, 1923-09-13
BY N l.. FARRELL
UnitedPressSpo Editor)

NEW YORK. Sept. 13-(United
Press)-when the gong rang for the
first round of the Willard-Dempsey
heavyweight championship fight in
Toledo on July 4. 1919. Dempsey
walked slowly from his corner and
circled around the huge Willard.
He Tented him five times with his
eft hand, until Willard struck out
his long left arm. Dempsey then
crashed over q right hand punch un-
der the heart. hooked a left to the
Jaw. and Willard went down.
willard was tricked into a trap
that he had never expected. He
thought Dempsey would rush from
his corner and charge into him like
a wildcat, and when he didn't VIII
lard was completely bewildered.
with Dempsey, that attack was q
carefully preconceived pan. He did
not do II because Willard was q big,
ger man. He changed his usual
tactics because he knew that Willard
was not in shape. that the intense
heat of the day and the excitement
of the moment had his heart almost
poppinB out VI ho Siuc' dhu . Shot
his first punch at that very EVIL.
lent weak spot-the heart.
Luis Firpo would like to know
how Dempsey will come out of his
corner tomorrow night when they
meet at the Polo Grounds, He
would like to know what kind of
an attack Dempsey will carry against
him, where he will shoot at first and
how he will work around TO It.
Thousands of fans would like to
know the same thing.
Firpo is in almost perfect condi.
ton. He is n better man now than
Jess Willard ever was. The med
ical examiner Of the boxing commits
sion. who looked him over expressed
the opinion that the South American
has n better heart than Dempsey.
Perhaps Dempsey will shoot hia
right hand at tho heart and hook
the left to the Jaw. Perhaps he
won't. Only Dempsey knows what
he will do. and perhaps Dempsey
viii not be sure until the breaks Of
the first round decide his course for
him.
Dempsey wifi land the first punch
and perhaps the entire outcome of
the fight depends on where that
first punch lands and how much
there is behind him.
II the champion gets the openings
and has his old kick behind the
punches, he may finish the fight in
five or six socks.
Firpo. fighting his usual style
may require five or six dozen punch
es. He is not a snappy hitter,
there is no one-punch knockout in
his fists. and he relies upon the
effects of n flock of punches to get
what Dempsey gets out OF Just n
few.
Dempsey ought to beat Firpo 70
every punch. but he cannot avoid
being hit, and II the South Ameri-
car lands several of his wild swings
to the body. Dempsey will close a
lot of steam in his blows.
Firpo is n very slow starter. II
took him eight rounds to get going
against Bill Brennan and he looked
had for five rounds of the fight with
eNo' "AAhAas III IllAIAtu COIIT1Nt
Dempsey is a dynamic starter. and
hs is able to maintain n terrific
speed.
Before his fight with Tom Glib.
hons. some experts. going back TO
the Toledo fight when Dempsey fad
ed in the second and third rounds
against Willard, expressed the opln-
ion that the first hard hitter who
could stay six rounds with Dempsey
would beat him. But Dempsey
went fifteen rounds against Gibbons
as fast as any lightweight In the
business.
Big and strong as he IL, hard hit
ting as he is with his right hand,
Ffrpo is not going to be n sucker
for Dempsey. It is permissible to
bring in n qualification that he will
not be easy ~ he owns a real game
heart and, nothing has been shown