The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1919-07-01
FIGHTERS WILL.
ENTER THE RING
WITH BARE HANDS
WillardSDempsey Bout Attracts
Much Attention
EASE UP ON TRAINING
From Now to Time of Contest Hard
Hitting Is to be Cut Out
Fear Injuries to Hands

Toledo, June 29.-Jess Willard, the
Kansas giant, will defend his title Of
worlds heavyweight fistic champion
against the challenger, Jack Dempsey,
of Utah, here next Friday 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
order to get himself into the best 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 building up an immense
fortune and should Dempsey capture
thetitle 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 sla7,500 signed for by the two pug
lists. $4,000 of which is guaran-
teed 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 expected to pass the
81 100000 mark which would make
the receipts of previous fistic carnival
look very small in comparison.
Tex Richard, the daring promoter
who is bringing the two big men to-
gether in this bout, generally does
things on large scale. He secured
the Johnson-Jeffries fight for guaran
tee OF $4,000 and at Reno. his re-
ceipts amounted to $270,000 or
course the promoter was at an enor-
nous outlay in bringing that contest
to an Issue, having been forced almost
at moments notice, to Move from
California to another Elm order to
secure a battle-ground. Richards out
lay for the coming battle including
guarantee purse, cost of arena CON
struction. advertising and other
expenses vii amount to a vast sum.
The casual observer might think
that the promoter will still have a big
margin of profit out OF the charges for
admission.
| AT first glance this seems reason
able but II ickardxisagoing.4to pay the
regular war tax ar Ten per cent on all
tickets purchased. and has guaranteed
the local authorities percentage also
The United States government how
ever. will have big claim for income
tax so that when everything is de-
Quoted 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 limiyng
Ct the contest to u rounds and the
reduction of the size of the ring to 20
| feet square. Originally the men were
to have gone 20 or more rounds and
the intention was to have a regula-
tion "a foot ring Otherwise the
agreement stands as signed by
Richard, Willard and Dempsey, each
being entitled to a third of the mov-
ing picture privileges. Willard is
guaranteed 100000 and Dempsey
S2T,5Oo
When the men step into the ring on
Friday each will have big following
ofpartisians. Those who rely on Will
lard's retaining his title, insist that he
lis inviilnerable to punishment and
that Dempsey will fail to reach his
burly opponent with an effective blow
Many of them also claim that Willard
has never hit human being with the
full force of which his huge frame is
capable. 1t is said that once during
his preparation fora previous contest
Willard lost his temper on being stung
by the blow of a sparring partner.
Then the big fellow landed vicious
swing which swept his opponent and
one of the ring posts to spot several
yards away from the ringside and that
the partner needed medical atten.
tion 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 quick ending to the contest
with Dempsey winner. They say
that Jack can land on Wizards jaw
just as effectively as he did on Fred
Fulton's last year They rely on
Jacks fearlessness as a big asset in
conjunction with his heavy hitting
power Dempsey's youth also is one
Of the arguments his adherents advan-
&c as being decided factor in his IA.
vor as Dempsey is "a years old. There
are conflicting statements as to Viii
lard's age, but itisthe general belief
hat the Kansas giant has passed the
10 year mark.
Dempsey has taken part in many
ring contests during the last four
years while Willard has fought only
lwice within that period Jess won
he championship from Johnson at
Havana, Cuba in April, 1915. That
battle lasted 20 rounds. Just IL
months later Willard met Frank
Moran for 10 rounds at the Madison
square Garden, New York This was
10 decision contest but Moran was SO
ar outclassed on that occasion that
here was no question as to Wizards.
laying won decisively. Since that
ime March 25, 1916, Willard has not
defended his title. Thousands of fistie
latrons believe that this protracted {
ibsence from fighting has had
effect on the big cham !
lions abilities while Dempsey, hay-l