New-York tribune., 1919-07-06
Dempsey Says
Opponent Was
Put Out Twice
81 Knew l Had Jess
After Dropping Him
For the First Time"
Bv W. O. Mcclellan

scratched to-day. and is considering
lust which Of the dozen odd theatrical
offers he should accept. He does not
know just what to make of 1t all yet.
You must remember that only few
wears ago William Harrison Dempsey
was riding brake beams and sharing
meaere handouts with other gypsies
who travel back and forth without
benefit to corporations or railroad ad-
ministrations.
He wears his laurels modestly, how
ever. And he pays sportsman's
tribute to the man from whom hs
wrested them.
81 felt sorry for that big fellow
after dropped him a couple of times.
Toward the last I actually shut my
eyes after directed the punch. did
not want to see it land. ! could hear
the thud of those punches. though, lrd
II was sickening TO me. But II was a
fight and it had to be done. he had 70
be beaten down. That is what we vert
into the ring for. One OF US mad 10
win under the rules.
willard very Uame
81 was confident from the star:. !
knew that / had him once that l
dropped him. But you can say for me
that he was game, very game. lie came
up and up until my arms were weary
from punching him.
ut did not require any great cxer-
tion. though, TO beat him. | could go
through the same thing this afternoon
arain. | was in shape and contSent
from the start.
al admire the way that he came back
and tried. / thought that it was all
over in the first round. 1t should have
heen. The rest was ell useless, but l
he'd to beat him down finally. He
would have done that to me If the
shoe had been on the other foot. It's
part of the game.
II am ready to fight again as soon as
they get some one for me to night.
would sooner fight than do anything
else that l know Of"
No visitors were received at the
house where Willard remained IN hid
inc to-day. The ex-champion's wife
and some of their children are with
him. Willard felt so confident as to the
outcome Of the fight that he sent for
Mrs. Willard on the eve of the bout.
She was one of the women who watched
his passing from the ladies galleries"
ats a hell of thing for a man to
have his wife see him beaten up that
way" Willard remarked on his way
back to the house.
my wife must think I'm rotten
hghter."
Goes Back to Ranch
To women sympathizers Mrs. Willard
has said that she is glad that her hus-
band was beaten and glad that he is
ont Of the ring. She suffered while ne
was so cruelty hurt, but the little Kan
sas woman never approved of the ring.
She did not worship the gladiator, the
y.an of superhuman physique. She just
cared for the simple Middle Western
husband---and that was all Willard
vas in his heart.
SO to-day Mrs. Willard and several
Of the little Willards are waiting until
the champion that was, the Middle
Western rancher that is, is ready to 60
lack to the Kansas ranch.
In the Queensberry ring Willard was
an anomaly and a misfit always. The
traditions of the ring meant nothing
to him. The hero worship which fell
10 his lot only annoyed him. But there
is no reasoning human being that can
deny that he passed out of the picture
where he did not belong with dogged
sort of courage.
Old ringsters are still telling me
that he should have answered the bell
for that fourth round. Gamblers, who
are towards at heart, are still bibul-
ously insisting that he was great big
hound. | think that this big kanssn \
this pugilistic freak, passed quite as
gamely as any of those who were
stepped in the traditions of the Queens
berry ring.
To Investigate "Pake" Talk
There has been some talk Of fake
This seems TO me rather idiotic. Il
this thing yesterday had been a fake
Willard would not have taken the
punishment that he received at Demp
sey's hands.
Tex Rickard has demanded an in
yestigation from the Board Of Boxing
Control. There probably will be one
but | cannot see where any disgruntle'
expert or gambler could claim tha
this drama yesterday could have beer
staged. No man would take the punish
mont in a fake fight that Willard re
ceived.
The champion was bewildered afte'
he left the ring. He ran out Of th'
place half crazed. When his seconds
finally reached him he was trying t
climb over the wires just outside o
the arena. He said to-day that th'
body punches had not hurt him, bu
that the punches which Dempsey raine'
on bis head had made his silly
can quite believe that, after seeinl
the idiotic grin which appeared on HI
face after he had been foored for tn
first time Also, was close enough I
where he fell the second time to hea
MIN muttering: What? WHAT" a
though he. could not believe that h
could be foored second time.
X. Old in First Round
II there had been an experienced ref
cree In the ring II would have bee
over in the first round. l am quit
sure that Ollie Pecord had counte
Willard out at the end of the frs
round. Jack Kearns thought 80. an
had his man out of the ring.
Press services had sent out the fas
that willard had been knocked out i
the first round. He was down sevc
times. dszed. bewildered and idioti'
He was ike poor old OK that ha
been struck mapy elancing blows wit
the axe, and most OF Us were waitln
for the mercy Of the finishing blow.
/ am not trying 70 make a patheti
figure cut OF the defeated Willar'
Looking his case over cold-bioodedl.
he probably has amassed somethin
like $3.50, 700 without doing any larg
smount Of fighting for IL. While ] al
tempted 10 sob little over bis cruell
battered face, I see before me picture
Of the onefrmed and one-legged me
Who came Sack frop France and VII