Evening star., 1938-06-22
DEEP PUZZLE LIES
IN MENTAL ANGLE.
Joe's Reaction to Former
Defeat, Max's Assurance
Are Battling Factors.
BY GRANTLAND RICE.


your answer to the collision between
Joe Louis and Max Schmeling. The
fitting moment will develop before
more than 10000 spectators who have
invested a million or more dollars
in the hope of a thrill.
1t Will carry its appeal to several
hundreds Of millions who wont hap
pen to be at the Yankee Stadium
but who will be pleased to know the
two-year argument will be closed out
IN few hours.
Running to form it should be the
Louis left against the Schmelng right
a fast, devastating left jab against
a fast, educated right hand. where
either can handle the fortunes of
war. 1t was the educated right
hand thump that won the argument
two years ago. Schmcling was the
first fighter who really moved into
action against Louis. The Negro had
little opposition to face before that
first right hand landed on his chin.
Since that loud and noisy thud
millions of words have been thrown
to the winds concerning these two
men. and life will be much pleasanter
when they have given us the second
answer
Arguments of Rival Camps
Those supporting Louis-and they
have just about two-to-one ma
jority-offer the following evidence
l. That Louis wasn't in shape that
fatal night 2. That he was careless
and didn't fight his fight. 3. That he
Is smarter. more experienced Louis
and will be set and ready this time
Schmeling's main hackers offer this
rebuttal:
l. That Schmeling once turned the
trick too effectively to leave any doubt
as to which is the better man. 9
That Louis is sucker for a right
hand, and that Schmeling has one
OF the best rights in ring history.
Then come the minor arguments
from coast to coast-but especially
in every gathering place around New
iork-that Louis is eight years young
er than Schmeling-that Schmeling
after IA years of fighting has lost
his speed and has become shopworn-
that Louis has two good hands to
achmelings one-that Louis is gun
si1y-that Schmeling is too smart TO
be hit with a right that Louis has
picked up nothing new or smart in
his last two years of pugilistic hiking,
All this ceaseless chatter will turn
from the realm of fancy. romancing
iroo chn
down before another midnight passes.
which will be an immense relief upon
the ear drums.
The majority like Joe Louis, and
This list includes Walter Monahan.
well-known boxing coach and trainer,
who hasn't missed a heavyweight
choice in the last six years, barring
only the first Louis -Schmeling affair,
which exploded soothsayers all over
the map. It took months to clean
up the debris at that time.
The Louis majority is not nearly
As large or as certain as it was two
years ago. But it still was substan-
Sial after the bomber's last workout
when he was apparently at razor edge.
Some Conflicting Elements.
This fight is loaded to the gunwale
with conflicting elements that are
practically unguessable. No one can
say Just how Louis feels about that
first beating-whether his revenge
leanings are stronger than the pain
full memory Of whistling right that
sounded like howitzer bombardment
for some 10 or IL rounds before the
target was demolished. 1t isn't likely
that Louis is going to crawl through
the ropes humming thanks for the
memory"
Another important point is that
Louis has the driving wallop in either
hand to break up the show In almost
any round. Just one solid smack may
be quite enough to close out the show.
But Schmeling happens to be hard
fellow to hit with right, and his
style happens to be the brand that Will
give Louis trouble And Louis is none
too difficult to battle or bewilder when
the program is shifted trif1e or the
marching order is changed.
Schmeling knows this, and he will
use this detail to the limit.
In spite of the fact that both men
are on the counter side, there should
be all the action big crowd demands
or looks for, for the simple reason
that both can hit hard enough to turn
the tide with single punch, even if
1t isn't Immediately effective.
I can't see Louis as 2-to-1 favo-
rite. You can give him faint edge,
but not any such decisive margin.
When you add up all the figures and
look back two years. my guess would
be that Schmeling has just about an
even chance. He has been in five
training camps in the last year, and
this has made him take things easier
than he usually does-something that
may have fooled few observers who
= claim that he has lost too much speed
Tunney and Schmeling have been
TWO fighters who always knew how to
rate themselves in training, and neither
could ever be goaded into putting on
q show for the training camp crowds
The 2-to-1 odds against Schmeling
certainly are out of line unless Louis
can show much smarter, quicker de-
tense when fast right hand starts
for his chin. He has shown this on
few occasions in the last two years,
even against fighters who were far be-
low the Schmeling standard.
Ross Sp,,r