The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-02-28
(By Ed. Hugh esI

A new champion seldom receives credit for beating an old tit1e-holder. Isn't that a fact? No sooner is the dethroned king restored to conscious ness of his drab existance than the rauceous whine arises: "He was an old "has-been!" Who did he ever lick?''
 But the truth of the matter is he could have whipped any other man in the world but the one who snatch ed his laurels from him.
 They said John L. Sullivan was ''al in'' when he faced Corbett at New Orelans. But they thought well enough of John L. to make him a 2 to 1 fla vorite over the ex-bank clerk. John remained as such for many rounds until the fans finally realized that the Old Roman was finally up against it.
 James J. Corbett was the only champio who ever lost his own crown in the prime of years. James was twenty-seven when F'itzsimmons whipped him at Carson. Corbett beat John L. when he was but twenty-two years old. So he must have been very near his prime when Robert the Red capSiZed him.
 One often hears that Jim Jeffries licked Fitz when the latter was in the
 
 performances of Fitz point to the contrary. True, Bob was past thirty five when he lost to the Big Fellow, but he was about as good as when he dropped Corbett but tWo-years before. As we stated before the vanquished was still the second best man in the ring. Fitz demonstrated this most convtncingIy when, shortly after the Jeffries disaster, he knocked out Tom Sharkey and Gus Ruhlin within a fortnight's space of time. Fairly good for an old hag, eh?
 Jeffries retired in the prime of his pugilistic capabilities. In pugilistic old age he attempted the impossible and tried to repeat the glorious feats of his golden days by defeating John son. But poor Jeff out of touch Of the ring he had to spread-eagle his legs to maintain equilibrium while being introdued to the ringside crowds Jeff is the only one of the bygone ! champions who can, with justification claim he was a "has-been'' when whipped. But who does not think that he could have have mastered ketchel, Langford, Kaufman or Tom my Burns on that memorable Fourth ] of July ten years ago? The Moana ' Monster was even to 1 favorite , ONei JOnIlSOn when l1S two squared i off in the ring!
 1 Jack Johnson had undoubtedly de- teriorated considerably when he faced Willard at Havana After the Moran ; bout in Paris Jack predicted that 1 the next fairly good man would beat him. Yet it took the powerful Jess
 Willard twentyS-iX rounds to turn the trick and he suffered a broken jaw
 while doing it. Which seems to ar que that Johnson was good enough to [ trim anyone but Willard that day. Willard was well on in his thirties when Dempsey slaughtered him at
 Toledo last year. But he said him.
 self that he was as good that day as when he whipped Johnson and he
 surely looked the part. No one was
 more surprised than the Kansan him. self when the smaller Dempsey beat | him down to oblivion. Jack beat a ! Tive one" make no mistake about
 that. Willard is still the best second
 man in the ring today should he care
 to re-enter it.
 Should Carpenter whip Dempsey the mildewed vail about the movies
 spelling Jack or some other lame ex-
 cuse will doubtless be heard. Don'1
 listen to it. Dempsey is but twenty
 four and is surely at the crest of his
 fighting proficiency. The "has been
 alibi of beaten champions rarely
 holds all of the water when the fact:
 are carefully sifted.