The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1921-11-02
TEX MAY FALL Down
IN ENTHUSING PUBLIC
over WILLARD MATCH
BY FRANK G. MENKE

ny r hhNh We
Tex Richard persists in the effort to
jam a Jack Dempsey-Jess Willard bat
tie upon the front pages of the long
suffering newspapers.
Richards judgment as to matchmak-
ing has been sustained in the past
with quite a few successes and only
one signal failure. But the old saying
about going to the well once too
often" might come true if he tries to
put on tilt between the mauling son
of Utah and the slow moving, slow
thinking and aged Kansan.
In the past it was ever possible to
Smoke up enthusiasm over the
heavyweight matchmaking ventures of
Richard. Clever press agenting and
shrewd building up" always resulted
in getting the natives so steamed up
over the affair that they went to the
battlefield in droves-and Richard
was credited with another success.
But smoking up" return clash be-
tween Dempsey and Willard is some
thing entirely more intricate and diff
ficult than that involved in the jeff
ries-Johnson battle, the mixup be
tween Willard and Moran, the Battle
OF Toledo and the Dempsey-Carpent
fracas-vastly more difficult
When JEFF was coaxed out of retire
ment to meet the negro, everyone in
the world figured that Jeffries at his
best could have won with ease Like
wise everybody knew that he wasn't at
his best. But the "smokers-up," con-
ceding that JEFF wasn't quite the JEFF
of old, sort of bamboozled the public
into believing that he had come back
strong enough to have fighting
chance against the golden-molared
negro.
But he didn't
Couldn't Do 1t
When Willard was matched with
Moran it was quite simple to figure
out how Moran had a chance to win.
1t was stated then that Willard was
little more than lucky champion
and that Moran could hit hard enough
to drop the giant if he landed solidly.
So the crowd turned out to see if he
could do (which he couldn't
There was, OF course, good reason
for the matching of Willard and Demp-
sey. The younger, shorter man had
annihilated all the logical contend
ers" and had earned the right to
battle for the crown. So the build
ing up process was quite simple.
And, when thematch with Georges
Carpenter was made, it looked like a
"shoo-in' for Dempsey. But the
builders up got busy and wove such
a shroud of mystery around the
Frenchman that 10000 persons became
curious enough to pay from IS to $50
for the privilege of satisfying that
curiosity.
But what process can be used with
reference to return battle between
Willard and Dempsey that will stimu-
late the public to a point where it
will go into frenzy for the privilege
of paying out money to see it?
Never Whipped Good Man.
Willard never whipped a good man
in his life-and took beatings from a
half dozen. He was, at his best, just
clumsy, awkward fellow who de-
pended upon bull strength to win for
him. He went up against a great
fighter in Toledo-and was pounded
into the goriest pulp that ever was
gazed upon in prize ring regalia. He
was nothing but huge punching bag
just about lie softest mark that
Dempsey ever fought in his life.
Every hour since then has harmed
Willard. For as age creep into his
frame, rusting his joints, fattening
his muscles, it robs him of even the
little ability he knew in 1919 He'll
be nearing 80 if Dempsey battles him
again-an age years and yet more
years beyond gladiator's prime.
Willard hasn't fought in two years
and perhaps has forgotten what little
he knew about the art of fiSticuffing.
The easy life he has led since then
has harmed him, it would seem, be-
yond point where he would have
more than a miracle chance to win.
And SO it is difficult at this juno.
ture to reason out what form of hocus.
pocus could be used to make even a
gullible public think that Dempsey
VS.. Willard in 1922" would be other
than workout for the champion.
Copyright 1921 BY King Features
Syndicate. Inc.t