The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-03-20
Harry Greb Deserved to Win, States Corbett, But Gibbons Didn't Display His Usual Class
Fly JAMES J. CORBETT Copyright, 1922, by King Features
 Syndicate, Incl


 The defeat of Tom Gibbons the other night at the hands of Harry Greb strengthens just bit more the old, old statement that men, like horses, do not always run true to form.
 If they did, wagering on sportive events which involved men and ani- mals would end. For there would be no bookmakers to take the wagers against the men who, on form, fig ured to win.
 Every fighter, just like every equ- inc thoroughbred, has his off days: days when he simply can't 'untrack himself" days when he performs a mile or two below his real form and, performing so, goes on his way to de- feat.
 Gibbons Seemed Stale
 No one who saw the battle between Greb and Gibbons wants to take one iota of credit from the game little Pittsburger who spotted his rival nearly a dozen pounds-and then chugged his way to victory. But the point is that the Gibbons who faced Greb that night wasn't the real Tom Gibbons. He was a Gibbons slow of action, rather slow of thought seemingly gone bit stale.
 Those who have seen Gibbons in his last dozen battles, insist that he wasn't himself the night he tackled Greb; that there was something wrong with him. Maybe he had train ed too hard; maybe he was stricken a bit by stage fright through contact with so huge an audience.
 Dislocates Thumb
 It's true that Gibbons dislocated his right thumb in the third, and that hand was more or less useless to him from then on. But those who have been shouting his praises to the high est heavens feel that even |. useless right hand couldn't account wholly for Gibbons failure to cut loose: for Gibbons's failure to tear Into his foe man in his usual way and make every shot terrific hit to the head or body.
 Something was wrong with Tom" they insist He wasn't himself"
 Gibbons. in other words, seemed to have suffered a form flip-flop and, sadly enough for Gibbons, it came in q fight which stacked up as one of the most important in his career.
 Jack Dempsey Knows
 Jack Dempsey knows what a form reversal means-knows what the ter rible feeling is which comes to fighter when he climbs into a ring, feeling fit. and then somewag, some how. simply cannot unmuscle himself simply cannot get started
 Nearly four years ago Dempsey climbed into 8 ring in San Francisco against the diminutive Willie Mee- han-and was punched and pounded around that ring for four bristling rounds Meehan ran circles around the giant; Meehan took everything Dempsey had-and still tore in. Dempsey wasn't himself: Dempsey simply couldn't untrack himself He was missing by a dozen inches in most of his swings and sometimes he couldn't get out of his own way.
 A second time-in December, 1920 Dempsey experienced the same feel ing It was in his battle against Bill Brennan Seemingly he was trained to the minute. Yet when he started to fight he seemed stiff legged, slow thinking, muscle bound. He couldn't get out of the way of Brennans s shots; couldn't dodge or duck even so clumsy a man as was his foeman.
 And that night Dempsey showed the poorest craftsmanship of his entire career. The champion, who had made most of his fame through the fact that he was one of the surest hitters in prize ring history, was missing the