The New York herald., 1922-01-27
Jack Kearns Refuses to Accept
w. A. Brady's Offer for
100000 Bout.
WHY HE OPPOSES MATCH
Fears Such a Contest Would
Result in Irreparable Harm
to the Sport.
BY CHARLES f. MATHrsoN.

= match DetNeeH JACK lJeHpSey anu
Harry Wills. 20 be decided next summer,
Dempsey 20 receive s150,000 and Wills
$4,000.
Il am prepared to sign the contracts
ma deposit an amount literally guaran-
teeing my good faith declared Brady
yesterday, "the minute Dempsey, Wills
and their managers likewise sign a con-
tract and post accomf- nying forfeits.
VIII stage the bout on July A. some
where in the United States place to be
definitely agreed upon and publicly an
nounced sixty days prior to the contest"
Mr. Brady added that he was conf
dent public sentiment would not be
against such match and declared that
Wills was the logical opponent for the
champion
When Jack Kearns was asked IL he
would match his man against Wills
under the auspices of Brady the mana
ger OF the champion did not exhibit
feverish enthusiasm. On the contrary.
he appeared to be disinterested and re-
piled:
"1s Brady were to offer twice 5000, 900
would not sign for a match with Wills.
Not that i have any fear as to Demp-
sey defeating the negro, but purely from
q business viewpoint. 1t would. in my
opinion. be very risky venture at this
time and would not attempt it,"
Asked for reasons in support of his
contention Kearns said
Against Mixed Matches.
ITO begin with. I do not believe a
irHxed match of such prominence could
he staged within reasonable distance
of the centers of population, and there
fore it would not be financial success.
Even the Willard-Dempsey contest was
not so productive of gate receipts as
was anticipated, it being too far away
from the big cities of the East.
"On the other hand. the Dempsey
Carpenter match, being set in the most
lthickly populated part of the East, was
a magnificent success, and drew the
greatest crowd that ever attended a
sporting event in this country.
Dempsey is not afraid to fight any
man in the world, but. as his business
manager, am not inclined to put him in
a match that might DE prevented by the
authorities or that might be deficient in
the matter of gate receipts.
Another important angle is this
Every boxing commission in the United
States has declared against mixed
matches. This applies to New York and
New Jersey, the States nearest the CEN
ter of large population. In addition to
The boxing commissions, there are twen-
ty-three States in the membership of the
National Boxing Association. and all are
bound by a working agreement that
would bar mixed match of the Wills
Dempsey size.
"It can readily be seen that the bout
could not be staged in any of those
States. and the question naturally comes
up where could the men box? Mexico,
South America or Canada? Those
places viii not do. as match in London
t,s. xr,fth ~tto n Mt r,rrro ad m
interference by the authorities.
Rcformcrs Arc at Work.
'Then there is another reason for not
making such a match. The reforrncrs
are besieging the Legislatures all over
America with propositions to repeal the
boxing laws now in existence. No one
has forgotten the events that followed
the Jeffries-J ohnson match at Reno, and
IL a match were made with Wills the
same disorders likely would follow This
would help the opponents OF boxing In
their fght against the sport. and ] do
not care to help them. In fact. I do
not wish to do anything to endanger the
sport whicn seems now to be on n rather
solid foundation
Kearns was asked that in the event
Of the purse being guaranteed in adj
vance II that would not remove his OBJ
iections TO the business feature. He re-
piled:
mo promoter would guarantee
purse in advance, and the deposit of n
certain amount OF the purse would not
compensate the champion for loss of
time and other lucrative cnsa agenents.
Then, again. the promoter might lose
courage az critical period Of the match
and suddenly withdraw. as was the
case with Mr. Cochrane and Mr.. Brady
in the Dempsey -Csrranticr match. Had
IL not been for Tex Richard that match
would have fallen through"
When Tex Ricksrd was asked IL he
would DC a bidder for "a match between
Wills and Dempsey he replied that he
would not. as II did not appeal TO him
as being feasible at the present time.
Good Preliminary Bouts.
In addition TO the Dundee Benjamin
hot. AT the Garden next Friday night,
three Eood preliminary contests have
been arranged. Sammy Nablc. who
recently defeated Harry London. will
meet Dick Griffin. AMY Palmer Of Ok
iahoma win clash with Italian Joe Cans
and Pete Latzo will meet Jack Palmer
Of Philadelphia.
Johnny Brown. the English boxer.
VIII fight in the main event OF twelve
rounds at the Pioneer a. c. next Tues
day night with the veteran Charley
Bcccher OF tho East side as his oppo-
ncnt. Browns defeat Of Bud Dempsey at
tho Pioneer Club couple OF weeks ago
established him AS n fcatherweight OF
much class. He is a good puncher and
is able 10 weather a gale when he gets
into one. Ills work proved that his
lights with Joe Burman, Battling Leor-
ard and other good men we're not
flashes.