The Washington times., 1922-08-06
JACK TELLS
HOW WILLARD
LOST CROWN
Champion Saw an Opening for
Heart and Then Let Fly at
just the Right Second.
BY JACK DEMPSEY,
Heavyweight Champion Of the World


Copyright, 1872. by King Features
Syndicate, Incl
TT has always seemed to ne
that the most vital thing any
= youngster should learn after
a schooling in the rudiments of
boxing is perfect timing. With
out it boxer will never get any
where. For of what use would it
be TO a ring man II he had the
power to knock over the Statue
of Liberty if he couldn't time his
punch so that it would hit the
mark?
Very, very often in ring warfare
the difference between victory and
defeat is a fraction of an inch ard
a fraction of a second.
Let's go back to Toledo:
In the first round Of that fight
with Jess Willard, saw an open.
ing for his heart. 1t wasn't ldg
opening-and I knew Il wouldn't
exist beyond q second. let loose
with n right-hander. II had timed
that punch a second later than I
did. IL would have been too late, for
Willard. realizing he had left his
body open. started a block.
Blow That Really Won.
But the punch was timed perfect.
ly. 1t struck Willard's unguarded
blow that really won a worlds
championship for me, for 1t semi
paralyzed the giant and made him
easy for me afterward.
I might have won anyway. But
the might have been" doesn't count.
What really happens is the big
thing. And so the fact remains
that I reached the pinnacle of the
pugilistic world because / timed that
one vital blow with absolute perfeec-
ton.
And now for Jersey City:
Georges Carpenter raped me en-
the jaw with a stiff right.hander in
the second round. II drove me back
ward He followed with several
more punches to the same spot. But
they didn't harm me--and IL was all
because the latter were poorly
timed.
After the Frenchman knocked me
off balance with that first swipe,
there's the possibility that he might
have dropped me IL he had timed
his follow-ups in perfect way.
Being Just human, / have only
human jawbone-and no human
jawbone is absolutely shock-proof
when a wallop smacks the right
place.
But the fact Is that Carpenter, in
his excitement, was poor timer.
He saw the opening and let loose
but he didn't shoot his follow-up
punches perfectly. One arrived
little too soon and hit me on the
cheek; another was a bit too late
and hit me on that part Of the jaw
which is not very vulnerable.
So II was that Georges, because
Of poor timing. blew whatever
chance he then had to win the
heavyweight championship.
Timing in defense is Just as vital
as Il is in hitting. II a man blocks,
ducks, or sidesteps. at exactly the
right moment. he Is out Of danger.
But the fraction OF second in de-
lay may prove fatal to him.
Bill Brennan did some timely and
clever boxing during the first
eleven rounds of our New York bat
tie. Then came the twelfth. I saw
an opening for the body--and let
loose. Bill realized that flaw in his
defense-and hurriedly tried to
block.
But In the flashing duel between
the timing-of-punch and the timing
of-block, 1 won out, My punch was
perfect in it's timing--and Il hit its
target. Bills effort at blocking wns
timed too slow and he was
knocked out.
So Il can be seen that In boxing,
the difference between winning and
losing usually is simply a matter OF
timing,