Evening star., 1938-06-21
J0E,AS2.TO-1 SHOT,
AFALSE EFAV0R|TE
Craft, Condition and Potent
Right Give Max an Equal
Chance With Champion.
BY GRANTLAND RICE.

BY GRANTLAND RICE.
NEW YORK, June 2l.-n you can
step up and call red or black on a
roulette wheel as the. mystic ball spins,
you CAN call the result Of tomorrow's
meeting between Joe Louis and Max
Schmeling.
1t is a grab in the dark, a guess
thrown to the winds, cropping in the
fogs of chance-no matter what any
one may tell you. They may tell you
with fire and fervor and animated
vehemence, but they still are guessing.
My angle is that Joe Louis is not the
2-to-l shot over Schmeling that the
current odds show him to be. He is
no better than even money. He Ger
tainly is no sure-flre romp and runa-
way as many of his hackers have listed
him. Neither is Max Schmeling.
have seen Schmeling fight in most
OF his important engagements for the
last 10 years. I have seen Louis punch
ing away at various opponents since he
suddenly emerged from the amateur
ranks. They are almost complete op-
posites, with one exception-bothc carry
knockout punch as vital part of
their armament
Suppose we look both men over
without any prejudice, without any
touch OF racial or religious intolerance
just two fighters who are contribut-
ing nothing whatsoever to the main
problems or advancement of the hu-
man race in hard, dark days.
Early Punch Apt to Decide.
In the general scheme of things,
both men are completely unimportant,
beyond the limitless border of tomor-
rows fight. They are two pugilists
and to see them in action more than
10000 spectators will pay out more
than S1,000,000. They are two men
who have contributed nothing to
science, art, culture, craftsmanship,
literature or to the uplifting of man
kind.
But. hundreds of millions are inter-
ested in what may happen-in a fight,
which has caught the Imagination
of more people than any single con-
test in the ring
young, strong, terrific two-handed
puncher. game enough to take it, a
big lead on the physical side.
In the other corner: Max Schmel-
ing, in even better physical shape
than Louis, with a smarter, craftier
fighting brain, a smashing right hand,
and the psychology of knockout
victory on his side
Since both men have proved to be
hard and Furnishing punchers. it is
only natural to expect a flow of
action and a sudden, decisive punch
early in the fight, which should turn
the tide to the one who happens
to land on vulnerable spot. 1t may
be Louis or it may be Schmeling-
but it is even money on either, not
to /.
Neither is Great Heavy.
Louis and Schmeling both look
exactly to me as they did two years
ago. At that time, thought Louis
was close to a sure thing. I discov-
cred then-and it was confirmed later
that Louis was no part of a super
fighter. just another good heavy
weight, but no more. Tommy Farr.
clumsy, ordinary. second-rater
helped to prove how far most of us
were wrong.
Neither Louis nor Schmeling is any
Jeffries, johnson. Corbett, Fitz, Demp-
sey or Tunney by number of kill
ometers. They are both good heavy
weights, but not great heavyweights
as measured by the march of the
years.
Louis, who was showed up far be-
yond his real worth and rated the
greatest ringman of all time, sudden
ly collapsed like a balloon colliding
with a sharp pin He had every
thing on the physical side-nothing
on the mental
Schmeling. underrated after his bat
tie against Sharkey, Baer and Steve
Hamas, came along to prove what
perfect condition, plus greater expert
ence, can do.
The fact that Schmeling moved out
against 8-to-1 odds and almost de-
capitated an odds-on favorite built
up one Of the most interesting return
matches in ring history.
Duel Of Cunning, Power.
In the tagging contest that should
take place at the Yankee Stadium
tomorrow night, I think Schmeling
carries as much all-around armament
as Louis can show. think he makes
up enough on the side of smartness,
keenness and competitive psychology
to match the physical advantage of
youth and hitting power that happen
to belong on the Louis side.
Almost anyone knows that Louis
can knock out Schmeling IN the Sec
ond, third or fourth round if one of
the bombs of the Brown Bomber
happens to land.
In 27 rounds against Schmeling and
Farr, his only real tests, none of these
devastating grenades happened to To-
cate the target.
Most of those Louis has beaten in
the last three years stood up as punch