Evening star., 1938-02-21
OUT OF TRIM, JACK
| MESSED UP FIGHT
Mann Unlikely to Win, but
Champ Is Taking Chance.
Joe to Keep Busy.
BY JOHN LARDNER.

with Nathan Mann in Madison Square
Garden Wednesday night will be Joe
Louis second defense Of his heavy
weight title and the first heavyweight
title bout to be held indoors since
Jack Dempsey stopped Bill Brennan
in IL rounds in 1920
That was not very successful ven-
ture artistically, the Dempsey Bren-
nan thing. Old William, once pretty
good journeyman heavyweight, was
seedy in health, low in funds, and we'll
along in years. for a fighter, when he
met the man mauler from Manassa.
Dempsey, on the form he had shown
against Willard In Toledo the year
before, figured to carve William into
small slices with reasonable ease ar,..
dispatch.
But Dempsey turned out to be IN
wretched shape himself-undertrane
for one thing, much as was Max Baer
the night he won the championship
from Camera. You remember that
Maxwell, after stunning Primo and
reducing him TO q horizontal position
several times in the first round began
to coast and to gasp for breath like
q speared haddock.
Dempsey Toiled for Victory.
Primo, who should have been
cooked inside three minutes, won sev-
eral Of the subsequent rounds on
points, before Max could recover his
wind and go IN and finish the job.
Dempsey had q terrible time ad-
ministering the coup de grace to old
Will Brennan. Will was pretty cute.
and he received some 5000 words Of
judicious advice, between rounds, from
his manager. the late Mr.. Leo Phe-
lonious Flynn.
The Dempsey of those days was
by no means similar, architecturally
speaking, to the affable and alder
manic gentleman who retails steaks
and liquid refreshment to his Broad
way neighbors today. The modern
Dempsey has q well-shaped proboscis.
or nose; q good deal of flesh in the
vicinity Of his jowls, and a genital
presence which helps him no little
in the role Of professional host.
Not Easy for Jack.
The Dempsey of 1920 was q lsan,
sullen young man with q fiattened
bugle, of the pug variety, and several
days growth OF whiskers on his sim
ister countenance-when he went into
the ring, that is. He may not have
been in the best of shape the night
he fought Brennan, but he looked to
be . fighter all over.
Dempsey was famous already for
his stormy onslaughts at the sound Of
the opening ben. He came out with
both hands churnine. anxious to cut
down his target without delay. Jack
always went slightly nuts when they
turned him loose in the ring. Out
side business hours. he was q courteous
fellow and a pleasant companion. but
inside those ropes he was strictly the
jungle article.
Still, there are few men alive who
can remain tigerisn for more than q
few minutes at q time. Jacks first
fury failed to topple the willy Bren-
nan, who clung to the champions
ribs like an enthusiastic barnacle, and
the Mauler had to store up his re-
sources and make q second and q third
rally before he finally did williams
business.
Lewis Taking 1t Nonchalantly.
mention these facts only because
the Brennan fight is one Of the least
remembered Of Dempsey engage
ments. Maybe the fight with Nathan
Mann will occupy the same sort Of
place in Louis record 20 years from
now-obscure. unimportant and half
forgotten. Mr.. Mann doesn't think 80.
of course but the champions attitude
toward the bout is one of tremendous
nonchalance.
/ guess this is bound to be true in
the case of q big league heavyweight
who fights as often as does Joseph.
Because he Is thoroughly controlled
by his promoter. and an intelligent
promoter, too, Joe always is IN there
winging in public. He fights them
all, and the time will come, no doubt,
when he'll find it hard, looking back.
to tell one fight from another.
Joe's record as 4 champion, up
till now, Is unique in heavyweight
history. He won the title in June.
1887. having previously whipped two
former champions. He defended 1t
in August of the same year, a per-
Torrance which must have made Sui
ISee TOIITS page n.2I