Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-06-07
KILBANE SAYS
HEAvIES WILL
LOSE MUCH pep
Featherweight Champion Thinks
Workout in Sun Will Slow
Up Boxers.
Kearns Disagrees With Champion
But Willard Agrees-Champ
Goes Seven Miles.

Toledo. Ohio. June 7. - Johnny
Kilbane, featherweight champion,
has pTecipitated lively argument
here on whether or not it is ad-
visable to train in the sun for a
fight to be fought in the sun. John
claims it is not and thinks Jess
Willard and Jack Dempsey will
pull their own corks if they keep
on conditioning themselves in mid
afternoon while the rays are beat
ing down on their unprotected
heads.
It is as fair for one as it is the
other, of course. but Kilbane al
lows that if one lodges the sun
and the other does not the party
who does his strenuous work in
the early morning and the cool of
the evening will be the tougher guy
at the ringside.
There is one thing that can't be
licked and that is the sum-" is the
way kilbane puts it. Neither Will
lard nor Dempsey is tough enough
TO trim Old Sol. No fighter ever
lived who could train under burn
ing rays for several weeks with
out having his vitality Slapped. II
trained for five 20-round fights in
the sun at Vernon, Cal, and I
ought to know what I am talking
about.
Says Sun Bothered Him.
For my fight with Abe Atteu,
the n which ha oh
pionship l started working in the |
open with no protection whatever
for my ring. After two or three !,
days my legs got weak, my head
ached and l started sneezing |
Something was wrong and figured |
it out correctly that it was the |
sun. moved my ring into the
shade of some trees and my trou- |
bles all disappeared.
This talk about a fighter having |
to toll in the sun under the same |
conditions that probably will exist |
when he goes into battle is all pop |
pycock. Train in the shade in the !
cool of the day and then you will |
have all your pep when you go out
to fight in the heat
''Once you get in the ring and |
start off you don't know whether |
the sun is shining or not, and. |
what's more, you don't care. It is !
advisable to have some sort of a
cover. an umbrella or a canvas at
taehed to sticks, to put over a
fighters head, between rounds
Once he leaves his corner and /
sticks up his hands, it makes no
difference if two suns are slanting
down on him at once"
Kearns Has Different Idea.
Jack Kearns, the Dempsey man
ager, who has seen many an open
air fight in California, does not
quite agree with Kilbane, but he
listened attentively to Johnny, who I,
continued:
IF I were training one of these
big fellows for this important fight /
I would have him out of bed at 5
O'Clock in the morning and have
his road work finished before 7
o'clock. Then I would rest him
up all day except perhaps for a few
light exercises. In the evening 1
would have him do his boxing and
rough work. then have him rub
bed down, give him bit of rest,
put on the feed bag, order a long
walk. and then hay.
That's the system. and If Jess
and Jack do not follow it they will
find before they have gone a few
rounds on July 4 that they have
pulled a lovely boner"
The writer had dinner with the
champion at his home last night
and While slowing away some
shortcake listened to Willard and
his spaTring partners go to the bat
on this sun dispute. Willard pulled
the same line of chatter as did Kill
bane. when he said:
Willard Agrees With KiIbane.
I have been boxing in the after
noon, so that those who wished to
see me could do so at a conven-
lent hour Ii l find that the sun
is getting my goat I'll box in the
evening. The sun won't bother
me a bit when I start fighting"
1t looks as though wise little
KiIbane has the right dope on no.
body being able to fight the sun
successfully
Another criticism was heaped
upon Wizards perfectly healthy
and willing spaTring partners to-
day. 1t is that Willard has boxed
with them so often they know his
every move and he knows theirs
and the result is a sort of brother
act harmful to Jess in preparing
for a terrific fight. Monaghan and
HempIe are corking good men,
there is no doubt of that, but Jess
needs some strangers who can give
and take.
Late this afternoon it was learn
ed that Willard was after Harry
Greb. Clay Turner and Barley
Madden to help him. He still re-