and against
his style of fighting Moran was help
less. Some critics do not believe he
is in Jess Willard's class.
Brown Punching Bag.
Perhaps a middleweight will arise
some day who can knock out George
Knockemstiff Brown of Chicago. But
if any such comes, the majority of
those who saw George Chip of New
castle essay the feat a Racine will
claim Missouri as their home. They
will believe that any man capable of
turning the trick must have some re-
inforced concrete hidden within his
gloves.
Chip tried enough hard wallops on
Browns physiogomy to knock half
the present heavyweight crop into the
land of dreams. But after seven
rounds of punching the Chicago Greek
as if he were the gymnasium sandbag,
he was forced to admit the task was
too much for him. His only chance
was in pulling up one Of the ring
posts and committing assault on his
rival Herewith.
Foxy Freddie Welsh.
A study Of the conditions surround
ing the dethronement of Freddie
Welsh as lightweight champion con-
vinces one that the Englishman was
one OF the greatest ring generals in
the history OF pugilism.
You no doubt have heard Of other
fighters who studied methods of
blocking an opponents best blow
and countering in an unexpected man
ner, but did you ever hear of fighter
who had devised means of prevent
ing himself from being knocked to
the floor, where a referees count
would mean his defeat?
That is what Freddie did, and he
applied it against Benny Leonard.
But Kid Mcfarland, the referee, did
not wait for the champion to fall. He
saw that Welsh was helplessly out on
his feet, and stopped it.
1t was the position Freddie took
in Benny's corner that prevented the
new. champion from knocking him
out. Although dazed and no doubt
sensing that the end was near, he
worked his way into a corner, which |
in this case was Benny's. There he
braced himself against the post. The
side ropes were directly under his
arms, hence if he was hit on either
side he wouldn't go down. Benny's
punches were falling in front of him
to keep him from falling forward, and
the post was behind him to stop a
backward tumble.
Had Wits Working.
This is not to say that Welsh was
robbed, for if ever man was knocked
out Welsh was. But it is chronicled
to show just how the Englishman's
wits were working even while in
great distress.
Had Welsh been in the center of
the ring, or beyond reaching distance
of the ropes, he would surely have
gone to the floor. When Mcfarland
stopped the bout Welsh was even
farther gone than ringsiders suspect
ed. The referee lifted him off the
ropes and started toward his corner.
The minute the champions support
was taken away he slipped forward
on his face, completely spent. After
giving the incident careful considera-
ton, those who witnessed the knock
out are convinced that Freddie was
done for fully three-quarters of the
time he was hanging helplessly on
the ropes. .r.
The new champion no doubt will
hold his honors for long time. At
the present moment there is but one
contender of any consequence, and