New-York tribune., 1919-05-11
Even Money
Is Predicted
For Big Bout
But Wise Coin Will Doubt
less Be Placed on Cham
pion, as in the Past
By w. O. Mcclellan

BY w. y. Mc0eehan
Whether or not twelve rounds be-
tween Jess Willard and Jack Dempsey
will make new chapter in the Queens
berry ring will remain topic for dis
cussion from the present writing until
late in the afternoon of July 4. Later
on the discussion will become acri
monious. and some of the conversatior
will be backed with money.
Enthusiastic supporters of Jack
Dempsey are predicting that the con
tender will go to the ring at ever
money with the champion. They are
not yet prepared to back this enthu-
siasm with coin of the realm. 1t is not
in the cards.
Granted that Jess Willard is not the
most popular of the heavyweight cham
mons, the money that is supposed to
be backed with wisdom always is with
the champion until they dust the rosin
from his tights. The wise money will
follow the customs of the ring in this
case.
For some mysterious reason the en-
thusiasm concerning Dempsey has be-
come considerably modulated since the
making of the match. A little before
the articles were signed it was more or
less noised around that Willard had
become a corpulent old gent who would
be soft picking for gent with wal
lop in either fin, such as Mr. Dempsey
undoubtedly possesses.
1t is not so long ago that number
of studous gentlemen who have been
pouring over pugilstic dope were be-
ginning to figure that Frederick Fulton,
the ponderous plasterer, of Rochester,
Mimi. would have quite q reasonable
chance with Willard. He was almost
as tall, he had the punch and all that
sort of thing. Then along came Mr..
Dempsey escaped from tha tolls of
John the Barber, and knocked Fulton
for what is termed goal with one or
two punches. Remember that Fulton
before that was quite extensively con-
ceded to have a CHANCE with Will
ard. If that is SO, taking the same line
of reasoning, Dempsey would have a
considerably more logical chance.
But now it seems that Willard is not
so corpulent nor yet as aged as many
had come to believe while he was in
retirement. He is down in ovieland,
riding bucking bronchos and fighting
the Mexicans and everything. From
all accounts he is able to move about
quite rapidly for his size without the
use of dray. He may be carrying
270-odd pounds, but six feet seven
inches is long frame, and you can
string a lot of beef on it,
T..
overenthusiastic concerning Dempsey's
chances are beginning to remember that
Willard has a straight left which he
can manipulate with great dexterity.
The face of Frank Moran bore testi-
mony to this effect after those ten
rounds with Willard in the Garden.
am inclined to believe Wizards state
ment that he could have knocked out
Moran on that particular night, had he
been so disposed.
Unless Dempsey is even a greater
fighter than he seems to be-a younger
and greater John l.. Sullivan-he would
have considerable trouble in getting by
that straight left if Willard chose to
make defensive fight. That straight
left, working like piston, ought to
keep Dempsey away until it became too
weary to work. Twelve rounds should
not weary man like Willard. While
the champion is lazy and does not care
for training, he has lived fairly clean
life. He can come back-for he never
really has been away in the sense that
it is used in the prize ring.
The expression prize ring" perhaps
is faux pas, because the promoters
and the officials connected with the
Willard Dempsey fight insist that it
will be a boxing exhibition. Anything
else would shock the finer sensibilities
of lot of gentlemen in Toledo.
Whatever the fight may be pugilisti-
cally, the net result will be entirely
satisfactory to Tex Rickard, the pro-
moter, who is guaranteeing the sum
Of s127,500 and is putting up something
like $4,000 more for the construction
of an arena. No doubt he is banking
on a gate of 100000, the largest gate
ever drawn by a prize fight, boxing
contest, encounter, or whatever you
want to call it,
This gambler er-soldier-of-fo
tune seems to possess a weird insight
INTO the strange psychology Of the fight
pug He has paid the biggest purses
and made the biggest money on boxing
matches: He does not pretend to be an
ardent fight fan himself, and probably
does not care who is champion after
July a. But he has shocked the petty
larceny professional boxing promoters
by handling boxing with scrupulous
commercial honesty and making big
money out of it. The chance always
was there, but the average boxing pro-
Inoter would sooner steal a thousand
tnan make ten thousand honestly. At
any rate that is the policy that they
seemed TO work on and that is why