Evening star., 1937-08-26
BRITISH REPORTER
ON TOMMY'S SIDE
Odds of 3 to | Given Joe
Will Kayo Invader in
Scrap Tonight.
BY GAYLE TALBOT.
Associated Press Sports Writer.


n YEW YORK, August 26-Tommy
N Farr, the sour citizen from
" Tonypandy, didn't need crys-
4 tai gazer or anybody else to
TO tell him this was going to be
big day in his life when he climbed
out OF bed down at Long Branch,
N. j., this morning.
Some time after 10 o'clock tonight
something big is going to happen to
Tommy, If it doesn't rain. Either he's
going to get splattered all over the
Yankee Stadium infield by Joe Louis,
an eventuality ardently desired by
most of those who know Tommy well,
or he's going to come out of the ring
q rich man.
If he escapes the fireballs Louis
throws at him for Is rounds the
Welshman might go back to bed to-
night new champion. Outside of
Farr himself however, the only man
around town who came right out and
picked the pugnacious challenger to
lift the crown was a visiting British
sports writer.
He had been off the boat only few
hours. though, and some thought he
might have confused Joe Louis slightly
with John Henry Lewis, a champion
OF the same color but with much less
dynamite in his dukes.
Bet to l on kayo.
WITH this one important exception,
opinion was Well-nigh unanimous
that Farr that old carnival scrapper
with the disposition of a turpentined
tomcat, would get his come-uppance
somewhere between the third and
eighth rounds. The betting has been
around 3 to l for the last couple of
days that Louis, the youngest heavy
weight champion ever, will win his
first title defense by Knockout
Nobody has paid much attention to
the pledge of eye-witnesses that Farr
isn't anywhere near the hamdonnie
he has looked in training. They
don't care much how good he might
be, to tell the truth. Those who
worship at the shrine of Joe Louis
punch don't care much about any,
thing. So far as can be discerned
with the naked eye, they've forgotten
completely what Max Schmeling did
to Joe.
Anybody Louis hits they say, "he
knocks his block of. Farr can be
hit. can't hep Well :"
Gate Of $250,0O0 Seen.
THAT is about the extent of the ex-
porting that has been done on
tonight's bout. which should gross
gate Of about s250,ooo and attract
some 10000 customers.
The literature from the rival camps
has related, respectively, that Louis
was walloping his sparring partners,
knocking out two and three of them
on special feast days, and that Tommy
Farr was getting madder and madder
at his manager, at his press agent,
and at everybody, in fact, except
Shirley Temple. She didn't visit the
camp.
Whole front rows Of veteran fight
men have watched the Welshman
work out and have come away mysti-
fed. They concede him a good left,
q world Of rugged endurance and an
aggressive disposition, to say the
least. But he has looked wide open
for = right. and maybe a left, and
he hasn't looked to be an individual
who would try to play hide-and- seek
with Louis like Bob Pastor did, even
II he Kew how.
Sure as he comes in at Joe, he'll
get knocked out" said Jack johnson,
the only previous Negro heavyweight
champion. Joe still hasn't learned
much. A boy who boxes with him and
stays away will beat him every time.
But this English boy had better watch |
hisself"
BraddOck Is ConsOling.
IL Arthur's remarks seemed to
sum up the advice the ex-
champions had for Tommy. Dempsey,
Braddock and Baer said the same
thing, and they haven't had any
thanks from Farr yet. Max Schmeling,
who will be at the ringside, was plain
disguised. He saw Farr knock out
Walter Neusel in London-the fight |
that got Tommy tonight's title shot
and he still thinks the Welshman is
. second-rater.
Braddock offered Farr some conso-
lation, even If the worst happens.
IT Joe catches him right, he'll
never feel it," said Jim, who made
the mistake of trying to swap punches
with the Negro. Il didn't know any
thing about the last two he hit me-"
Only the formalities of weighing in
at noon at the Boxing Commission
remained to be complied with. Louis
was expected to do around 1913, with
the challenger five or six pounds better.
Farr, they said, wasn't receiving