The Washington times., 1929-09-25
JACK LOOKS
BAD IN SIX
LAST GOES
Dy Davis j. Walsh

~ ~ II " OINiAs ''NP'
They say the mans a sap who
fries to call the winner OF the
Loughran-S -Sharkey heavyweight
finale at the Yankee Stadium
tomorrow night and | don't
suppose there is any doubt
that saps rush in where angels
fear singed wing.
Personally the only wing l ever
mad was when the family had 100
much company and too little turkey
lSn Thanksgiving and, besides. I'm
willing to be sap today on the
chance that I'll be a sophist to-
morrow.
# Not that anybody gives two pins
III bowling alley but, FOR my
change out of a dollar. Iommy
Loughran ought to be to to
win this fight. He may go wrong
but, "a hours before the fight, it Is
hard to see how he can.
- Fighters, like race horses. must
be handicapped off past perform
ances. II you do this with Sharkey,
you will have him in there in
claiming race. He was pretty
good fighter before the Dempsey
match two years ago. His record
says that he isn't now. He hasn't
made a real fight in two yeas,
taking him right on down the line
through Heeney, Risko, Delaney,
De Kuh, Christner and Stribling.
This, as a matter of fact. was
what happened in at least two
of these fights. He was taken
down the line.
There must be something wrong
with a man who can be 100 per
cent unimpressive through his last
six fights. We will toss out the
Delaney matter without comment
Heeney got draw in II rounds,
Risko ran him out of the decision
in IS. De Kuh went 10 rounds: so
did Christner. The Stribling bout
at Miami Beach in February was
rather a dubious effort.
Six starts since Dempsey and
not a bulls-eye in the lot. II
Loughran is half the man he is
supposed to be, he ought to win
this one.
However, If .Sharkey was the
Sharkey of two years ago, l still
would have to give Loughran a
COOL chance, if only for the size
Of his heart. There is no man in
the ring today who has more
Sharkey doesn't figure to have as
much, although l do believe hat
those who claim he has no heart
at all are downright silly. 1t is an
indirect compliment to Loughran
when say that Sharkey is plenty
game. This simply means that.
game as he may be, he Is less so
than Loughran.
The latter must be conceded
another advantage i'm the fact
that he has fought his way up
to this shot while Sharkey has
been idle since February.
Fighting is like anything else; you
must fight in order to be able TO
FIGHT, | think that, if anything,
Sharkey figures to be even further
off his best fight tomorrow night
than he was at Miami, where at
least he had the benefit of warm
up with Christner.
| like Loughran for another thing
and that is his left hand. 1t is
the best in the racket and has been
for several years. Sharkey is a
hooker with his left, Loughran
hooker and straight hitter There
zeught to be points showing in this
Ndifference tomorrow night. 1t will
he the difference, too, between a
ly~ what 6n with
tshis hands, inside and. outside,
livery important difference. There Is
considerably more instructive smart
Ress in Loughran, more variety,
more finesse. If he was as strong
a man as Sharkey, he would nave
everything, which would be too
much for one fight.
IT is here that Sharkey might
score. He is natural heaVywelsht'
with the natural big mans strength
of body and arms. Loughran is
little big man, he Is taller than
Sharkey and has great pair OF
.boulders, but. from that point
downward he tapers rathef aorup'v
He has been built up to tins
fight. not trained down to II.
Only the fight itself will reveal
whether LOughran is better
man at lis or 1875 pounds.
In other words. this isn't mis-
take until it has been proved as
such, However, I believe he has
made psychological error. he
has gone out of his way to talk
Sharkey down and this gentleman
is inclined to beg dangerous when
riled. Maloney was the last man
to really irk him andth was quite
n fighter that night.
At that, he probably will have
to be at least that good tomorrow
night to have an even chance
@I.oughran hasn't been wrong in any
fight vet. He wasn't wrong when
he was killing himself to do It's
hounds and maybe he isn't wrong
1oday when he claims that he suf
|ers no i'll elects from that score.
& And, lastly, this fight is sche
6uIed to go IL rounds and 1t is
almost certain that it will. The dis
lance favors Loughran. He always
comes on in the late rounds
whereas Sharkey is inclined to blow
@up.
Having said this much, IT is on
cumhent upon me II warn vnu
that the gamblers have madf
Sharkey the favorite. And tho
"gams" are seldom wrong.