The Cordova daily times., 1923-02-27
Ignored Demand for Preliminary Bout to
 Protect Public''
KEARNS NOW HARSH CRITIC
Couldn't Hope to Meet lack Without Showing
 His Stuff

ards demise as an eligible contender for the worlds heavyweight champ ionship will go down in the unwritten records as case of Wilful self-de- struction. He died, figuratively speak ing, by his own hand, and none others.
 Ill-equipped to plan a logical course or badly advised by others, he stead- fastly declined to meet any man oth- CT than Dempsey, thus laying himself open to the charge of seeking money rather than glory. That was tactical suicide. Without further preamble newspaper critics climbed aboard the fat person from Kansas, and by in cessant hammering, so reduced him in public esteem as to make Demp- sey-Willard match financial impos- sibility.
 After the newspapers completed their indictment a Dempsey-Willard bout, at the necessarily high price per ticket, wouldn't have drawn ush- CTS.
 Personally we feel that these crit ics may have been bit premature in their condemnation. It is barely pos sible that physical laws, by which other men may be judged, do not apply to Willard, who, for all of his age and ring rustiness, remains an impressive figure. He might have made some of the dissenters look very foolish
 Wouldn't Demonstrate
 However, that is beside the point. They were willing to shown, and he refused to show them. Therefore those who had the interests of box ing at heart were eminently justified in decrying the situation. Had Will ard been pushed over by Dempsey in a couple of punches boxing would have been done an irremediable in jury.
 Jack Kearns, who had more than u tempted come back, has become one of Willard's severest critics since the showdown, following Richards withdrawal from the transaction.
 q have no sympathy for Willard,' y he said some days ago. "He has only himself to blame for being barred
 ri tell him that he would have to meet another heavyweight if he wanted to make himself a life-sized challenger They were willing to be shown, and listen. If only for his own sake, preliminary bout would have been his logical course I know I wouldn't want to meet a champion after four years of idleness without getting at least one real workout under my belt"
 Jess Spurned Advice
 The worthy MT Kearns speaks the words of wisdom. That they fell upon deaf ears is due to the fact that Willard either is most obstinate or a very mercenary individual. You can judge for yourself by the fol- lowing:
 He arrived in New York around the first of the year, breathing de- fiance to Dempsey and the world in general Asked whether he would be willing to meet one of the leading heavyweights as a "convincer' be- fore tackling Dempsey, he intimated that he would. On the strength of this he was rendered a tremendous ovation as he stepped into the ring at Madison Square Garden, indicating that he had the public with him at that time.
 Some days later Ray Archer, his business manager, told the writer that Willard would dispose of the clamor for an official tryout by meeting Brennan, Gibbons, Johnson and others in training camp exhibi- tions. This was the first intimation that Willard intended to ignore all demands for what newspaper writers saw fit to characterize as the "pro- lection of the public"
 Later he was offered what amount ed to a guarantee of $25,000 to meet Floyd Johnson, comparative novice, in a bout for the milk fund. He gave his tempter the impression of politely listening to something that failed to interest him. He declined. From that moment began the death rattle of Jess Willard's ambition to participate in another bout for the boovvuaiphf cham mniODshiD