The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1922-01-20
DEMPSEY HAS LOST
QUALITY THAT MADE
HIM SUPERB CHAMPION
By FRANK G. MENKE

ness WulCH ilc hAcW III iOlCuo'
A change has come in Dempsey
change which has not added anything
to his fistic prowess.
Rather, it is shift in the other
direction.
Dempsey seems still powerful enough
to defend his laurels successfully
against the best heavyweights in the
game, but the super part of the super
man title once bestowed upon him is
more or less disappearing.
A few different little things have
contributed to the skidding of the
once invincible champion of champ
ions. Ring idleness is, after all is
said and done, the basic cause. NO
man who was as active as Dempsey
through his earlier years can jump
from the rosined arena to place be-
fore the footlights and retain the fight
ing edge.
Dempsey has not dissipated in the
full sense of dissipation which in
cludes an undue percentage of wine,
women and song. But he has dissl-
pated in the matter of easy living. He
has not been adhering so rigidly to the
early diet of wholesome foods. He
has been going in for the dainty things
which perhaps appease the appetite,
but don't assist in the retention OF
physical power.
Ready for Action
He hasn't worked as feyerishly at
the occupation of keeping in shape as
he used to do in the other days. In
that era of time, he was what might
be called "a nut on condition" Physi-
cal fitness meant to him more than
anything else in the world. His every
waking hour was alive with the idea
of developing himself more and still
more in fighting greatness. He strove
at all times to keep himself ready for
instant call to the prize ring.
But the day that Dempsey won a
worlds championship, the real turn
ing point for him was reached.
1t was his aim and his ambition to
be fighting champion. But he hasn't
realized it. From July, 1919, until
September 1920, he battled no living
man. He had been fighting on an
average of once a month and some
times oftener during the strenuous
part of his pre-championship days
But when he became a champion, IA
months elapsed before he made his
first defense of his gilded crown.
Loses Ambition
In the IS months since that time, he
has fought but twice. And the sad
dest thing about it all is that Demp
sep no longer Graves fisticuffing as he
used to do in the other days; no longer
seems wildly keen about beating up op
Eonents; no longer is spurred by the
savage instinct of battling which was
the one vital thing that made him g
! truly great.
Dempsey has lost his fistic ambi
ton.
And there, in a nutshell, is the
whole story.
For when men lose ambition they
lose the most precious possession Of
| life.
Dempsey didn't yield that ambition
willingly-but he has yielded it JUS
the same. In his heart he wanted tt
be a fighting champion and perhaps
would have been if troubles hadn'
come, or if there had been formidable
| foeman for hi INTO fight from the out
set of his championship reign. Blu
dempsey got into legal difficulty OF
| the Pacific coast which shelved hin
from ring action for many months.
Becomes Society Man
AS the time skipped along, Dempse!
began to think less and still less abou
the fight game. He had become some
| thing of a society man; a pampereC
pet. He made several jaunts before
the footlights. Earlier he didn't like
the stage stuff. But lately he ha!
come to fancy it and those who know
him best insist that he is keener nov
about being matinee idol than a fis
tic hero.
! Dempsey will fight again-they al
do. Every champion that the heavy
weight division ever knew kept OF
fighting until he was whipped. Demr
sey some day will meet the same fat
as all the others in the era that ha
gone. The time for the Dempsey de
thronement may be a long way off
and it may not. 1t all depends upo1
whether or not Dempsey can reac1
physical fitness for his next ffght-an
also it depends upon the ability of hi
foeman.
Dempsey is the type of man who's
fistic nature thrives on activity. H
NEEDED fights-a lot of them-to kee
him tuned to concert pitch. The wors
thing that could have happened ha
happened - and that's comparativ
idleness through nearly three year
of ring championship-and the loss @
the vital spark-ambition
| Copyright 1921 BY King Features
| Syndicate, Incl