Evening star., 1938-05-26
NEGRO EX-B0XERS
BEL|TTLE BOMBER
Mix Praises of Louis With
Boasts They Could Have
SheIIacked Him.
BY q stan Correspondent of The Star.

son is not the only retired black Tight
er who knows he could have punched
the ears off Joe Louis. There are 81
others. That's all the retired black
fighters I am acquainted with. No
doubt there are SO more who know
that in their best days they could have
punched the ears of Joe Louis.
Take Jack Blackburn. Jack is now
Louis trainer and chief adviser, and
naturally he is pretty careful not to
knock his fighter, or to have him
knocked. Jack is in earnest, too, He
thinks Louis is first-rate fighter.
great puncher. But, in the bottom OF
his brain, he carries his private notion
Of a black man who could really fight
namely, Jack Blackburn.
recall one time when We were talk
ing with Mr.. Blackburn about Louis
and about fighting in general. Jack
paid rational and sober tribute to the
genius Of his protege. He said Joe was
a great boy. He called attention to his
better points He compared him with
the good Negroes of old.
Louis Ranked Above Johnson.
"Jack johnson? Yeah, I think he
could of took Johnson" said Mr..
Blackburn thoughtfully. He would
feed johnson with the left, and then,
when johnson moved in, he would belt
him with a right He was mighty
smart man, johnson, but think Joe
would of been too tough for him. That
Joe is one of the greatest fighters you
ever see. He could even lick johnson,
tha's how good he is. Some boy. He
could even lick Johnson"
There was a pause after this, and
presently some one said, How about
yourself, Jack? How would you have
done with Johnson?"
Mr.. Blackburn looked at the speaker
blankly.
who, Johnson" he said, startled by
the Stiffness of the question. why,
I would have belted the brains out
of that big bum!"
Langford's Attitude Is Same.
Sam Langford has pretty much the
same attitude Sam, living up in Har-
lem, nearly stone blind, speaks kindly
of Louis. He is glad to think that
there is good black man supporting
the prestige of the African race in
the ring. But, if you asked him If
Louis could fight as well as Sam
Langford, Samuel would think you
were a little touched in the head
That brings us, in roundabout
way, to the subject of Harry Wills
and his latest fast. Mr. Wills is the
worlds most scientific faster. Every
year, in February or in March, he
lives on water for 80 days. This
process takes so pounds of his body,
purifies his brain and elevates his
psyche.
At the peak Of his fast, the old
black menace sees everything clearly,
as though for the first time. Take
Louis.
Louis is pretty good, pretty good
fighter" says Mr.. Wills. 1T would
take real good fighter to beat him.
Some one like Schmeling. Schmeling
is cute, and he knows where to look
for the mans weakness and how to
beat the man. What's that? Would
I OF beat Louis in my best day? Oh,
surely, would. No doubt about that"
Wills Boasts of Strength.
Having just completed his purge for
1888, the twenty-seventh annual fast
of his career, Mr.. Wills Is remarkably
lucid.
"Schmeling," he says, fights Louis
Just as I would Of, beats him to the
punch with a right, when he is open.
But I might also of beat Louis with a
left. I fought two-handed.. I was
q two-handed fighter.
II was also very strong. Perhaps
nobody realized how strong I was. I
fought Firpo, and in the clinch I
th'owed him around like baby. Han
died him like baby. was quite
strong"
The Senegambian stevedore, who
was born nearer to New Orleans than
Senegambia, made himself famous by
menacing Jack Dempsey. Mr.. Demp-
sey could never produce very con-
vincing case of cold shivers when Wills
name was mentioned, but the public
came to believe that he feared old
Harry like the plague. Mr.. Wills was
q good looking menace. He played
the part with an air Of quiet fore
bodins. Of Imminent doom. 1t was