The Washington times., 1919-12-22
EDDIE GRANEY HAS
. SOMETHING TO SAY
Thinks 0Id-time Boxers Much
Better. Than Breed Seen
Nowadays.
by TAD.


Eddie Graney. who years ago was
official tryout man for the old Cali
fornia Club, takes exception to the
slams that the fans Of today take at
the old timers Graney knows all
Of tho old timers. He trained with
many. watched others, and handled
quite a few. In an interview with
Marian Salazar the other day, the
honest blacksmith" spilled the fol-
lowing dope:
Will any man IN his right senses
argue that O'Dowd would have been
anything more than q punching bag
for the wonderfully clever Kid Nc
Coy?
What chance. do you suppose.
would O'Dowd have stood with
Tommy Ryan?
Tommy could have walked UP to
O'Dowd and stuck his glove down
his throat I doubt very much as .
matter of fact. that ODowd could
have stood up six rounds with Phila-
delphia Jack O'Brien. And O'Brien
was not a champion.
Will any man argue that Britton IL
as good a man as was Joe Walcott?
Is he as good a man as was Mysteri-
Gus Billy Smith?
Who. shifting back to the light
heavyweights, have we now that
could have whipped Joe Choynski or
Jack Root?
Have we any man in that class who
could have whipped George Gardner,
or even Kid Carter?
He's Stunped Here.
The lightweight class will stump
us-as does the heavyweight class.
We don't know how Benny Leonard
compares with Jack McAuliffe or Kid
Lavigne or frankie Erne or Joe Cans
or Battling Nelson.
But Leonard is supreme in his
class: there is but one like him: he
stands alone, as Jack Dempsey does
in his class.
John L. Sullivan, when champion,
was not always supreme. At one
period of Sullivan's career there
were plenty who thought that Frank
Slavin could have whipped him.
There are men even now who Will
argue that Sullivan would have been
no match for Peter Jackson.
What has Kilbane that Dixon had
not? Dixon. a little featherweight,
outboxed Frank Erne, the eleverest
lightweight Of his day.
Could Kilbane have done thatf
What about Terry McGovern? u
Kilbane a better fighter than was the
ferocious Terry?
And the bantamweighta We had
to stop and ask who is the bantam
weight champion?
They tell US Pete Herman.
What chance would Pete have stood
with Johnny Coulon when Johnny
was good-the Coulon of the days be-
fore his father died?
No chance-NOT ONE IN A MIL
LION
Have Two Great Ftghter>
The whole thing simmered down
brings US to the concrete fact that
we have now but two great lighters
Dempsey and Benny Leonard.
Do the second-rate heavyweights
OF today, the Fred Fultons, the Frank
Morans. the Carl Morrises, the Wiilic
Meehans, class with the second-raters
Of other da-s-the Tom Sharkeys' the
Peter Makers, the Joe Goddaros ano
the Charley Mitchells?
They talk Of Willie Meehan as the
most logical opponent for Dempsey.
When Jim Jenries was champion the
man who bothered him most was Tom
Sharkey.
Just imagine this headline on a
poster:
Willie Meehan VS.. Tom Sharkey.
Twenty Rounds!
Who would you bet ON How
would you bet IL Willie Meehan were
going to fight Joe Choynski twenty
rounds? -
How about Willie with Joe God
dard or Peter Maher?
Could Willie or any other present
day aspirant for the worlds heavy
weight championship have gone six