Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-02-24
JACK GAME BOXER,
! But. INCONSISTENT
At Times Flashes All That
Is Needed to Make Him
Great, Then Wits.
BY WALTER TRuMBULL.

vACK SHARKEY is ~, 2 years
older than Stribling, years
Younger than Tunney, Z years
~ Younger than Dempsey.
John l.. Sullivan was undis-
puted champion at 80, Corbett was
champion at 26, Fitzsimmons won the
title at IS. Jeffries was champion at
"a. Burns held the title when he was
Is, Jack Johnson was 80 when he beas
Burns, Willard won the title at 81,
Dempsey captured the crown at "a and
Tunney won it at %.
The average age of these nine cham
pions at the time of winning the title
is 28h years. Students OF the game
have figured that most athletes reach
their peak between 26 and ~ and hold
1t for to 5 years, Depending upon
their activities. That would mean that
Jack Sharkey should be ABOUT at the
height of his powers.
Only two of the three champions who
held the title seven years. Jim Jeffries
and Jack Dempsey--Johnson being the
thir6-won it at "a. Stribling is "a
and has been boxing professionally
since he was II. 1t might seem that
he is burned out, until you examine the
list of his opponents. Then you will
discover that the bulk of his bouts
were little more than gymnasium con-
tests. StiIl, with all that experience
and his full strength, she should be
near his peak. .Rickard was convinced
that Stribling had come along fast in
the past year.
Title Helps Fighter.
Granting that men should be close to
their best, there is one thing which
should make either Of them better, That
is, to win the title. A man almost in
variably is far better as champion
than he is as a contender. The name
and the attention he receives give him
confidence, belief in his own prowess,
a feeling of invincibility. And 1t also
affects his opponents. Most of the
challengers see before them the title
rather than the man and fight accord
ingly. In this respect Sharkey and
Str.blirg will meet on equal terms.
Neither may ever be, although now
they appear the two most formidable
heavyweights in the country.
Sharkey's Is q peculiar case. Time
and again he has shown what appear
ed to be the qualities of a champion.
Boxing skill hitting power, speed, abil-
ity to throw off punches, confidence
In flashes he has shown them all. Rare
ly has a fighter promised so much and
performed so little. Before his meeting
with Dempsey he didn't appear to
have a care In the world. He spent
his of time playing hearts, slapping
down his cards with the enthusiasm
Of a child His handlers had difficulty
the night before the bout making him
stop and go to bed. If you asked him
about the fight, he would stop long
enough to say, "1'll knock that guy
stiff." Then he'd return to his game.
Sharkey Had Chance.
It looked as II Sharkey might make
good his boast. He had weight, youth,
skill, strength and endurance In his
favor. Dempsey had heart and his
ability to punch. Disregard any pos
sible foul Sharkey had Dempsey hurt
before the fight was minute old. He
threw away his chance. Dempsey had
that indefinable thing known as "class, F"
and 1t would seem Sharkey suddenly
realized it. 1t was this quality In Demp-
sey which made Gene Norn1ile. a cold
bettor, say that, If offered 2 to /, he'd
take Jack against a couple of lions.
After all, Dempsey had been the cham
pion of the world. And he fought like
a champion
To be champion Of the world means
something. Figure the number of men
in your city. Then go from city to
State, from State to country. from
country to continent. To be heavy
weight champion means that, with
leather mitts and under boxing rules
the title holder can beat any one OF
them. Champion of the world" takes
In q lot Of territory.
Statesman or woodsman, banker OF
boxer, 1t is a fine achievement to be
the best In your line. And, scoffers to
the contrary. heavyweight champion
can be of real value to the community
His influence on youth is wider thar,
that of any preacher. Tunney was D
champion who took that responsibility
very seriously.
In striving for chance at the title
ShaYkey and 6tribling are SHOOTING
at more than possibilities Of vast finar1-
ciAl gain. The stake Is big enough
from all angles to make them do their
best.
Copyright, 1879, By North American News.
paper Alliance.)