The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1922-03-12
By ROBERT EDGREN.

Its the champion with the punch
who gets all the popularity" said
Freddy Welsh a few nights ago, as
he watched Rocky Kansas being
rubbed down after losing a fifteen
ruodn decision to Benny Leonard.
Leonard Is making great
record" Welsh went on. He al
ways has the punch. After winning
the title from me he went right
along winning other fights with
knockouts. He hasn't needed deci-
sions. In the decision fights he has
fought he has stopped yelling and
Ritchle Mitchell. and has outpointed
Rocky Kansas. But he fiattened
Kansas in the eleventh round, and
it's something TO put that human
battering ram on the floor. I never
made a hit with the crowd that
Benny makes. and only because I
didn't have the kick"
Welsh said a lot in a few words.
Looking back over the long list of
champions in different weight classes.
it's easy to see how the possession
Of a K. o. punch commanded re-
likes action-plenty of it-excitement.
thrills. And there is nothing that
puts a thrill into a boxing contest
like the possibility of a decisive
punch that may slip over at the
most unexpected moment.
John L. Sullivan was world famous
because he won his fights with crash
ing knockouts. There are few deci-
sions in John LIS record. Jim Corbett
was popular for a while, after beat
ing Sullivan and knocking out Charlie
Mitchell. BI.t he never had a real
K. o. punch. and it wasn't long before
harder hitters took his place in pub
lie esteem.
strength and a punch. He once
had dropped him twice. He was al
ways dangerous. There were just
two men he couldn't knock down.
It's the Snap That Counts.
One was Bob Fitzsimmons, who
was too crafty to get in the way Of
Sharkey's swings, and who was the
hardest hitter in the world at his
wetght-perhaps the hardest at any
weight. The other was Jim Jeffries.
Sharkey hit JEFF often enough, but
he couldn't make an impression on
Jeff's tremendous frame. In his
prime Jeffries was the strongest man
ever seen in a ring, and no fighter
living in his time could hit hard
enough to upset him.
Jeffries had a great punch. He
often held it back. being afraid of
injuring his opponents IL he used
all his hitting power. but when he
needed the punch he could deliver It.
There is a peculiar thing about
punching power. The weight of the
blow counts for nothing.
The snap with which it Is deliver
ed gives it the stunning effect.
When Fitzsimmons was training at
weight title, boxed with him one
day, and had several samples of
Bobs terrific body blows. The
punches landed on Fitz didn't
worry him much.
After boxing we had a discussion
about hitting power. and went down
town to try it out on a punching
machine with a registering dial. I
was more a shot putter and weight
thrower than a boxer, and this is
where I slipped one over on Fitzsim-
mons.
Bob hit the pad on the punching
machine some mighty swats, and the
needle few up and registered about
400 pounds. When my turn came
had sized up the workin style of the
machine. and instead of driving my
fist into IL with a snappy boxers
blow l lunaed with a shot putting
drive. registering approximately
500 pounds. or twice the punch de-
llvered by Fitzsimmons. a.... .-'
A Puzzle to Fitx. 49,.
Fitz couldn't understand 1t at ALL
He couldn't believe that anyone could
hit harder than he did, So he kept
on pounding the machine for nearly
an hour. Finally Fitz had bright
idea
Look ere" he exclaimed. you
can't be. lifting arder than I am.
When 1t It 1T so ara the needle
flies once around so quick we don't
see 1t, and then it goes slower for
400 pounds more. I'm lifting once
around the dial-that's 1900 pounds
and 400 more-1600 pounds"
And tFitz stuck to his claim. The
fact was that his 400 pounds hit
was a blow and my 500 pound hit
was a shove. My hit would have
upset a man without hurting him
much-but Fitzsimmons' hit would
have Jared the senses out of any
man II landed on. Naturally. Fitz-
simmons never hit as hard a blow
at a moving target as he did at the
padded cushion on the machine.
Dempsey has earned a place among
the worlds greatest hitters by estab-
fishing the cleanest knockout record
ever held by a champion. His punch
has earned him fame.
Look at the lightweights. Benny
Leonard Is the most popular cham
pion the class ever had-and he near
~ always wins with a, punch Joe
Cans was a. great lightweight cham
pion because he could get up from
a knockdoWn and evan when real