Evening star., 1924-02-06

IL SuStOlllS Vi lHS IlliS.
i laughter and wonder among those
who knew him.
have been asked to name the
greatest fighters in their respective
classes of all times-that is, the
greatest in my opinion.
You have no idea how difficult it
is to be frank in answering that QueS-
/ ton. ! will attempt 1t later.
, In the mind of the ordinary spec
! tator there is feeling that prize
lighters are simply money grubbers.
, that ali they want is the purse. l
! have heard many fight fans say that
/, boxers had no sentiment other than
to get the money. They were never
i more mistaken in their lives.
There is nothing quite as dear to a
boxer as championship or the
memory that he leaves with the fans.
He wants to be considered the great
est in his class that ever lived. He
will waste or lose his money without
q word of complaint. but as long as
he lives he cherishes that idea that
he was great in his time.
Fighters are extremely sensitive.
wouldn't say they are prima donnas,
| but they are certainly temperamental.
, l have to be on my guard for that
all the time while dealing with them.
The fighter is much more sensitive
than his manager. He has the same
feeling toward his profession as the
opera singer does To his art.
j
. 10 admit that l am afraid TO include
the present-day fighters in my selec-
! tton OF the best men in their classes
Tor all times My selection will be of
the old-time scrappers-those whose
careers ended just prior to the coming
Of the present crop. You will have a
clearer understa nding of just what l
mean when l tell of the early arrange
nents for the fight between Willard
and Dempsey.
, toI
stance. There is 4 boy as proud Of
, his record as Caruso was of singing.
In my mind there is no doubt that
Dempsey is the greatest heavyweight
tighter for his size that ever lived. 1t
is almost impossible to consider him
capable of the things he does when
one looks at him in street clothes He
Is slender, 1.-THE and comparatively
light. Dempsey has a long way to go
yet. Even by the time these memoirs
appear in print he may have done
something more wonderful than we
have even thought of. 1t would be
unfair to size him up in an analytical
comparison with all the old-time
heavyweights.
He Puts Jeffriex at Top.
But. going back to the former big
lights in fighting. it is my opinion
that Jim Jeffries was easily the great
est of all the heavyweight cham
pions. In saying this l have consid-
cred John j.. Sullivan. Jim Corbett.
Jack Johnson, Jess Willard-all of
them.
For n big man Jeffries had every
! thing that a fighter needs. He had
the strength. the speed and the bull
dog tenacity. Jeffries was much fast
er on his feet than many imagine
That he was game was proved time
and time again. His fights with
Sharkey and Cor bett show that
Jeffries was fundamentally honest.
He had the welfare of his friends at
heart all the time. No man ever lived
who had a greater desire to make
good the claims and hopes of his
hackers than Jim Jeffries.
The charge. sometimes heard. that
Jefflies lay down to Johnson or that
he had arranged for johnson to lay
down to him and then got crossed is
so ridiculous to me that / have to
laugh. I was with him day after day
during the preparations for the John
son fight. No man was ever more con-
fident of winning. AS | related in a
previous chapter. Jeffries was SO alb
solutely sure of winning that he in
sisted on having the purse divided
siXty-forty instead of fifty-fifty. Jack
Johnson would have been perfectly
satisfied to let it go on an even basis.
Yes. of the old-time heavyweights
l am sure that JeffrieS was the great
est. l will discuss the others later.
TomOrrOw-An All-Stnr Champion