New-York tribune., 1919-05-18
If Dempsey Can Get Past
That Powerful Arm
World Title May Be His
BY w. O. Mcclellan

Inc QufdtlOn Oh Cne w lllaTu- DeWpSe.
bout at Toledo, will depend largely OF
Wizards left arm. The most massive
straight left that ever hung over
prize ring will be the barrier that Jacl
Dempsey will have to pass to come any.
where near achieving the championship
Working along this theory, an emf
nent statistician in sporting dope in
formed me that he was willing to wager
at any reasonable odds that Dempsey
would win by knockout. "This is not
because | am so certain that Dempsey
will win at ALL" he explained. "But
Dempsey will win in short order or not
at all. He has got to get by that
straight left. He can not do this, if
Wizards left is what it used to be-
The test will come in the first few
rounds"
Not Bad Theory
This does not sound like bad theory
to dream on. Undoubtedly Dempsey
would have a fair chance with his shift
punch to stagger Willard, if he could
get close enough to the champion to
send it into vulnerable spot. But
always is this straight left, sticking
out like the yardarm of a ship, jabbing
sometimes like a slowly moving, pom
derous piston, sometimes just pushing
back an aggressive antagonist by sheer
power
1t depends upon just how much power
Willard retains to back this straight
left. 1t is true that the champion is
somewhere near the ripe old age of
forty, but from all accounts he is far
from debilitated old gent. The par
allel that is drawn between Willard
and Jeffries is a false one. Jeffries
was "the mere shelp' of the day-after
life and a careful life. l do not think
that he will be whipped, if he is
whipped, because he is a mere she'll
He will be whipped because Dempsey
is great fghter-a greater fighter
than some of the old ones That is,
providing Willard is whipped.
Willard never has been a fighter
temperamentally. He became champion
on sheer bulk and he still retains that
bulk. Moreover it is not soft pulp that
he carries on that big frame of his. 1t
is good bone and Drawn. I do not
think that Willard has gone back to
any extent.
Some followers of Dempsey are op-
timistic because Willard has been out
OF the ring all the while that Dempsey
was fighting his way up to the point
where he became the logical contender.
1t is true that a fighters best prep
aration is fighting and that the career
Of nar L
to his best.
But Willard never was fighter. He
always has hated training and in the
ring he never showed the elemental
viciousness tina. is part of fighters
makeup. Only twice did Willard-as
he phrased it himself-"hit with all
his might" On one occasion he
killed an antagonist. On the second
ne knocked out Soldier Kearns, light
and mediocre heavyweight. What Will
lard might do, if pressed, remains to
be seen.
On Defensive With Johnson
Even the winning fight with johnson
was a defensive fight on the part of
Willard. Setting aside the story of
frame-up there, Johnson tired of hurl-
ing himself against that huge bulk and
trying to batter down that eternal
straight left. The negro was beaten
by exhaustion or desire to fight no
more that afternoon.
In Willard's last fight with Frank
Moran, the champion certainly never
was pressed. Moran made one wild
attempt to win or be knocked out In
the seventh round. But Willard was
not in a knocking out mood. Moran
was subdued by the powerful straight
left, badly beaten in the opinion of
everybody at the ringside with the ex-
ception OF John L. Sullivan.
Of course Dempsey is a great fighter,
very great fighter compared to
Moran. He might get by the Willard
straight left where Moran failed. Then
for the first time will there be
chance of learning whether or not
Willard could fight If he had to.
Watch Willard's left on the after
noon of July q. If 1t wobbles, If
Dempsey can shoot by it few times
or even once, there might be a new
champion. Otherwise the heavy
weight situation will be restored to the
status quo ante.