The Washington herald., 1922-09-09
CHAMP, HARD UP,
WILL FIGHT WILLS
ON MONTHS NOTICE
Negotiations for October
Match May Be Closed
! Next Week.
By WEsTBRooK PEGLER.


NEW YORK, Sept. s.--Forbidden to
hight anyone but Harry Wills In New
York and almost forbidden TO fight
willis, Jack Dempsey has been backed
into a situation in which he finds his
world championship about as useful
as a fork to ballplayer Young Mr..
Dempsey therefore has reformed his
noney-manners and assumed the at
.itude OF an ambitious young fellow
doing the best he can. eager to fight
he toughest opponent they can pick
for him and thankful for minor favors.
Dempsey expects to fight somebody
IN New York this fall and therefore
has begun training. The beginning
was a 30-minute workout this after
noon in the sitting atmosphere Of
Stillman's gymnasium, block from
Broadway. a big place with a church
like, high Interior, crowded with a
CONGREGATION Of taxi-drivers, sprout-
ling youngsters OF the vegetable ear
fraternity and the class Of cap-wear-
ing young social lights of the upper
West Side known generally as "the
boys" Dempsey posed for a pnoto-
graphic panorama. yanked the
weights, bulIdozed his shadow. tickled
his shoulder blades with his toes and
boxed three asty. nasty rounds with
Jack Thompson, straight-haired.
cofYee-colored member OF the Colored
Heavyweights Mutual Benefit Society.
Kearp. Opens Verbal Bsrrage.
Jack Kearns said the champion was
in such shape that he would be ready
to fight in a week. whereat the gents
in waiting al the court of Saint Jack
all grasped tn. rail and called merrily
for more sarsaparilla. Mr.. Kearns'
CAV buriesquerie in discussing the
fisht and especially the terms Is keep
ing Broadway in lightsome humor
and people no longer care whether it's
the heat or the humidity.
II Dempsey can Get ready in a week
then Adam was a seventh son and
Carrie Nation an a cabaret. Jack is
wide in the middle and wadded out all
over with a distributed thickness
which doesn't make him look exactly
fat but certainly gives him no strong
resemblance to the hardened. fine
drawn athlete who slugged that
yo, ng French movie actor at Jersey
City. Jack will need to train up his
speed before he fights Harry Wills
but he has a month in which to do 1t
and that would be ample time.
The champion gave Jack Thomp-
son a card to the morgue as soon as
they got started. He whacked the
brown boy on the left ribs with a
moaning right smash that bent him
out of shape and then laid in with
both big arms pumping against
Thompson's belt line. They were ter
rife blows but this Thompson Is un-
l,,. he
banged Jack on the lips with a right
handler pulled clear from the docks.
Jack shook his head. pumped a steam
ing jab into Thompson's face. opened
him up and shot over a right smash to
the jaw which knocked the negro ir-
responsible on his feet Thompson
was out for half a minute but didn't
fall and Dempsey let him wrestie till
his head cleared,
Match Nearly Made.
The negotiations for the fight
are alive and tingling now and the
match stands a strong chance of
being wrapped up next week.
Kearns said he and Dempsey came
here to do business because they
need the proceeds. They can do
business with only one fighter in
this State. Harry Wills.
We aren't asking a half million
dollars at ALL" said Mr.. Kearns in
a tone which indicated that they
would be glad to get half that much.
"All we want is fair share. They
offer us 3Iiz per cent of the re-
ceipts at the Polo Grounds which
would give US 100000 and Wills
sl25.0oO. That would be very nice
but we see that the promoters
would get more than $500. 900 for
themselves. and that wouldn't be
so elegant for us. They aren't risk
ing any title and we are; therefore
we ought to get more than anyone
else. But we came here to fight
Now We'll do business. A month is
plenty of time for Jack to get
ready"
Except in minor details the Re-
public Athletic Club. which has the
hight privilege at the Polo Grounds.
is willing to comply with the we'll
nigh impossible conditions imposed
this week by william Muldoon, of
the Athletic Commission for the
government of this bout. Most i'm
portant. the Republic Athletic Club
processes Willingness to give the
10000 security demanded by the
commission. The commission de-
mands that 10000 seats he set aside
at 81 each: the Republic offers to
provide half that number at 50 each;
and 10000 at IS or less.
Wills has signed with the Repub-
lie to accept 121z per cent. Kearns
objects to a flat rate of 37S per
cent but they may he able to sur
mount the financial difficulties next
week. The Republic wants the fight
for October IL or IA. As there is
nobody else left for Dempsey to
fight he and Kearns are now listen
ing to reason and the Jingle of the
promised change