Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-07-03

Toledo, July 8. - Jess Willard,
the Kansas giant, will defend his
title of worlds heavyweight tistic
champion against the challenger,
Jack Dempsey, of Utah. here to-
morrow afternoon. Both Willard
and Dempsey have been earnestly
training in this vicinity for several
weeks past. Neither one has left
anything untried or undone in or
der to get himself into the bets pos
sible condition for the encounter,
the outcome of which will mean so
much for the victor. By winning
from Jack Johnson at Havana,
Cuba, four years ago, Willard was
placed in a position to begin build
ing up an immense fortune and
should Dempsey capture the title
there is no telling how much wealth
he may accumulate in these days of
high finance, when sport promoters
talk of the SKY" as the limit for
big events.
Aside from the actual purse
money of s127,500 signed for by the
two pugilists, 100000 of which is
guaranteed to Willard, win, lose or
draw, the enormous amount of cash
which will be handled in connection
with the coming bout, dwarfs all
previous ring contests into financial
oblivion. The gate" from the sale
of tickets and concessions is eX-
pected to pass the one million dol
lar mark, which would make the re-
ceipts of previous f1stic carnivals
look very small in comparison.
Rickard Big Factor
Tex Rickard, the daring promoter
who is bringing the two big men to-
gether in this bout, generally does
things on a large scale. He secured
the Johnson-Jeffries fight for a
guarantee of 100000 and at Reno,
his receipts amount to S27O,00O. OF
course tine promoter was at an
enormous outlay in bringing that
contest to an issue, having been
forced almost at a moments notice
to move from California to another
state in order to secure a battle
ground. Richards outlay for the
coming battle, including guaranteed
purse, cost of arena construction, ad-
vertising and other expenses Will
amount to a vast sum. The United
States government will have big
claim for income tax so that when
everything is deducted from the
gate" Richards margin of profit
probably will fall far short of the
results he attained in some of his
previous ventures.
Some changes have been made in
the conditions governing the bout
since the original articles were
signed, the most important being the
limiting of the contest to twelve
rounds and the reduction of the size
of the ring to twenty feet square.
nrfo civ fhn IN have
gone twenty or more rounds and the
intention was to have a regulation
24-foot ring. Otherwise the agree
ment stands as signed by Rickard,
Willard and Dempsey. each being
entitled to a third of the moving
picture privileges. Willard is Suar-
anteed 100000 and Dempsey S27,-
500.
Both Are Big Favorites
When the men step into the ring
each will have a big following of
partisans. Those who rely on Will
lard's retaining his title, insist that
he is invulnerable to punishment
and that Dempsey will fail to reach
his burly opponent with an effcc-
tive blow. Many of them also claim
that Willard has never hit a human
being with the full force of which
his nuBe ITdIle Is NoPdoAS' II lS
said that once during his prepara-
ton for a previous contest Willard
lost his temper on being stung by
the blow of sparring partner. Then
the big fellow landed vicious swing
which swept his opponent and one
of the ring posts to a spot several
yards away from the ringside and
that the partner" needed medical
attention for many days afterward.
Dempsey's friends, and they are
legion. confidently state that no
man, however big or strong. can
Withstand the impact of full-weight
hook or swing from either of Jacks
fists. They look for a quick ending
to the contest with Dempsey a win
ner. They say that Jack can land
On Wliiard's Jaw Just as effectively