The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1927-08-06
BY Jack Dempsey

There's an old saying in the ring
aarne that g. fighter Is known By
the sparririg partners he keeps "
think the idea Is al covered
With moss and ought to be carried
away somewhere and buried.
For time. which has changed
about everything else. also has
changed the sparring partner
thing.
Very often the old timers tell me
Of the great sparrers that John Z.
sullivan and Jim Corbett and Bob
t'itzsimmons ana Jim Jeffries used
~ have: they talk about them and
then tell me that:
Housve always got little else
than lot OF buns.
grabbed one Of those dudes one
day while was training for
sharkey, and said to him.
Is YOU want TO earn a couple Of
Thousand dollars, go out and get me
sparriIlg partner like Sullivan
and those other boys used to have. "
He looked at me In surprise and
then added:
III YOU fellows forget that this
4 not 1S92 Or 1897 Or 1910. In those
days there weren't many fight.
arenas around the country and that
meant there wasn't much work for
the men outside OF the greatest Of
the great. The other fellows, when.
ever they were lucky to get q fight,
usually were paid only 500 or 5000
Tor mixing It ii 4 tough battle.
Naturally, wllensa champion
WAS training for q fight, he
Away could get the pick Of
those fighters. They were clad
20 work for him for steady wages
and board, for they knew they
would get better pay that way
than by grabbing of 3 fight Of
two every three or four months
ind getting only $1OO on $500
Tor risking an awful beating.
''But It's ali different now and
you fellows just don't get the right
slant. realize as well as anybody
that great sparrinR partner Il
mighty valuable. But tell me where
I can get several Of them? I've Of
Tered jobs to about 90 of the best
Hight heayies III the racket. I've
offered them higher wages than any
other heavyweight ever offered be-
Tore. But can't get sem.
They Just pass me by--that IS +
most OF them do. For they tell me
that they can make from three to
ten times as much money as + can
pay them BY fighting just one fight.
SO there You are. TIE men who
would make good sparring partners
1.-The kind OF men / need can t be
landed unless pay the group Of
them all the money that I'll get
out Of the fight myself.
and / can't blame them.
Why should they take daily
bouncing around for from 500
to $1,000 q week. when they can
20 ont to some hicl town, fight
every week, get from 81 800 to
$500 for their work. and then
get shot in the big town and
draw down anywhere from 5000
To SIS, DOOR,
The. old timer went away prom-
ising that he'd try to get me d
few good sparring partners like
Sullivan and those fellows had. =
He isn't hack yet. And he won't
come back mot with sparring part
ners Of the kind he tells me the
champions of long ago used to have
around their camps.
And so I've got to do just like
aIl. the others in this generation dor
get along as best ! can with the
hest possible men can get under
the circumstances But / can't do
any complaining; I've been mighty
lucky.
Through the years, lot Of
youngsters have come into my
camp to work out with me, and
i've discovered some mighty good
prospects in that big, group. Those
fellows gave me good works de-
yeIoped and went on. And the rest
81 my stair 0f good men has been
made up of fellows like Marty Burke
and TilIie Herman, who, because Of
their friendship for me. come to my
camp and work out with me, even
at sacrifice to themselves
lcopyright. 1927. King Feature
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