The Washington times., 1927-07-04

| Kirk Miller
It's q tough racket to hang
around tin-eared fighters
camp three days only to see
less than fifteen minutes Of
actual sparring, wrestling and
bag-punching, and that peeping
from a window overlooking the
ring; but that is the experience
we have passed through and
consequently our feelings as to
how Jack Dempsey shaped up
for his coming joust with Jack
Sharkey are more or less mixed.
Without desiring to wax face
tious over a very appalling
tragedy which has come into the
life of the ex-champion, our
uppermost thought this morning
after a tiresome ride from Sara
toga down to New York city
and a fitful sleeper trip into
Washington, is that if Demp-
sey's list of brothers holds out
long enough to keep Jack as
agitated as his deceased brother
John has made him, he stands
a very excellent chance of
topping Mr.. Josef Paul Cuck-
oschay when and If they meet
at Yankee Stadium on the night
of July 81.
Of course that would be a
very expensive victory for Mr..
Dempsey. but such speculation
serves at least to reveal the
ferociousness with which Jack
tore into five sparring partners
yesterday morning, wrestled
with one pachyderm and at
tackled a light and heavy punch
ing bag with no more respect
for their future than a hangman
has for the condemned.
In other words, Jack Demp-
sey was nearer himself yester-
day than many of the CORE
spondents have seen him since
his Firpo fight. 1t would be
neither fair nor truthful to saw
he was the Toledo Dempsey, for
he can never hope to approach
that sublime state of physical
fitness and dynamic forceful-
ness. But Jack certainly was
the tearing, swinging unscien-
tific spectacle in yesterdays
workouts he was in his Firpo
fight.
And as In the latter, II one
OF his sparring partners yester-
day had landed on him one Of
the several times he was off his
balance in connecting, Dempsey.
too, might have been ON the
floor where he laid many of his
victims yesterday row on row.
In fact, Jack was 30 much a
shadow of his former self that
Gus Wilson had to stop a couple
Of the earlier sst-tos and a. he
did this, Dempsey glared as If to
say, Bring on the next one!"
Impressions are the best that
can be brought back to the read
ers after such q brief and dis
appointing visit to Dempsey's
camp, for facts in any similar
set of circumstances are diff
cult indeed to ascertain. One
can talk with this attachs to
the camp and that and to this
oldest observer or the other and
from each he is likely to get dif-
Eerent and sometimes conflicting
viewpoints.
Such veterans as Jimmy De-
Forrest, the Jimmy who knows
Dempsey as well as he'd know
. son, look grave and speak
obviously when asked for an
op1onion as to Dempsey's ring
future. The Sharkey fight is
not the big mystery the seers
have to deal with, for despite
the odds quoted around New
York, you can find plenty of
Dempsey hackers in the Sharkey
affair, but few there are who
have been watching Dempsey
since his return to training
who believe he will get past
Tunney should twain meet this
summer or next or next,
Yes, the experts are Of the
opinion that one good punch
will stop Sharkey and that, even
though it be the widely heralded
lucky punch which has ended so
many ring engagements, Demp-
sey probably has just such a
blow concealed somewhere on
his person.
But the smart, manoeuvering,
sagacious, courageous Tunney is
the rascal even Dempsey's
fondest followers are worrying
about and will continue to
worry about until all cause form
apprehension is removed either
by that great renovator, time,
or by ring developments.
Until stunned by news Of his
brothers maniacal deed of last
Saturday morning. Dempsey i'm
pressed US as being in as good
physical shape as he need be
for three weeks before 3 fight.
He could spare five or seven
pounds, but the excess was