Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-11-30

boxing two short rounds each with Tom
Kennedy and Joe Bonds. a couple Of
old timers who have done more posing
than fighting in the past few years.
Willard was fat, and il was said that
he had trained only 4 few days, having
dropped his regular training months
ago, when it became apparent that be
wasn't going TO get q match with Denp-
sey.
Willard believes that he can beat
Dempsey.
But nearly all ex-champions think
they can come back, even after sew
eral years retirement. When they
try it they find that they lack speed
and endurance, that they have for
gotten how to box. and that their
judgment of distance and direction in
hitting has disappeared.
Let Willard fight someone else be
fore he thinks of fighting Dempsey.
The public won't take his claims seri-
ously until he does. And if he goes
up against even Il good second rater
he may find that he hasn't as much
left as he thinks he has.
That would save the public 4 Tot Of
money and Willard Il beating. AS he
is al present he wouldn't have II
Chinaman's chance against the rugged
champion. He's "A big. good natured
fellow. and | for n wouldn't take
any pleasure in seeing him battered
again as he was at Toledo.
The University of California football
team won't be seen in action ut pasa-
dena January l.. The college athletic
authorities notified the Pacific Coast
conference that the team, having
given up VIZ winter vacations TO play
ing visiting teams from the east, is
entitled to a rest, and that training
will stop entirely as soon as the fall
schedule is played.
The Z. c. team is by far the
strongest in the west. 1t made a
cleanup of all rivals during the early
part Of the season, its lowest score
being the 1910 defeat of the Uniyer-
sity of Southern California, which
afterward cinched second place by de
feating Stanford. 90. The u. S. c.
team plays a fairly strong anne and
as it will be practically at home on
the Pasadena Stadium field should
make a good showing against the
eastern visitors.
If Joe Beckett Of England comes
to America on Tex Richards invita-
ton and fights Tommy Gibbons. he will
be showing courage enough. Gibbons
would outclass him in any ring, any
where. over any distance. For that
matter, Gibbons would outclass nearly
all of the heavyweights now in the
ring. He's too clever for them.
The only heavyweight he wouldn't
be able to outlook is Dempsey. and
Dempsey combines speed and skill and
a poke that Gibbons cant match.
kearns' reply to n query from Eng
land. asking how much he would re
quire for taking Dempsey there to
fight Beckett, probably shows that he
knows such a match would be a Joke,
and that he doesn't care to he mixed
up in. it. A demand for $2G0.0O0 for
Il Beckett fight is just Kearns' end of
the kidding. He knows that n Demp-
sey- Beckett match might draw 10 per
rent of that amount.
A Dempsey-Beckett bout would be
like a couple Of rounds between the
champion and a sparring partner. And
for that matter I've seen Dempsey
handle ~sparring partners who probably
wouldn't have any trouble at all in q
fight with Beckett.
A suggestion: Why not let Beckett
fight Floyd Johnson. the novice, first :?
That would show whether or not
Beckett has any stuff" at all, and it
might start Johnson on the way up TO
a championship match Il year from
now. Copyright, 1922, BY Sthe Bell
Syndicate. Inc.).