New Britain herald., 1926-05-19
BY JOE WILLIAMS)

Hendersonville, \. C., May l9.- Well what about Dempsey? Is he as good as he used 10 be- Has he gone back" Can he whip run- ney? or Wills? or your old Aunt Emma.
 These questions are not out of order. The heavyweight champion is putting on the climaAlng touches to a month of preliminary training here in the mountains, launching q comeback program which is to re- urn him 10 the ring in New ) ork ! in September.
 It has been nearly three years since Dempsey has had an actual fight @lt has been almost that iong since ho has given a serious thought to the business of fighting. For the most part their time has been de voted to enterprises entirely divorced battling.
 Dempsey has to come back two ways: tD He has 10 bring lis physical attributes back 10 their old time fighting form and, @ He has to recharge his fighting mind and fighting soul with thc old zeal and fire that swept him triumphanrE past the Wilards the Carpenters, the Gibbonscs and Firpos.
 Hes Gone Back
 Whether hc can do this to the de- grec demanded by tho assignment which confronts him is the main question. and your answer 10 that is as good as mine or the bearded prophet Of the enchanted mossa Or Sir Conan Doylc's pct medium. Has Dempsey gone back! Ger tainly! II isn't in the books that any man, even a Dempsey, can re- main in q state of somi-mactivity for three years and still he the athlete he was when he was fight ing regularly. Dempsey isn't within 10 or possibly 20 per cent | the fighter he was the night he knocked out Firpo in two rounds. He isn't for the simple reason that | stagnation in any form of athletics 1 is not productive of advancement. and invariably it brings q gradual 1 dccay-a decay so insidiouS and subtle as to be unnoticeable by the man himself, but it's there just the same.
 Dempsey has been a great fighter. 1 T. is very likely he is still d great fighter An important considcra- ton in his case is this; he can lose some Of his effectiveness and still be great enough to whip most of the boys who are disputing his su- prcmacy. How much of if he car lose and still be formidable is some- 1 thing else.
 Can Still Punch
 Were it necessary for Dempsey tc 1 step into the ring today against either Tunney or Wills I don't think he would be able to hold his title He is not timing his punches as ht used 10 and he is not getting around on his feet with his old-time cer- tainty.
 These little things gs-tragically i'm, portant when they leave openings for crashing countor-attacks-m might bring about his defeat. Tunney with his youth and superior eudur ance. might wear him down. Will' can certainly hit hard enough tt drop him if he lands right. This is Dempsey in May. Wha' Dempsey will be in September is tn, biz thing. That's when hes goinl to fight It is logical enough tha he should sho" a lack of defines in timing his blows and moving around on his feet. The thrc' years out of the ring have don, . that. Hard training may bring i ! all back.
 To my mind the most significan 1 thing about Dempsey after looking ! him over for three weeks is that Inc is still punching with tremendous force. The kick is still in his knock, out punch. When he hits a mar l dynamite cNplodes. This indicatet he is sill strong basically, his en' crgv is not spent he isn't worn out