The Washington herald., 1921-07-17
By ROBERT EDGREN.


things can happen where there's NO
electric lighted. padded floor,
wrapped-rope. modern ring. ana
!. soft-padded gloves.
n Reminds me of the time when
Jim Jeffries was in his prime, anc
along came a persistent dusky
rhallenger. as he stood in a cafe
N San Francisco and respectfully
ksked for a match
Nothing doing" said Jef. but
Urn give you this chance IL you want
it. I'll put $4,000 IN gofd right
here behind the bar with Tom Cor
bett- You and I go down into the
cellar and lock the door. II you
come out you get the $4,000. II
come out I'll pay your hospital ex-
penseS"
"'Misto Jefries." said the chal-
lenger, "Ah amt no cellar hghter'
When 1 fights 1 wants ring, and
referee. and a lot of lights
Mitchell spiked Sullivan
Now apply a little of the London
prize ring stuff to Jack Dempsey.
There was little Charlie Mitchell,
of England.
Mitchell fought John l.. Sullivan
at Chantilly, France. to a long
draw. They fought in the mud
Rain poured down. The going was
very slippery and Sullivan. the big
man. finally gave up trying to catc1
Mitchell. and turned to face him
as best he could while the little
man danced around and pecked
away.
It was customary to wear spiked
shoes to prevent slipping when
fighting on turf. Mitchell raked
SuIlfvan's shins and stepped on his
feet with the spikes, which may
have had something to do with the
drawn battle. Probably Sullivan
would have stepped on Mitchell, but
he was too heavy and slow for that
His feet were planted in the muo
Jack Dempsey fought Carpenter
in a good. dry ring, with a two
inch plank floor supported on iron
trusses. There was an inch of felt
on the ofor. canvas stretched
tightly over that. and powdered
rosin stamped into the canvas to
prevent slipping. But suppose
heavy Jack had fought in niue.
and the Iight-footed Carpenter hac
worn spiked shoes Might have
made some difference. Beside the
Id London prize ring game, modern
Joking is tea party.
Rough Work in Old Days.
When Gene Corrie. the famous
English referee. came to America
to see the bout of July 2. he wore
, in his tie a figure of boxer about
an inch and a half long. a perfect
portrait in enamel. diamond-stud-
ded at the belt.
That's Sayers," explained Mr..
Corrie; very old piece, that Very
great fighter. Sayers. 4 little Dit
Of a chap beside your Dempsey and
these modern champions. Weighed
about ten stone four 0i4 poundsl
when he fought your 'Benecia Boy
Heenan a drawn battle for the
worlds championship"
There was an example of what
small man could do under the OLD
"cross-buttock and fall on 'em
rules. Hcenan was over six feet
tall, a Jack Dempsey in build and
America
Tom Seyers was champion Of
England and a favorite because OF
his great skill. He had beaten all
opponents by opposing speed and
science to bulk and strength.
Fight Ends In -Draw.'
The fight stirred up a tremendous
interest in America-sO much that
Harper's Weekly sent over a car
toonist and a writer to cover it
q brand new idea in those days and
the forerunner of the scene in Jer-
sey City when over 500 writers
sat at the ringside pounding out
stories about the Dempsey-Carpen-
Tier contest.
sayers was about in. according
70 old accounts, when his admirers
broke up the ring and stopped the
fight, making it a draw" But the
same thing happened in America
when Carney of England came here
to fight Jack McAuliffe for the
lightweight title. McAuliffe's
friends pulled up the ring stakes
when McAuIiffe was about done for
So that's that.
The fact remains that Sayers and
Mitchell and Jem Mace, the English
gypsy, champions in the London
prize ring times, and some other
men of middle size, did very we'll
against the big 'uns." And a Greo
or Carpenter might fight a Demp-
sey on even terms with bare fists
and in rough going
In boxing with gloves. especially
big. eight-ounce gloves. size counts.
The heavy man doesn't feel the
weight of the gloves. and he can
hit q humping punch even with his
fist In a pillow.
where's Dempsey's Soft SPOT.
As for the man who is finally
going to tap Dempsey where II will
do the most good. from the way
Jack handles himself now when in
trouble. it looks as il something
new will have to be done to find
his soft spot" II he has any. II
isn't his chin or his stomach. II
may be somewhere about his head. !
/ remember a fighter whose oppo-
nent hit him on top of the head !
as he ducked. and knocked him for /
a goal. After that everyone was
tipped of about that vulnerable /
spot and a clean string of *. by |
marks on his record list finished |
a promising career.
III Dempsey's weak spot doesn't |
show up he may have to concede
MS opponents handicap. For in !
stance, ne might let them wear
their belts up around their necks. |
eliminating the heart punch that
Jack puts into everything but mis-
literary efforts.
Or some arrangement might be |
made whereby a couple of huskies
might be allowed to hit Jack a few
times Just before the real fipnt /