Evening star., 1938-08-10
THIRD CROWN SEEN.
FOR RBOX|NGFREA
Lightweight King Conceded
Only Chance to Extend
Hammering Henry.
BY GRANTLAND RICE,
Special Correspondent Of The Star.

ny UhANlLAND NlCE,
Special Correspondent Of The Star.
NEW YORK, Aug. 1O.-There is a
very good chance that. before mid
night, one Henry Armstrong, the
hurry-up hammerer, will have three
crowns parked upon or above his moist
brow.
The lone stymie left in his road is
Lou Ambers, lightweight champion,
who IS banking on a stout heart and
a pair of alert legs by way of rebuttal
I don't think this will be enough. For
Henry Armstrong also has a stout
heart and pair OF alert legs. and
in addition, Henry Armstrong also
has the two busiest fists I've ever seen
in ring.
There have been others who could
hit you harder than Armstrong can.
But not 50 often.
Ambers says the way to beat Arm
strong Is to throw more punches than
Armstrong throws. This is undoubted-
ly correct. But I haven't seen any
four-handed fighters or boxers in this
vicinity for some time.
Henry'S Leather" Tires EN-.
Harry Greb, at his best, could set
you q lively pace from start to finish.
I once saw him hit as fine a boxer
as Tom Gibbons seven times without
counter or return punch.
But even Harry Greb could never
set and hold the pace that Arm
strong sets. Neither can an electric
fan.
Ambers should give Armstrong a
much warmer evening than Barney
Ross did. He is younger and stronger
than Barney was-and he likes that
title more.
Also his style may bother the dark
hammerer much more than Barney
method ever could. Ambers is an
active, tireless sort without much of a
punch. but he is strong and rough and
willing to mix it. He isn't easy to
discourage, and Armstrong is one of
the great discouragers. Along about
the fourth or nth round his oppo-
nents get sick and weary of looking at
50 much leather, thrown from every
direction without any intermission.
Fitz Was Actual Heavy.
There has been considerable talk
around that Fitzsimmons was only a
middleweight when he whipped Jim
Corbett. Fitz was supposed to weigh
157 pounds when the Carson City show
came of in 1897.
I'll tell you exactly what Fitz
weighed at that time" Jim Corbett
told me before he died. "Fitz weighed
176 pounds. Few paid any attention
to weighing-in 80 years ago. had
heard that Fitz was claiming a weight
Of 157 pounds. and I had close
check-up made. The weight an
nounced was just 20 pounds short.
Fitz had small legs, but he had the
chest, neck and arms of a 200-pound
fighter. He was powerfully built above
the waist. Better built than I was
from the legs up, and I weighed around
1877. Fitzsimmons was great fighter,
a fine boxer and a terrific puncher
But he was also heavyweight-not
middleweight-when fought him. ~
Fitz never held any three titles at
one time. There Eas no synthetic
light-heavyweight title in 1897 that I
can dig up, and I'll striAg with Jim
Corbett on Ruby Roberts displace-
ment.
Armstrong certainly has two titles
today, and he'll have a third if he can
crowd his way to Ambers-which
think he can do.
Armstrong 10 Ring Freak.
Armstrong happens to be a freak.
He still insists he can make 126 pounds
in case some featherweight challenger
comes along, and he still Is ready to
meet any 145-pound welter who might
happen to drift In reach.
Armstrong has a range of 20 pounds
he can face. This means little In the
heavyweight set, where Dempsey, for
example, spotted Jess Willard over 60
pounds.
But when you move into champion
ship divisions at the light weights, that
2O-pound margin is phenomenal
matter.
Armstrong, in at least one respect
is exactly like Fitzsimmons. He has
the legs of bantam and the arms ano
body of a welterweight. Fitz tac
thin. skinny legs-but, above the waist
he was a true heavyweight.
And thin legs can carry as much
speed and stamina as heavier under
pinning can move into action.
Lou Not Deemed Good Enough.
When Dempsey met Willard, the
formers legs were on the spindly side
Jim Corbett had the greatest pair OF
legs the ring has ever known-but
they were not heavy or bulky. Any
one who can set and hold the pace
that Armstrong sets must have the
proper transportation. No one can
keep moving at such speed, round
after round. without good legs.
1t may be that Lou Ambers, an ex-
ceptional competitor, may have found
the secret-the way to beat Armstrong
don't think Lou has.
don't think Lou can hit as hard
and as often as Armstrong can. Any
one can be entirely wrong, but DOM
believe many have quite appreciated
Getting Bette