Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-07-11
RY Kenny LEONARD.


n Saratoga Lake, y. Y, July
NV 11.-Another day of rest
for Jack Dempsey here yes
terday, and still another to
come tomorrow. l must confess
don't like TO see 1t. Dempsey needs
boxing. He needs the practice to
sharpen up his hitting and his &C
curacy. He doesn't need a lot of
hard work TO fit his body physically
for today he is in perfect physical
condition.
So far as looks are concerned, Jack
Dempsey right now looks like a cham
pion, not an eX-Champion.
When he finished his workout Sat
urday afternoon, l went into the rub
bling room with him. He got up from
the rubbing table after his rundown,
and stretching himself to his full
height and with his arms flung far
out at the sides. he asked: We'll,
Benny, how do I look?"
l answered Just what I said above:
slack, you look more like a champion
than an en-"
He laughed gleefully, for the re-
mark pleased him.
More Than Condition Needed.
Now, there Is no doubt that Demp-
sey is in grand physical condition,
but condition alone will not win a
championship fight, nor even near
championship one. There is some
thing else needed. That is fighting
ability. These two words mean a lot.
They mean speed. accuracy in hitting,
timing and stamina.
When you look at such a neat, trim
figure as Dempsey's like a beautiful
statue symmetrically proportional
and with the skin clear and smooth
II is hard to imagine anybody beating
him at any physical contest.
This wonderful conditioning Of
Dempsey makes it difficult to gauge
his fighting ability under the circum-
stances thai exist here. Has Dempsey
the old vim, the old vigor? He seems
to be punching hard, but here again
1t is only seems" Maybe he is
walloping hard, but can't tell how
hard.
Here's why:
His sparring partners are all afraid
Of him. There isn't one that doesn't
go in there scared stiff of his punch.
He has knocked over a few, but what
were they Who are they? How
much can they stand? He doesn't
drop Dave Shade, and Dave is a COM
paratively little fellow.
Now. when these sparring partners
get into the ring with Jack scared
they Immediately begin to take it on
the run. This makes Jack chase
them. As a result. he, perforce,
leaves himself wide open. They can
hit him. That makes Dempsey look
easy to hit
Hit Him Coming In.
You see, these fellows will suddenly
hor hot inh
II they don't do something, so they
stop and let go some sort of a punch
and catch the former champion COM
ing in. Then they resume their mara
thon and Jack takes up the chase
again.
~ this makes it very hard for
1kperting," for through it you can't
get true lire on Dempsey's fighting.
Outside of Dave Shade, Dempsey
has very mediocre set Of sparring
partners. This fact has been called
to the attention of the public so
often that it is by way of being what
the boys call bromide" but I
am firm believer in the theory that
the big battles of the ring are won
through the sparring partners. The
fellow who trains with the best spar
ring partners, other things being
practically even, is bound to win the
big engagement. It's something like
the old saying "the battle of Water
loo was won on the cricket fields of
England"
So far as outward appearances are
concerned, Dempsey could not look
better. Much has been said of his
mental attitude. There is as much
difference between Jack Dempsey of
today and the Dempsey of last Fall
in Atlantic City as there is between
day and night. He is an entirely
new man. 1 remember how morose
and preoccupied he was one day
when l had lunched with him in his
cottage at Atlantic City.
Here in his cottage, and out on the
golf links yesterday, he was as jovial
and full Of fun as if he had already
fought both Sharkey and Tunney
and had regained the championship.
No Secret Workouts.
asked Dave Shade about the
SECRET" workout that some Of the
boys have heard about. Dave tells
me there are no secret workouts.
Jack and I go over a few things,
Ike certain punches, and we talk
about what he is doing that could be
improved upon. ETC., and even once
in a while we'll stand up and square
off. the better to illustrate or try out
some blow or other" he said.
you know, Benny, the old skull
practice But there haven't been any
really secret workouts"
What Dempsey needs more than
anything else is speed. He is too
slow. Even if he is hitting hard. he's
hitting slowly. The hardest wallop
In the world is no good if you can
see it coming in time to get out Of its
way. If you get hit by fast-travel-
Ing automobile you'll get knocked to
Kingdom come. But if you see it
coming and get out of the way. why,
you're not hurt at all, are you?
Perhaps Dempsey is not making a
mistake by laying off so much. but /
think he is. He doesn't need hard
work he needs practice to speed
him up.