New Britain herald., 1926-11-30
(BY JOE WILLIAMS)

NeW OfR, NOV. 3U.-lt mas been matter of public knowledge for more than two months now that when Mir. Jack Dempsey faced MT. Gene Tunney in the Rattle of the sesqui he lost ten rounds. one after the other. by margins varying from the size of your hat to the dimen- sionS of the state of Texas
 One of the reasons why he did not lose more than ten rounds or more than the heavyweight cham pionship was that the contest. as it was illegitimatcly billed. was re- stricted to ten rounds and that nothing more than his champion ship was involved.
 It does not seem to be 50 com monly known. however. that MT. Jack Dempsey also lost ten pounds of very usable and important flesh, likewise one after the other, In the three-day interim preceding what was to have been his majestic re- turn to active belligerency.
 The facts, as I understood them, are these: Dempsey quit training on Mondaysof the week of the fight. At 5 o'clock that afternoon he shook his supposedly iron fists out of two soggy leather mittens and handed them to Martin Burke, one of his eparring partners. Here are my training gloves. Martin, maybe you'd like to keep them" he said, with noble sentimental gesture.
 Then he bounded down from the white pine platform which had served as sparring ring at the Atlantic City dog track and raced to his dressing room under the grandstand. Once there he stripped and stepped on small floor scale. It registered 19s pounds.
 "Flne!" smiled Dempsey. That's just what l wanted to weigh when I finished training. I'll probably drop pound doing light road work in the meantime and come in the ring at 1s5, my normal fighting weight"
 That was the last the news hounds saw ot tho champion until Thurs day at noon the day of the fight when he weighed in at his home in the presence of the Pennsylvania boxing commissio oners. His weight at that hour was 1s6 pounds. Thus, from Monday at o'clock when he ended training until Thursday at o'clock. when he weighed in official ly. he lost ten pounds.
 Obviously any fighter who loses ten pounds in three days time doing nothing can't be right.
 Why did Dempsey lose weight like that? The answer is that he had complete collapse of nerves. He "broke" under pressure. The old iron left him.
 Why did he break7
 Was 1t the result of the continu- ous harrassment caused by Kearns' legal tortures or a growing convic- tion that he was about to meet a superior ring foe?
 Dempsey was asked to answer that and he replied: You may be lieve 1t or not, but I didn't figure Tunney had chance with me from the start. I never gave him A tumble. I don't know why I faded, but worry over Tunney and what he might do to me was certainly not the cause"
 You can take that or leave 1t. It may be 100 per cent truth or 1t may be just as much resurfaced hokum.
 Whatever 1t Is, the ballyhoo barons will make the most of 1t if Mir. Tex Rickard carries out his threat to reassemble the principal characters for an encore next sum- mer.
 At any rate Dempsey wasn't right when he faced Tunney. He wasn't right because he had lost ten pounds in three days. There Is at present a reasonable doubt as 10 why he lost them; but there will be no doubt at all when the ballyhoo barons get through with the pros pective customers.
 Worry over Tunney winning?
 Don't be dumb
 It was that egg Kearns who caused the great champion to col lapse.