The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-10-22
Wilson Adopting
 Peculiar Stand
New Champion Prefers to Rest
 Rather Than Fight Tough Contenders for Title
nx LANES J. CORBETT

Is Johnny Wilson's reticence about waging ring warfare due to the fact that he's studying somebody?
 The new middleweight champion de- clared after he whipped Mike ODowd through the medium of a questionable decision in Boston:
 sT beat O'Dowd because studied him and his style for two years. Went to xsuer-y fight of his that I possibly could take in studied him-studied his every move And then I would go to the rvrnnasiuan and perfect tricks which l figured would make it possible for me to beat him some day.
 Wbipping ODowd seems to have sat- fgfied wilson, as far as gaining ring glory is concerned. It's been many months since the youngster gained the middle weight laurels. But he hasn't fought against formidable foemen. dozen or fers-many of them carrying big purses have been made to him. But Wilson continues resting"
 He'll fight again--of course BuI the r,uhiic is rather anxious that he snouio fight now-
 Wilson might have made himself 8 mighty popular champion by this time If he had fought and defeated some or the tough middleweights- But he eiecteo to dod ring work. AS a result. he has become most unpopular. And each new day out of ring harness increases ms nnpopularity.
 HAS LITTLE GLASS
 yilson. at his best, never has shown any championship class. He won rom O,Dowd-and O'Dowd is a good fighter. But he caught O'Dowd off stride in the f6rst place Secondly, there's Q. bO-SU opinion as to whether or not he actually won from the battling lr1shman. Maybe Wilson, giving O'Dowd return match, might duplicate his Boston per eormance-
 But there's about 100000 Irishmen eeady and willing now to risk just about exerything they've got that if Wilson gave ODowd another match, O'Dowd would whip the new champion-and do it in a hurry. And O'Dowd seems per fectiy willing to meet Wilson on the --winner-take-alr basis But wilson seems too busy studying somebody te think much about taclsling ODosyd or anybody else
 It's more or less irony that n man like John Wilson-a fair fighter at his best should be wearing the same crown thai once was glorified by the heads of Jack Dempsey-the Dempsey of long ago Bot Fitzsimrnons Stanley Ketcf1el and the other ring wonders. Those men were champions-and so IS Wilson But any right which involved Wilson of today and Dempsey, Fftz or Ketched at theil best would have been nothing short oi a boxing buriesque.
 I've never held to the theory that just because I fought in long gone day that all the fighters Of that time were greater than any since that era In fact. frankly concede Benny Leonard equal ranking with Joe Cans and believe that before Leonard starts to go back he vii have become even greater than was the supposedly peerless negro.
 ABOUT JACK
 And I regard Jack Dempsey, the pres ent champion, as one of the greates heavyweights in history. I know of nc man with punch more terrific. Hi ring style may not be sufficiently ortho dox to please everybody. But Dempsey, defensive style, freakish though it ma, be, is really marvellous. And before tn, youngster reaches the absolute crest O. his career he may stand out as tn, greatest ringman that ever stepped be tween the ropes.
 But when it comes to the middleweigh division, I feel that any of the secon, raters in my day could have whipped z half dozen Johnny Wilson's in two nights work. And Ketchel, who came som years after ceased being an active ring man, undoubtedly could have taken ol Wilson and O'Dowd in the same ring