The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-06-14

N2S s4@U NEUCH HAS been said and writ WI the during the past few years of the ability and accomplishments of heavyweights. Lately, we have been seeing. hearing, reading and writing a lot about the most prom ising of the lighter heavyweights of today-Larry Williams. We have seen him come along from a position where he was unknown to station where he can do some dictating, hay ing beaten some of the better men his weight. Some have attributed his progress to the manner In which he has been managed. It has not been so much that as IL has the manner in which larry Williams has taken care of himself and in which he has been trained.
 Williams can congratulate himself for his success. But he must not forget his trainer. Joe Smith. There has been much said about fighters. but altogether too little about those who put them into condition. Bat tiing Levinsky and his managers, Danny Morgan, won much space in the papers through the phe- nomena1 success of the former Bridgeporter. Williams and his man. ager have won considerable publicity. But how much has been said or writ ten about the fellow that Is the real man behind the guns? Very little to be sure.
 I can go on naming a dozen or more trainers who have developed champions and who have won battles for those whom they trained and seconded in bouts. I have seen some managers who did not know a hook from a haymaker simply look on. But these must be given credit for they usually make the best managers. IL takes n real and capable business man to manage a boxer. And it takes a real teacher of physical cu1- ture and boxing to make a success of a battIer. Put an incompetent man in charge Of a promising boy and you will find that every spark of promise in him is gone in comparatively and surprisingly short time.
 E OR SOMETHING lilit five or six A years have been watching the wonderful work that Joe Smith has been doing. He handled fighters long before he took hold of Battling Le- whisky. As a matter of fact down on tht West Side near the White Light district of the big town. Joe was literally brought up among men who made the ring their means of livelihood. And these taught Joe con siderably. And he has never forgot ten what he knows. either.
 Well. anyway. Joe soon found him. self rouEhing 1t with tho tough lads of that section. Some of those boys were actually so tough that they lit- erally thought nothing of chewing nails. Some of the boys Joe chum- med with made good boxers; others forgot the ring. But with Joe it was different. Te loved the ring. He was no rough; fin fact. it is surprising how a gentle handler 5bke Smithy can get along with some of tho rough mugs whom I have seen him close up like a clam. for besides being a trainer of no limited ability be 1t understood right here and now that he is some nifty mixer with the mitts himself
 Joe spent most of his boyhood days around the fight clubs of New York He was popular with the match makers because of his ever-readiness to do a good turn for them. No favor was too big for him to do. Down on the West Side they still tell stories of the things that Joe used to do just for the sake of seeing a couple of mittmen work.
 Smithy finally hooked up with Bat ting Levinsky and for months and months he worked 1aboriously getting the scrapper into condition down in various gyms in New York and in Brooklyn. Finally Dan Morgan es- fablished a training camp for his in and his trainer came here. That was something like four or five years ago. Smith worked hard on Levfnsky and was always his chief second. Many n battle Joe's seconding won for Le- vineI<y.
 A ND NOW TT has fallen to the lot "A of Joe Smith to train Larry Williams and pleasing 1t is to say that he is making good a job of the blonde heavyweight as he did of LevinslSy. Smith knows how to train battler without minimizing or breaking down his vitality. He knows just how long to work his protege and never works him to such an ex- tent that the boxer is strained or overtrained.
 I have watched Joe train several boxers and he certainly does go about 1t in a scientific and professional way There is nothing amateurish about his methods
 He doesn't put a boxer through a stunt because he has heard some one say that it is a good exercise. He can give a reason for every thing he does or instructs his protege to do He works with his men on the road and does not mind every now and then taking up the padded rnitts.
 With Larry Williams he is working wonders and to Joe Smith the blonde heavyweight must give credit foi contributing a big share to the sue cess with which he has met. Had il not been for the methodical training by Smith of Williams it is doubtful i Larry could have beaten Kid Norfolk as he did
 And yet the trafner-t{e maker O. chAmpions-is very seldom given the r~~Aft dvYe him He is maid for hi.