The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-07-06
BIG TITLE BOUT
DID NOT DRAW
HALF MILLION
Richard, However, Predicts
Profits Will Exceed
100000.
PAID ATTENDANCE, 10000
Promoter Not Satisfied With
Returns and Will Not
Soon Try Again
PAID ATTENDANCE, 10000
by CHARLES r. MATHIsoN.

AOl6sDOb July O.--WlLn Il6 GuDSl0enC0
Of the furious pugilistio gale that swept
the shores of this normally somnolent
town the beach to-day is strewn with
the wreckage of blasted hopes and I'M
realized ambitions
Jess Willard, the biggest mariner
that ever sailed the Queensberry waters
finds himself adrift on the sea OF OBJ
scurity and Tex Richard most daring
OF all speculative navigators. discovers
that the cargo of the good ship fstisna
| is not so valuable as he fondly had
hoped
While the skipper of the big match
| anticipated a one million dollar return
for his venture. he estimated this after
neon that the receipts would not total
more than 100000 Even so he pre-
dicted there would be profit OF 5000 0n
after all expenses are paid.
| Richard attributes the shortage OF
dollars in the box office to the inter-
! ference OF Director OF Railroads
Hines with the hundreds Of special
| trains that had been arranged for. Tex
says the grasping attitude Of Toledo
| hotels and all other money making az
! fairs here that trebled and quadrupled
prices as soon as the first arrivals from
| the outside made their appearance also
| hurt the attendance
These agencies, together with the
apathy OF the provincial population, cut
the attendance down to 10000 Tho
arena had been built to comfortably scat
an 10000 crowd.
Toledo Apathetic.
Toledans and the denizens OF the sur
rounding country were completely salts
! fed with the training stunts OF the
cladiators at % or 80 cents admission,
but absolutely declined to pay $40 for
seat in the arena to see the title fight.
The arena is to be torn down at once
and the lumber sold to the highest
bidder.
Asked II he had another match IN
view, Richard said with emphasis: mo,
indeed. no more boxing for mo for a
long time. II ever
| 1t is putting it mildly To say that ire
promoter Is thoroughly Disguised with
the financial outcome OF the contest.
The only persons who have no com
! plant to make are Dempsey and Kearne
who have a pleasant voyage ahead Of
them, and the Toledo Boxing Commi-
sion. which did very we'll indeed.
Ed Mcdaniel or the Toledo Athletic
Club has cleared up the mystery OF tho
mutfled gong that Warren Barbour tried
vainly to ring in the first round OF tbs
contest when Willard was sitting in a
neutral corner blinking TO keep awake
and wondering what was to happen
next.
1t will be remembered that when NJ,
Barbour first released the chain thar
was supposed 10 ring the gong he got
no results worth listening to-
Then he looked about for n hammer
with which to smite the gong, and could
not find one
No ono at the ringside had 4 cane
7 and 1hp i'pn Nra
ptlIed TO blow a whistle
This was exasperatng and caused q
serious misunderstanding between the
timer. the referee and Dempsey. The
latter left the ring, thus rendering him
self open to disqualification the referee
counted out Willard and declared Demp-
! SCy the winner, and everybody In the
arena was mystfed and irritated.
According to Mcdaniel the entire
trouble was due to the silly suspicious
OF Willard and his trainers. 1t seems
that the canvas stretched over the pad
ding on the ring floor was the same
ono that Dempsey had used In his
training quarters ring. The canvas In
the property of the Toledo Athletic Club,
aud the club thought it was good
enough to stretch on the ring floor for
the big bout
All of the preliminary boxers used thu
canvas, and the gong rang clearly In
all the contests.
Champion RebeIIed.
Rut when Willard found that tho oAn-
vas had been used by Dempsey. the
champion insisted on a brand new one
for his bout with the challenger
The club was compelled to purchase
II new canvas. and It was adjusted Just
before the big fellows entered tho ring.
II did not occur to the timer to test
!, ~. y.
knew OF the defective gong was when
he tried to ring 1t AT the close OF the
first round.
After the bout ended and the can
vas was being removed Mcdaniel dis
&C, cred why tho gong did not ring.
in stretching a canvas on the floor It.
is fastened by means Of loops OF strong
cord attached TO TIE canvas and fas-
tened 10 the wooden platform. II was
discovered that one loop OF the cord had
been passed under the gong and neces-
sarily smothered the sound when the
bell was struck.
Nevertheless the gong scarcely could
he heard across the ring previous TO tho
obstruction, and It is a certainty that
no one in the back rows OF the arena
heard the bell at any stage OF the con-
tests preliminary or 1nal.
In the event Of another bou. for
the title Il would be the part OF wis
dom for the official timer 10 use n re-
volver with blank cartridges TO indl-
cate tho beginning and ending OF
rounds
Code Twice Violated.
While It is true that JACK Dempsey
in leaving the ring during the confusion
attending tho close of the first round
thereby laid himself open to disqualin-
cation under the rules, the new cham
pion, on the other hand, has a legal
claim 10 the honor Of n knockout over
Willard in'the first round.
Tho Queeusberry code makes no ref
erence to the me- tier except in the Anal
paragraph. in which il Is declared that
''!n all other respects contests are to no
Governed by the revised rules OF the
London prize ring"
Rule 20 OF the London code declares
that "if a man leaves the ring either TO
Continued on Third Page.