Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1919-07-20
Champions Actions Have
Bearing On Boxing Future
Recent Past Potentates of Ring Have Neglected Physical
Condition, Pooling Patrons of the Sport in Titular
Contests, All Tending to Discredit of the Game
Money Apparently Only Objective.

fat into the ring with him the day
he was felled by Willard.
Like Sullivan, Jefries and John
son, Willard refused to take the ad-
vice of friends and experts, who
openly charged him with neglecting
his work. Willard tried to laugh
away all doubts with the statement
that he never was more fit for battle
in his life. And he never was less
ready to meet such a test as Demp-
sey offered. While Willard undoubt-
eddy fooled himself to a certain ex-
tent, he led host of friends into
more sorry mess.
Wizards Wind Bad.
Wizards wind was bad His legs
went Cut from under him with the
first punch he got on the chin. His
arms were weary. His massive form
collapsed. All of these things were
directly responsible to his refusal to
even make an attempt to get into
condition.
Another fight authority says that
if George Carpenter, the French
heavyweight boxer, should get into
line for match with Jack Dempsey
he would prove an easy mark. Car
pentier is nearly 80 years old and
hasn't participated in a real glove
fight since the summer of 1914. He
won on foul from Gunboat Smith
in six rounds on July 10 of that year
at London club and 10 days later
he beat one Kid Jackson on foul in
flour rounds at Bordeaux. Then the
French champion enlisted to fight
for his country.
Carpenter is matched to fight Jim
Beckett, now champion heavyweight
of Great Britain, and London club
has offered a purse of $l25,000 for
battle between the winner and
Dempsey. But should Carpenter
defeat Beckitt, Dempsey doubtless
would try to induce the Frenchman
to box for the big title in this coun-
try. In fact, Promoter Thatcher of
Toledo, already has opened nego-
tiations with Carpenter to meet
Dempsey in a worlds championship
bout in that city within the next
nine months.
Carpentiere Long Absent.
The French champions best
fighting weight is Us pounds, and he
is five feet 1lH inches tall But he
never has shown sufficient quality
to stand a chance with the wonder
full slugger who made a punching
bag of Willard. A study of Car
pentier's ring record shows that he
began his ring career in 1907; than
in 1911, when he had begun to at
tract some attention, he was beaten
in five rounds by Dixie Kid, an
American negro; that year later,
| after defeating Willie Lewis, a sec
ond rater, on points in 20 rounds, he
was stopped by Billy Papke in II
rounds and lost On foul to Frank
Klaus in nineteen rounds. Papke
and Klaus being first-class American
middleweights.
Carpenter gained renown by
twice knocking out Bombardier
Wells in 1918, but the next year he
was outpointed in IS rounds by Joe
Jeanette in Paris. The French
| man ngnt WIN IuHOOat Smfth was
queer affair. The referee declared
that Smith had committed a foul
by striking Carpenter when he was
half down. This ruling, in the opin-
| ion of Americans at the ringside.
prevented Smith from scoring a
dead sure knockout, as Carpenter
at that moment was badly beaten.
Having been absent from the ring
for five years, therefore, Carpenter
would be greatly handicapped if he
should attempt to train for Demp-
sey
While Jack Dempsey is receiving
many offers from fight promoters
all over the country for bouts. the
latest is one of guarantee of S25.-
1000. with an option of AZ ner cent