New Britain herald., 1919-07-01
fakes a Change
fskss q Change

i4champion became the favorite at l odds of 5 to 6. The previous betting l had been at evens, with no Willard l money in sight. There were few Wagers at the new figures, and it is l predicted that the Willard adherents
 a1e waiting for the last day, when i they will dump loads of cash on the l cha pion's chances.
 l The shifting of the odds in Will slard's favor is said to be due to the ' opinions of Tommy Ryan, Martin I-Delaney and other experts, to the ef- ! feet that the champion is in good l cos1dition and prepared to make a ] hard fight on July 4. Willard's size
 and the vigor with which he has
 dumped his sparring partners have
 caused the layers of odds to change | their figures.
 In taking his place as favorite Will
 lard simply follows in the footsteps i of every title holder Queensbury T~ rules from John l.. Sullivan down to 1 the present champion. It is ques- i tisnable if any challenger in the his ] tory of the heavyweight division \ under the Queensbury code was ever l even quoted at even money at any. | stage of a match, therefore Dempsey | has achieved that much honor in the { betting mart.
 Willard Supporters Jubilant. 1 The Willard supporters were jubi- l lant when it was found that the | champion had become favorite and | insisted that the big Kansan's con | dition and earnestness had turned the Hide in his favor. Many of them EWere not slow to declare that Will itsIard would justify in his battle with XJ5enpsey 4eIn July the shift that < 'aRssefade Him favorite in the begin \, {S}ly Of the Dempsey admirers and assN them to tighten their 5 tbdf3 strings.
 4 One man whose opinions have not changed is Joe Wagner, manager of dsJack Sharkey, the West Side bantam, 1 who has watched the boxers for the |l past few days.
 q don't base my belief on, what I Ehsve seen of the men in their train ing york; said Wagner. T have
 written to all my friends in Neu York
 to get down on De1nus6s line
 and sinker. slf} & My opinion is the r62 s;,
 ing both men in nearly at 4
 battles, (which is the only W4<
 which one can get a true line 08 W < fighters ability. Dempsey is fit foFs the battle of his life and Willard ] is only in fair condition.
 r tBut it would make no difference to me if the champion was in the l best condition of his career, I still
 would hold that Dempsey is his mas ter. Dempsey is the hardest hitter 1 the heavyweight division ever knew, l and he is quick as a fash Tn addi- l ton he is a fighter, something Will 1 larSs never was and never will be. l Does Not Expect Willard to Last. ''Ntssik my words, Willard is in for the hardest punching a champion ever 1 received, and I don't expect to see l the big fellow answer the bell for l the fifth round. Dempsey is so fast he will get inside the, big fellows
 uard and batter him down. Mona
 kp and Temple are cart horses, that
 9miaica Kid could clean out in a
 Few rounds each, and the champion Ireally has looked speedy in compari- son with his helpers.
 ''These slow moving sparring part l ners will be drawback to Willard 1 when he faces the rushing Dempsey, 1 for the champion will not be prepared for the change to high speed. If Will l lard had engaged a couple of fast | helpers he might have increased his \ own speed and thus been able to neu- tralik in a measure the attack of
 the rushing Dempsey.
 | willard may stave off defeat by
 holding, but he will have to fight
 sooner or later, and when he comes to close quarters with Dempsey the title will change hands"
 Den1ssey's Height Is Feet ? Inches. William Muldoon sprung a surprise E yesterday afternoon at Dempseys quarters when he called the challen- V ger to the porch and asked him to
 ketand up and be mea sured for height.
 The boxer readily consented and in
 lis. ring shoes, which are without
 kels. he measured exactly six feet
 M inches.
 n submit to measurement and he in his submit to measurement and be in his walking shoes with heels, stood 6 feet 1 1-2 inches. There was con- siderable surprise over the figures, as ] it was generally supposed that Demp- sey stood an even six feet tall Having got his height, Muldoon
 then requested him to get on the
 scales which the challenger did. He WelSeoO 1St pOul1uS, O"l1lS LIldC HIS
 hard work of the past week has
 taken seven pounds as toll.
 Dempsey hammered Tate, Jamaica
 Kid and Jock Malone for the last
 time yesterday afternoon, as the chal-
 lenger will do no more boxing until 5 Friday afternoon.
 De4 psey will punch the bag and
 shadow box Wednesday and devote
 Thursday to the drying out process.