Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-06-02
CHAMP STATES
He is in GOOD
SHAPEF0RBOUT
Declares That No Ice Water and
Two Meals a Day Helped
on Trip.
Is SATISFIED WITH SELF
Arena for Title Contest Is EROr-
nous Size and VIII Seat
$1,000 Fight Fans.
BY JESS WILLARD.

fWorld's Heavyweight Champfon).
Toledo, Ohio, June 2.-WeIl, here
I am. in hot Toledo. every pore
working freely and in pretty fair
shape, thank you, after a trip from
the other side OF tho continent. The
heat didn't catch me until 1 reach
ed the middle west, and then the
Pu1lmans became rolling Turkish
bath houses.
I ducked whatever reception To-
Iedo might have in store for me by
keeping my time of arrival a little
matter of confidential communica-
ton between Ray Archer, Tex
Richard and myself.
hate crowds, as I said in one OF
my previous articles, and I go to
some length TO avoid them. I guess
the reason is that a public idol al
ways seems sort of foolish to me !;
one mans just as good as another,
to my way of thinking, and I'd feel
like a big simp with crowd trail
ing after me.
Is Satisfied With Condition.
OF course some of the condition
into which l had worked myself in
Los Angeles was necessarily lost
during my trip from the coast. A
man is never a horse or a. COW. II
you pen him up he'll just naturally
put on weight and his muscles will
become fiabby. AS matter Of fact,
the loss was so slight that it
amounts to nothing at all.
a day in the open will put me
back where I was when left Los
Angeles, and all the rest will be
clear gain did everything l
planned to do on the trip; kept
away from ice water, stuck to two
meals a day, took deep breathing
exercises, and as a consequence /
came to town feeling just as fit and
fine as when left the coast.
I attribute the comfort with
which 1 made the trip, and my ex-
celleut condition generally. both to
the graduated exercises have been
taking and to my system Of diet.
By the way, intend to make this
diet system the subject of several
Of my stories. Letters have come
TO me wanting to know exactly
what I do in reducing my weight,
in improving my breathing and in
creasing my powers of endurance.
] Will tell every detail Of my sys-
TEN in the articles to come.
Arena. OF Record Size.
So far as the battle ground Is
concerned, Tam perfectly satisfied.
From all reports have received,
Tex Richard has done a wonderful
Job in his selection of the site FOR
the arena and in the plans for thai
huge ediffce. I glanced at the seat,
ing plan the amphitheatre last
night in the lobby Of the Hotel
Secor, where it is displayed under
glass on a, large table. 1t shows
that we will do battle in an arena
eeAtfng more persons than have
eElsr been brought together in the
world within similar dimensions
More than fifty thousand persons
win be able to see every move in
the ring. The specifications show
that extraordinary precautions have
been taken against the possibility
OF an accident. Approximately l.
T50,00 feet of long leaf yellow pine
viii be rsoIidIy built into one huge
structure.
I believe in doing things well
When the buildings were erected on
my farm I pottered AROUND and saw
that nothing but the best was put
into them That little experience
gave me an idea Of how a building
fob ought TO be done and, take it
from me, Tex Rickard has done
one corking fine piece of work in
that amphitheatre. I'll have more
to say about it later.
Has the Right Partners.
Jack HempeI has come on with
me from the coast as one of my
sparring partners. You can bet
your bottom dollar I'll be glad to
E%= nat coed old Irish friend OF
mine, Walter Monaghan. when !
run across him in training quar-
ters.
He has 40-day fur1ough from
the United States army to help me
In condition, and he's the boy for
the Job. He worked with me all
the time was preparing for the
Johnson fight and was also Stth me
In my training for the Moran battle
We both know each other inside
out.
That's one thing want 70 en-
u1asize IN discussing the task OF
draining. You simply must have a
fellow who doesn't get on your
nerves for sparring partner.
suppose some vaudeville rascal Will
crab that line and gay that goes
Tor marriage, too"
Ttts q fact that-a duitsrouttne OF
eamp training and the nerve strain
fiat comes from the steady reduc-
zion of weight tend to make a man
short tempered.
Danger in Going Stale.
Sone boxers. are regular bears
Npward the world as the daysof the
ehamplonshfp battle approaches
that's the danger point In training
It shows the peak Of conditioning,
MANY n fellow goes stale fmmedt-
eteiy- following this characteristic
training camp grouch,
AS f0rTne, I am below the 2e0
mark right now, and am to take
OF about ten poundsgmeFe IN To-
Iedo. / am glad thetsf isya river
nearby. Boating is one ofsmy hob
fcz