The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1926-09-14
Figured Willard Real Fee and
Luis a ''PushOver," But
Was Wrong Both Times
(BY JOE WIIl.IAMS)

"Say. YOU never can tell about this
FIGHT racket" II was Jack Dempsey
talking. had asked him If he had
any prcconccived ideas on the out
come Of his fight with Gene Tunney.
if he figured it would be short
fight or long one, Il hard one or
an easy one.
mo, you never can tell about this
fight racket" he repeated. "A lot
of times the easy fights turn out
to be murder, and the hard ones are
soft"
what fight do you think was the
easiest ! ever had?" Dempsey asked
Eie.
/. began making mental check
back over his many battles but be-
fore could hazard Il guess, his
impetuosity, as manifest in speech
is IN ring work, exploded:
"Willard."
This was the fight. as the world
knows, in which the young western
er conceded some 60 pounds to the
/ ruling champion and battered him to
/ fragments in three rounds, thus ac-
quiring the title.
Il expected willard to knock me
| down II couple Of times anyway"
went on Dempsey 81 was SO sure
that | would he knocked down that
| debated with myself whether to
take nine or leap right up, if !
could, and tear back into him aud
maybe catch him off guard.
First Punch Whipped Willard
"Well, you know what happened.
+ had him whipped from the first
punch. lie hit me with only one
punch that ! remembered, a right
uppercut, that found the button. I'm
not saying that punch didn't hurt
because it did. But it wasn't 8
Touchdown punch, or even close IL
it."
Dempsey then turned to the Other
side of the picture. He told how
he had figured Luis Firpo to be !:
"pushovcr" and how he had run
afoul Of one Of the greatest shock.
in his career.
"When | was matched with TIL.
BULL said Dempsey, II said to my
self, We'll, this is a cakewalk TO
you, boy. All he's got is a RICH
hand and he telegraphs that from
one end Of the ring to the othe,
, He ought to be easier than Fulton
Nov ! still think ! had him dope
, right. He was terrible fighte
and it was almost an accident whel
t he managed to land his right hand
: the only thing he had in the worl
to recommend him as Il heavyweight
prospect.
G Accidents can happen in the rims
n Don't let anybody tell you they CAM
h It was an accident that Firpo bea
c me to the first punch in our fight
and this accident changed the entir
,comnlexion Of the battle.
81 missed a short lead to his hea
moment after the gong sounde
y and when | missed the impetus q
my body movement carried me flus
into his right hand, which he hcl
: cooked at his side ready to swing.
i I'VE didn't even have to swing
# to turn me dizzy. The impact W;
k enough. wasn't myself until aftt
& the rest between the first and Sc
4, ond rounds and in the meantime
&c took an awful FASTING from 81
j. ! figured was clown"
Dempsey says his fight with Ca
l. pentier was hard one, too, but
% an entirely different reason.
- Found Training an Ordeal
= ut wasn't hard fighting him, !;
=, :. though he did sock me pretty go,
:, clout in the second round. The ha
= part was in training. knew "
~ too big and too strong for him al
"a that was cinch to win unless
= fell down and broke couple of LEI
- yet | had to 60 through two +,
s. months Of training-two full mont
I Of hard work for fight knew
could win without training hardly
all. For the first time in my |
working for fight was an ordeal.
hated it. The fun used to KIN
|y at training was gone"
asked Dempsey II he was havi
he any "fun" training for this fiji
iii with Tunney.
va II don't know whether you'd {
he II fun" he answered rubbing 81
lip. ear reflectively, "but It isn't gr
,cd in the same sense training for
Frenchman was. ] knew ! could "
,fes him