Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-08-13

LABELS JOE CANS
WORLDS GREATEST
BOXER OF ALL TIME
COlOred Ringman Never Lost
Head During Hundreds
of Battles.
BY N ].

NOpJi'kh '-~ " hinS eutuf cerv1ce
The greatest fighter of any time,
any weight and any color or creed was
Joe Cans"
That's the opinion of Leo P. Flynn,
who has been identified with the fight
game for neraly a quarter of a cen
tury-and who has seen them all
through that long sweep of years.
Cans had everything a master
ringman should have-and had it in
abundance added Flynn. "Basically
he was game to the last fiber in his
body. He never knew fear or even the
meaning of it in his whole life time.
Nothing ever ruffled, ratified or
disturbed him. He was, in the hottest
sort of fighting, even when the odds
were going against him, as calm and
as cool as though he were getting a
haircut. He fought hundreds of fights
and never in all the fierce milling
he lived through did he ever lose his
head.
The ring brain of Joe Cans was
positively uncanny-and together with
that he had a coordination of eve
and muscle absolutely perfect. L
often felt. while seeing Cans in action.
that he could have fought blindfolded
and whipped the greatest rivals in the
days of his greatness. For he seemed
to fight by instinct-seemed to know
every second of every minute of a
fight just what to do-and he did it.
He was the greatest conserver of
strength and energy that aver lived.
Never in all his IS or 10 fighting
years did he make a false or foolish
move or motion. As a result he could
fight gruelling battles week after
week and always remain fresh and
strong.
A Terrific Hitter
The lightweight division has known
kins. Erne. Lavigne. White and
scores of others. But in the final
analysis / don't think there was one
who could put as much power into a
drive with either hand as could Joe
Cans.
He didn't knock out as many men
per dozen fights as some of the other
great ones. But I'll always believe it
was only because he didn't care ia
assemble a knockout record; that he
loved the fighting game $ o well he
preferred to let men go the distance
with him rather than end the battle
in one of the early rounds.
When Cans did hit, solidly and full
to the mark, the other man fell-and
rarely did he rise. He was out, not
seconds. go seconds and sometimes 10
or Is minutes. And he could turn
the trick with either hand.
Once Cans told his friends to bet
he would stop another fighter in four
rounds. His opponent was one of
those who bet the trick couldn't be
done. He went into the ring that
night determined to live through four
rounds at any cost. And through
two rounds he kept his hands cover
ing his jaws and his elbows blocking
his stomach and heart.
Cans circled around him for two
rounds trying to find an opening. He
couldn't. He tented again and again.
but the other fellow wouldn't un-
cover. 1t was a situation that would
have discouraged and beaten any
fighter but Joe Cans.
Joe won the bets for his friends
in the third. He went in close to his
with terrific force against the left
hand of the other fellow. The punch
that mans hand against his own
chin and knocked him out.
Perfect On Defense
NHeU IL ttUit ~ ueieUSlN6 WOTk
Cans knew every trick hat ever was
invented-and a few more. He could
in a certain spot and by the
mere shift of his head dodge a dozen
blows without moving his feet. In
the heat of battle he could-and did
make the best %marksmen in the
look like novices by his duck
ing side-stepping and blocking tactics.
Cans fought in an era which knew
the greatest collection of lightweights
that ever were active at one time.
To rise to a championship and then
to retain it he had to take on such
men ms Mike tTwin) Sullivan, Willie
Harry Lewis. Sam Langford.
Joe Wolcott. Frank Erne. George
Kid Herman. Martin Fla
herty. Spider Kelly. Rufe Turner.
Holly. Jack Blackburn. Kid Me-
Young Griff. Tommy Tracey.
Joe Grim and a hundred others of the
same kind.
I've seen a lot of wonder fighters
in my day-but my hat is forever
to Joe Cans. the greatest of
them all; the super fighter of ring
history"
GOOD SHOWINGS At RAINBOW.
ReportS that the RAINBOW we'll. drill