The Alaska daily empire., 1921-06-07
HEAVY BETTING
 ON BIG F|CHT;
 MILLION BE UP
Sport Writer Estimates More Bets Be Made Than on
 Previous Bouts.
By Jack Skelly.

Never in the history of sport in any country was there such a vast sum of money wagered on any sporting event as will proba.l change hands on the coming on test between Jack Dempsey and Georges Carpenter on July2.
 As far as a betting proposition goes the big mill will be a worlds record d-breaker.
 So when I declare therell be a billion dollars or over staked on the result of this sensational interna- tional match, I'm not indulging in any fantastic dope dream
 Can you imagine how much coin the fight bugs are wagering all oyrr the civilized world on their favorite champion In England, France, Bel gium, Denmark, Germany, Russia. 1 Africa, Japan China, India, the 5 )n.h Sea Islands and every other spot on this earth where there's a drop of sporting blood?
 May Bet Billion.
 A billion dollars is quite a lot of coin, boys. Just take into deep con sideration how many millions of fight fans there are scattered over all ere ation. who'll be down from one to ten thousand dollars, or even more. 1 No one will ever be able to cor rectly estimate how much money really will be staked on the result l as most of the betting is carried On in private. and there will 'be no rec. ord of thousands of bets made be tween personal friends and others who'll avoid all publicity
 | Carpenter is undoubtedly the most popular man in France. He is not only a great war hero, but a fistic one as well He's in fact. the idol of the French nation. Even the fa nous Marshal Foch' and the Presi dent of that country are not half as much adulated and honored as the gallant champion of all Europe
 Not only the Frenchmen, but the fair sex of France, are willing to bet their last sou that Carpenter 1 will dethrone Dempsey by his bril- liant ring generalship and flashy hard hitting. 1F
 Frenchmen Back Georges. I understand that quite a big bag of French gold will be sent over to this country to back Carpenter at the prevailing odds. But no matter how much money is produced by the admirers of the French champion. the American fans will not only bet the foreigners to a standstill, but will probably make Dempsey 2-to-1 ringside favorite Or even better, if Jack the Giant Killer works out in fine form for the big battle.
 However, it is quite unusual indeed to find almost twenty-five per cent of the thoughtful fistic fans of this country quite willing to back Car pentier with various wagers to defeat or annihilate the champion.
 Never before in my long career in and out of the ring have I met with so many Americans who not only predict a victory for the Frenchman but are also backing their opinion with the real kale.
 Invariably Americans. to man have backed their own countrymen in every sporting event against those of other nations But Carpenter seems to be a rare exception.
 One of the principal reasons for the Frenchman's popularity and the big following he has in the United States, is because he's famous war hero. and we know a real game fighter. A hero is a hero the world over whether he's a Turk, Egyptian. Puloarion or noor Uihernian