The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-05-23
DEFOREST WILL TRAIN DEMPSEY

Jack Dempsey made no mistake
 when he selected the veteran Jimmy
 De Forrest to be his chief trainer
 and adviser De Forrest is one of the very few remaining trainers that were prominent during Horton law days when SO many good heavy weights fourished.
 Because of his retiring disposition, De Forrest never made as much noise
 in the pugiHstic world some fla
 nous handlers of champion fighters, but there never was a better man to
 act as coach and trainer. In his
 time De Forrest has handled more great fighters than any other man
 now living.
 There was hardly one of those fla
 nous heavyweightS. of twenty years ago that did not at some time seek De Forests services as trainer. Some
 of those he aided with his sage ad- vice were Jim Corbett, Tom Sharkey
 Gus Ruhlin, Kid Mccoy and Peter Maher. He also trained Jack John son when the Galveston black first made his appearance in these parts. Among the lighter men De Forrest
 handled were George Dixon and Joe Walcott-
 De Forrest was athletic director at the old Manhattan Athleticc Tub and
 cne of his boxing pupils vas Theodore Eoosevelt. Of late ,he has been ath-
 letic drector of the Progress Club Of
 Newark. Last night he resigned his position there and left for Toledo to
 take charge of Dempsey's camp.
 De Forrest is no stranger to Demp-
 sey. In fact he has prepared the Salt Lake heavy for all his bouts in | Dempsey into the ring fit to fight the
 battle of his life and there is no
 doubt that he will be equally success ful this time.
 Dempsey can count himself lucky to obtain the services of such an ex- perienced man. Many a ring battle has been won through the advice of a
 shrewd coach. There IS not a doubt that Jim Jefries owed his success en- tirely to Billy Delaney.
 When Jeffrics made his first ap- pearance in New York he was matched to meet two men in one
 night, the two being Bob Armstrong | and Steve O'DonneIl. Jeff, a big | numbering novice, had the tipce of h4s ] life outpoirting Armstrong and here | fused to go on with O'Donnell, saying | that his thumb was broken. 1 Local boxing followers laughed Jeff | cut of town and the big, sullen fel- | low went back home to California. vowing that he was through with the | game. But Delaney knew that there was good material in Jeff and he | gradually joHied and talked Jeff out | of his Respondent mood.
 | A few months later Jeffries had re- l sponded so well to Delaney's coaching 1 that he returned to New York and | obtained the match with Bob Fitz- | simmons that resulted in his winning ] the heavyweight championship. De | fancy had a big hand in winning that
 battle for Jeff.
 i In the ninth round old Fitz set | himself and landed terrific swing on | the big Californian. The blow land l ed high on the cheek bone or Jeffries | probably would have been counted | out. As it was the blow dazed Jim | badly and he wanted to quit, but De-
 laney talked him out of it and in the l eleventh round Jeff fattened F'itz and | won the title.
 In later years Jeff quarrelled with
 any luck afterward. When Jeff was
 matched with Jack Johnson in 191t
 Delaney so anxious to hi: former protege beaten that he join ed Johnson's camp. The fact that
 his old coach and trainer was in th5
 opposing camp had a depressing ef- feet on Jeffries and had a great dea
 to do with bringing about the nerv- ous breakdown that made Jeff such | an easy mark for the black.