New-York tribune., 1919-02-03
Fulton's Statement About
Crane Up Results
in Emphatic DeniaIs
By Fred Hawthorne

Fred "Ferocious' Fulton certainly
stuck his little finger in hornets nest
when he declared, in signed state
ment on the Coast on Saturday, that he
was "double crossed in his bout with
Jack Dempsey at Harrison. N. j., last
summer
All that the public knows about the
late lamented bout is that lanky Fred
"got his'n' in just eighteen and one
half seconds after the first round
started. 1t didn't look like "state stuff
to those at the ringside. and Fulton
wasn't play acting when he curlcd up
his toes and went to sleep.
But the end is not yet, Aunt Eleanor
Ann On Saturday Freddie stuck his
digit in the next. Yesterday the
hornets began to buzz, and if the
"Ferocious" person gets stung right
properly he'll have nobody to blame but
himself. Following the emphatic and
sulphuric denial made by Mike Collins
on Saturday night, Jack Kcarns, Demp-
sey's manager, issued a statement at
Long Branch yesterday, calling Fulton
all kinds of prcvaricator, yellow
hound and gutter and denying the
story in toto.
"This is nothing but an attempt Of
Fulton's to get in the lmelight, with
the idea OF getting a bout with Demp-
sey or Willard, but he will get nothing
out of it, except the scorn that he de-
serves. Dempsey's whole ring record
gives the lie to the statement. Fulton
was beaten on the level. You saw the
bout. Did it look like prearranged
thing?
at is possible that Fulton might
have been inspired to make this ridic-
ulous accusation by the promoters on
the Coast, who are 'sore" on Tex
Rickard, because Tex won the consent
of Willard and Dempsey to battle.
their corners for the fight to start the
referee asked if the men wanted to
shake hands after the bell rang. [
called uot "No. Well come out
fighting!" and that's Just what Jack
did Even Fulton will not deny that"
But Fred's reasoning is very poor; he
is not functioning properly in the
"bean." The public does not like to
pay out it's "do-ray-mi" to see self
confessed faker in the ring. More than
this, the Fulton statement will probably
have the effect Of hurting the at
tendance at the Willard Dempsey bout,
prohibition against punch" as applied
to boxing, is not i'll force,
Personally, we do not believe Demp-
sey would be a party to double
cross" at least of the kind Fulton
describes. The only kind Jack would
have any use for would be the right
first and then the left cross. There
is one thing, at least, to be said in
Dempsey's favor in all his recent ring
engagements, and that is that he has
put over the grand old Kayo just as
soon as he could find the spot to drop
it on.
If Kearns or Collins, the rival man
ayers of Dempsey and Fulton respects
ment as Fulton described they should
both be aiken out and shot. We were
going to say "at sunrise" Aunt
Eleanor Ann, but that seems long
time to wait, and the sun is awfully
late in getting out of bed these winter
mornings. so perhaps we'd better say
about midnight, and put them out of
their misery quickly.
If "Ferocious'' Fred had shown cne
sixth as much "ferocity" in the ring
the afternoon he met Dempsey at Har
rison last summer as he did in the
statement he issued on Saturday in
San Francisco, when he said the bout
was a cake" there might have been
real battle.
All that the "ferocious' one has
lacked as fighter is the fighting in
stnet He has cleverness, speed, a
wicked left hand and a hefty Wallop
but his heart is weak and it was very
low that afternoon when he faced the
rushing Dempsey.
Mike Collins, formerly Fulton's man
ager, did the natural and expected
thing in denying the plasterer's state
ment; nobody expected Mike to DO any
thing else; but. whether the facts are
as Fulton stated or not. the affair is
not going to do the boxing game any
good, either in New Jersey or else
where.
Dempsey may haye used the double
rSS ~ ~ w.