Evening star., 1933-06-01
GERMAN PLEASANT
BUT SHUNS PEOPLE
Acrobatic Body Is Help in
Avoiding PunChes-His
Training Simple.
BY GRANTLAND RICE.

AkAE OWAINNANOA, NJ ~,
June 1.-The contrast be-
II tween Schmeling and Baer,
apart from the physical
side, is marked.
They are as far apart as the
outpoSts on a Siberian frontier.
Where Baer is young mountain
OF careless responsibility, Max
Schmeling is one of the most Sc
TiouS young men I ever have seen.
He is pleasant, he has a nice smile,
there is no part of the crouch about
him. But where Baer likes a crowd
around him, Schmeling likes to be
alone The minute Schmeling has fin
ished a meal he is up and away from
the table with disappearing act, and
he doesn't waste any time leaving the
others to their own table talk.
In the matter of training, Schmeling
has Teuton thorougnaesS down to the
final word.
There hasn't been the slightest
change in his training methods in the
last four years.
No road work-no rope skipping
little shadow boxing-little bag punch
ing. He boxes from four to six rounds,
plays golf now and then, but makes
point of walking from 10 to is miles
q day.
CCHNfELNG likes the woods. He
- likes to wander around and study
such bird life as he can find. He
likes to walk and keep on walking.
No man in ring history ever kept In
better physical shape. Four years ago
saw him weigh in at 189 pounds.
When he stepped on the scales here
he was Just 189 pounds.
Even through long OF season he
breaks no rules of strict training and
keeps up all the exercise any one needs.
Schmeling has made no effort to
change his method Of boxing or fight
ing.
His idea is to perfect the system he
has always had, not to fool around with
any new stuff.
He keeps crowding in at close range,
hoping to wear his opponent down with
that jolting short right to stomach or
head.
His idea is to set his own pace, to
force his opponent into his own plan.
He comes on with short, choppy steps
with the most complete concentration
on his work that you will see IN sport.
THERE are few tricks to his system
L outside of quick right when he
seems to be relaxing or getting
ready to step away.
He may not be a great heavyweight
but he is a good one. He is strong,
game, aggressive, hard to hit-and he
can hit with that right.
His left is only $3.50.
His main idea Is the wearing down
process. After the 15-round Strihling
night on a night of boiling July heat,
he ran 500 yards to his dressing room.
He was as fresh at the finish as he was
ct the start.
At the age Of 81, he is now at his
peak or prime M
Sclmeling has the body of an acrobat
almost Of contortionist. 1t is elastic
to surprising degree. You might think
1t composed largely of rubber.
He has knack Of suddenly lifting
either his right or left shoulder well
above the jaw line to block a punch.
Tn1S is one Of the reasons it is so
dimcuit to nail hinns around the head.
There Is always a shoulder barring the
way, a shoulder that might be made
of rubber.
IN the same fashion he can roll or
! twist his rubbery body out of the
way when q punch starts. He has
had practically no mark Of any sort on
head or body after his last three or
four fights.
He rarely changes expression in the
ring, although once in q while he wiz
break into a quick smile.
His right hand is always dangerous
whether from eight inches or two feet.
He can throw it from any angle or
gcoo as Baer'S for all-around punching
purposes. But it is better than it was
two years ago.
Both Schmeling and Joe Jacobs figure
Baer to be the best man the German
has yet faced
But Jacobs figures his fighter knows
Zoo much for Baer-will outthink him
and will land two punches to one.
att makes no difference how hard
i man can hit," Jacobs says, "if
he can't hit you. Schneling is
hard to hit, while Baer Is much more
open. And Schmeling Is sure, ac-
clIrate puncher, while Baer isn't so
accurate. I know how tough Baer is
supposed to be, and he probably Is. But
he Is still just human being, and he
can't afford to take too many of those
right hands and think he is on a picnic.
Schmeling has better defense to work
with and a more dependable attack.
That's where the story lies.
You can't afford to underrate a
fellow 6 feet 8, who weighs 210 pounds,
who is fast and who can hit. We are
not looking for any easy spot. But
Schmeling will win. He'll win through
superior smartness and skill.
Anything can happen in fight be-
tween two good heavyweights. But it
is always more likely to happen to
the fellow who is easier to nail. 1t may
be that Schmeling has never met any
one who can hit as hard as Baer, but
don't forget that Baer has never met
any one as smart as Schmeling who
could hit as hard
"Schmeling Is ready to fight now.
All we have to watch is that he keeps
his present edge and doesn't get stale
And I can say now that he is much
nearer right than he was a year ago
against Jack Sharkey, although he fin
ished that fight just about as fresh as
when he started"
Copyright, 1883. by North American News
paper Alliance, 1nc.b