Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1930-05-17
OVERSHADOWING
HE PAST
Inc ycoulan' 1901 them all. Jack
BY ]. ELMER BOOKER

Inc ycouldn' 1901 them all. Jack
lnompsonwins weiterweIght champion
snip.
=. lew years ago the pugllistlc world
mas al a sLaIe u turmoil. A negro
iiynLer In the heavy weight class was
.onIenaIng Tor the right to fight the
CHAMPION OF the world. Jack dempsey.
ais last victim, VINO had suffered defeat
unaer his hands, was Maloney, hus-
Key Boston white boy whom the public
mad hoped would change the tide of bat
tie anu place he giant colored fighter
among the long list missing in action,
but tate would not have it SO. The man
whom 1 have reference to is none other
than Harry Wills known as the Black
Panther. He was pronounced by tho
New York Boxing Commissioners as
the logical contender for the heavy
weight crown, and Jack Dempsey the
title holder was ordered to fight Wills
or forfeit his claim to the crown. Well
in some way they managed to slip O.
round and put another man up in the
place of the champion. The man was
Jack Sharkey, Wills agreed to meet him
and the bout was staged at Ebbets Field.
Sharkey, clever little. fighter aided by
father Time conquered the great icolored
fighter in fourteen rounds. All hope Of
having a colored man wearing the
heavyweight crown was lost. This did
not discourage the colored fighters how.
ever. Colored fighters in every class be-
gan to spring up and at last a colored
boy was mached in the welterweight
class. This boy was young lad from
Oakland, CAL, named young Jack
Thompson, in one of the most sensat-
ional bouts Of ages. He proved to be q
master of the situation. With heart
Of lion and the boxing skill pos7ess-
ed only by Joe Cans, known as the old
Master, defeated Jackie Field the title
holder in blistering fifteen round
battle in the Olympia Arena, Friday.
May 9, 1880.
"Slim" McClelland the refree raised
the colored boys hand in victory.
The large crawd which numbered
nearly 10000 roared with applause.
Field buried his head in his corner,
crushed in defeat and cried like q ba-
by. Field won the title July 25, 1929
from Joe Dundee on foul in two
rounds. Thompson is the first colored
man to win theworld's welterweight
title in twenty-nine years; since Joe
Walcott won the honor from Rube
Ferns by knockout in the fifth round
in mt. in 1901. Thompon won the fight
without question. He won ten of the
fifteen rounds with Fields taking three
two the ninth and twelfth being even.
Thompson a. master boxer and twin his
clever ring experience, fought q smart
battle. Field was so worn out after the
tenth round he hardly had sufficient
strength to stand in the ring. Thompson
in the first three rounds made a yery
poor showing. He was pushed all over
by Field, scoring repeatedly with vic
lous right upper cuts to the chin and
left hooks to the body. In the second
round the crowd was on its feet with
excitement as Fleld cracked Thompson,
staggering him and making his knees
shake beneath him.After wrestling in
a clinch, Thompson suddenly dashed out
with his favorite punch, right upper
cut to the jaw and his danger was over.
From this time to the end Of the fight
Field was knocked form one side Of the
ring to the other. At one tins things
seemed to be so hot for him, he began
to run away from Thompson. Field dead
tired but still game attempted to turn
the tide but Thompson fought desper-
ately. The end found Field hitting ct
Thompson and running away.
$50"