San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1923-02-12
Has Been Giving Weight
as 265 Pounds for
Several Years.
PROBABLY WEIGHS 800
Former Champ Once Tip
ped the Beam at 325
When Out of Condition.
BY ROBERT EDGREN.

A friend of mine watched jess
Willard at work in a gymnasium the
other day and afterward we had
guessing contest over Wizards
weight. He guessed 300 pounds. But
if Jess doesn't weigh 800 on any scales
that aren't fixed in advance my judg-
ment of weight is all off. I've seen
few thousand athletes, too, in the
past few years. There is Pat Nc
Donald, the shot putter, three inches
less tall than Willard, no fatter, but
perhaps with thicker calves. Hope
Pat will pardon this intimate discus
sion of his anatomy. What I'm get
Isting TO is that Pat weighs about 3OJ
pounds in condition. That was his
weight when be last crossed the ocean
to win a shot put in the Olympic
Games as one of the champions of
the American team. How Pat can
WEIGH 305 and Willard go (the
weight Jess claims) puzzles me.
Then there is Pat Ryan, the ham
mer thrower, 6 feet 4 IL. against
Wizards 6 feet Z. and with thin
ner legs, weighing about SO pounds,
and Matt McGrath, 6 feet . inches
tall, weighing 2SJ. Willard looks
big enough to outweigh any Of
them.
The funny thing about Wizards
weight is that for several years Jess
has claimed that he was Just about
265." He told me that was his
weight before he trained for the fight
at Toledo. Not an ounce over 90.
aN-or,~al FTnloy TngS fivng his
weight at 26J pounds, as he did
several months ago when he started a
light training period. He seems to
like the sound of 265 pounds.
Once Weighed 325.
Long before he was champion Jess
weighed 32j rounds once when out
of condition. That's GO pounds more
than he thinks he weighs today, He
SIX feet seven inches tall and built
800 pounds without being much out of
proportion.
The joker in all this discussion of
Wizards weight is that nobody has
seen Jess on the scales. Jess will
walk right past pair of scales with
out batting an eye.
SUllt on JtSss NOu says lSI >
see what you weigh
What's the use?" says jess, Civ
ing the scales a friendly kick and
starting for the door, Il know what
weigh, 265 pounds"
That ends the discussion. You
can't call Jess a har.
Tom Gibbons weighs about 10
pounds. Dempsey weighed 1S3 at To-
ledo and 1S6 at Jersey City. He'd
be about eleven pounds bigger than
Gibbons. That isn't an overwhelming
advantage among heavyweights.
Dempsey, between $50 and 1S5
pounds, knocked out Fulton, who
weighed 220. He knocked out VIII
lard, who weighed about 245. He
knocked out Carl Morris, who weighed
about 22J.
Thinks Greb Likeliest.
asked Dempsey about the weight
question once. He said he liked 10
fight bigger men. because they are
slower, and, when two men are both
hard hitters, the faster man wins. He
said small. fast men always gave him
more trouble than the giants, and that
Harry Greb would probably give him
more trouble than any of the big men
did. We were visiting Jim Jcffries
that day and Jim was interested in
the talk.
Eyes" said Jim, land of all the
men l ever fought, Bob Fitzsimmons.
a middleweight, damaged me the most
Joe Choynski, who weighed 165
pounds. hit me the hardest punch |
ever felt, and Tom Sharkey was the
hardest man TO fight that | ever met
Tom was strong and short and al
ways coming in fast. He weighed
only 1S3 pounds. but he was the
toughest man TO beat l ever faced. "
Bob Fitzsimmons weighed only 1JG
pounds when he knocked out heavy
weight champion, Jim COrbett But
weight isn't always what makes =
fighter. 4 wildcat weighing ~
pounds can kill Il 200-pound buck.
Copyright, 1923. by the Bell Syndi.
cate, lnC.l
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