Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-09-10
DEMPSEY IS EAGER
To MIX WITH WILLS
IN NEW YORK RING
Harry's Showing Against Tut
Jackson Makes Him Look
Easy.
BY SPARROW McGANN
Special Correspondent Of Great Fails Tribune
Copyright, 1929, BY The Great Falls Tribune.

Copyright, ls22, by The Great fsNs IFlouhe'
New York, Sept. 9.-Jack Dempsey
and his manager kearns, are now in
New York. apparently eager to do bat
tie against Harry Wills. Their atti-
tude may be the result of a dictum by
the New York Athletic commission
concerning conditions under which the
bout may be held in New York. Those
conditions are practically prOhlbltlVe.
More likely, however, the readiness OF
the champion to meet the big negro Is
due TO the showing of Wills in his fight
against the overrated Tut Jackson.
Wills beat Jackson easily enough.
but his manner of fighting impressed
the ~wiseacres with the belief that If
he boxes Dempsey as he did this negro
opponent he will taste defeat early
in the bout.
When Wills first came into notice
about eight years ago, c~leyerness was
his distinguishing quality. He had Il
dandy left and his footwork made HIM
one of the hardest men in the ring TO
hit. Apparently he has lost a lot OF
his long range accuracy. This has been
demonstrated not only against Tut
Jackson but against other fighters
Harry has met in recent years. lie IS
a wild hitter now, whereas he used TO
be a sharpshooter. 1t is only when ne
is close to his man. when, III fact. he
is holding him with one arm and punch
ing with the other, that he does real
damage.
There is no doubt that he can hit
harder than he used to hit, but he
seems to have sacrificed everything to
mauling with his right while that long
left arm is wrapped around his adver-
sary. Besides. the men he has fought
have been second and third raters who
were frightened before they got into
the ring. What would happen were
Jack Dempsey the opponent would be
another matter since Jack doesn OBJ
ject to fighting in clinches and would
be likely to give Wills as good II not
better than he received.
In such event it would be n question
which is better able to withstand pun
ishment. Judging the matter fairly on
the basis of what the men have done. 1T
would seem that Dempsey is the tough
er in this respect. Any man who can
take the wallop on the jaw that ne took
from Carpenter and still go on fighting
Is n genuine 1S-carat shock absorber.
Make no mistake about that. On the
other hand. more than n pork n
beaner has upset Wills with a blow to
his chin. There is no doubt Jack can
punch faster and more accurately when
in close than Wills can.
Fighting at long range. it would seem
as though Dempsey is vastly more
skilful and that he would be all over
Wills. of course there is a chance
that Wills has not forgotten his old
time skill, but if this is the case he
has shown nothing to prove it since
1910 at least.
1t is by no means out of the question
that Wills and Dempsey will meet this
fall. Jack needs the money and all
Kearns' carefully laid plans as to bouts
with set ups have fallen apart. In
Michigan he got no consideration and
in New York equally little. So unless
all signs fail, it is probable that the two
will hook up under Tex Richards aus
pieces in Jersey City before the snow
falls.
In the meantime, Jess Willard is
appearing in theaters showing specta-
tors more than two years of light
training. This, of course. means he is
working up to challenge Dempsey. His
present campaign is TO build up respect
for him as a contender for the crown
that Dempsey took way from him at