The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1935-06-13

Long Island will Davis >. Walsh
take place the stragest of all
heavyweight championship con.
tests, the fifteen round meeting
between Max Baer, the champion
who may yet know greatness, and
James j. Braddock, the challenger
who has yet to know as much as
mediocrity.
OF such things, of course, are
miracles enacted but if Braddock,
the man whom destiny has
plucked from a junk heap of
pugilism, can win tonight then all
the sports upsets of the ages must
become pale and insipid by COM
pariSon.
The Corbett-Sullivan finish will
hardly do. After all, Corbett's life
was before him at the time. Brad.
docks was buried back there in
those struggling, bungling days
six years ago when he couldn't
win the light heavyweight cham
pionship.
Wouldn't Let Him Fight
Why, only year ago, the Box.
ing Commission wouldn't let him
go on at the RidgeWood Grove.
claiming that he wasn't fit op-
ponent for Matte Brown. Tonight,
the same commission is sponsor
ing his challenge for the highest
title the sport of boxing can offer.
Only a previous series of mira
Giles has made this miracle posi-
BILE, yet this is a practical age
and not only isn't the public
betting on Braddock but, appar.
emily, it intends to stay away
from him in considerable mum.
bers. The quoted odds are S to l
on Baer. the highest ever offered
in a heavyweight title fight, but
at that they don't have to be
taken too literally. They're all
right except that nobody is CIV
ing the five and nobody is taking
the one.
In the box office, too, the
"give away sale seems to be
tremendous, although it is posi-
BILE that the fight will do as we'll
as 100000 gross. The weather
forecast-cloudy, with occasional
shoWerS-may affect today's sale,
always a pay-off on the gate.
The fact is that interest in the
fight is considerable-but not at
$40 a ticket.
Incredible Story
This interest has been com.
pounded upon several features,
notably the strange, almost in.
credible story of James j. Brad.
dock, the broken-down outcast who
was hauled off the docks to act
as somebody's sap last year and
now is to go in there with cham
plon. Interest also centers in the
possibility that he may even beat
this most unpopular champion,
there being much resentment
against Baer for reasons not quite
clear. He generally gives a good
show.
In fact, it may be too good for
some OF the boys. Anyhow, some
of the boys are picking Braddock,
generally with the proviso that he
gets by the first few rounds. They
seem to feel that Baer will blow
up, whereas it's usually the other
way around. In winning some.
thing like his last five fights by a
Knockout, he has stopped Camera
in the eleventh, the late Ernie
Schaaf and Max Schmeling in the
tenth, and King Levinsky in the
second. But the latter is under.
stood to have brought about this
untimely demise by his own antics.
UnOrthOdOx Fighter
If there's anything the matter
with Baer, it is that he's a wrong.
handed fighter. That is, his
right is his punch, whereas Demp.
Sey featured the left hook, which,
of course, has prompted many to
state that Baer couldn't beat
Dempsey when the latter was
right. But then maybe Baer
couldn't beat Tom Crib when
he was right. The point is that
neither Crib nor Dempsey is
fighting now.
The writer, anyhow, is very
high on Baer and correspondingly
low on Braddock. The latter is
slow, both with his hands and his
mind, and is only a little fellow,
in spite of those training camp
about 200 pounds an
an extra inch. 1t wouldn't sur
prise me greatly if he went on
the boxing commission scales at
better than 100 this afternoon,
while Baer. big, fast and built like
a god, can't be worse than 212.
But why go on? At face value,
this is just a wild. insane
arrangement, brought about by
completely abnormal chain Of
Observation-Disclosures refused
a license last year; Braddock on
the dole; Braddock, through
with boxing, just doing the best
ha Gould m the raiIrnad docks