The Washington times., 1938-01-25
Defect By Braddock
No Disgrace to Fdrr
Wins
By Narrow
Margin
By FRANK BUCK" O'NEILL

Out of the plethora OF commenl
and opinion on the Jim Braddock
Tommy Farr fight is pieced TO
gether a blistering indictment o1
Joe Louis, currently the heavy
weight champion of the world
Braddock, the romantic figure
fighting off the thrusts of his op
ponent, the weight of time and the
ravages of wear and tear in many
a bruising ring battle, carried OIL
the laurels in a driving finish.
No doubt that Braddock'S lorna
die rally swayed the judges. Little
doubt that it swayed the sentiment
of men who have viewed similar
scenes down through the years.
Braddock's failing fists wove ar
aura of glory about him. To many
no doubt, they drove Farr back
beyond the ranks of challengerS
for the title, into the category OF
second-raters, and if you ask some
of the more scathing critics, into
the ranks of third raters.
GAMBLERS HOWLED LOUDESI
Farr was guilty, perhaps, OF
violating the code of sh a lloW "
craftsmanship that rules the ring
when he refused to shake hands
That should not disqualify him
from the consideration due him
as a man and fighter. Nor should
the booing of the crowd, affect his
position. The gambling element
which backed Farr to win, prob
ably howled loudest. These hoWls
should fall upon deaf ears.
1t was not so l0g ago that Far1
stood in the ring at Yankee Stad'
ium, receiving the plauditS of an
American crowd, who cheered him
after his defeat at the hands OF
Joe Louis. The victorious Louis
was hooted and booed, probably
because he did not knock out Farr
as the gambling element thought
he should.
Farr went IS rounds with Louis
and never even was knocked down
Louis was accepted as a devastat
ing puncher. Farr Smacked Louis
on the chin so often that it was
admitted that only his lack o1
punching power saved Louis from
being knocked out. The same has
been said of the Braddock fight BY
more conservative critics who dc
not let the roar of the crowd inter
fere with their cold judgment o
fights and fighters.
FIGURES DO NOT ADD
But because Braddock's steam
ing two-round drive overcame tn
advantages held by Farr up to tn
start of the ninth round, the lat
ter is consigned to the ranks O.
third-raters.
It doesn't add up correctly
Third-raters do not smack cham
pions on the lug so often. ant
with such ease that it be
comes embarrassing, not only tt
the titleholder, but to his PAL
tisans in the pews. And third
raters do not smack ex-champion
on the body until their sides ar
as raw as fresh cut beef.
If Farr is a third-rater and
bum. why did he give Louis tn
fight that he gave him?
Why did an analysis of the off
cial scoring of the contest show
rounds for Farr, rounds for Brac
dock with two rounds even?
FARR STOOD THE GAFF
Farr is held up to derision b.
some critics because Braddocl
nailed him on the chin with
right hand uppercut repeatedl
throughout the course Of tn
fight. Braddock failed to knoc
down the Welshman.
Braddock cracked Louis on tn
chin with that same right uppe1
cut and dumped the Negro on tn
canvas. That would indicate tina
Farr is more rugged than tn
champion, for Tommy took tina
favorite sock of Jerseys Jim an
waded in for more.
If you boil down all the stat
ments and make the proper di
counts for enthusiasm and pref,
dice, you'll find that the critic
of Farr really are shown
up Louis as a mediocre sort {
champion.
And as for Braddock, it woul
be nice thing for him to har
up his gloves. He is in a positio
now where nothing but a repet
ton of the financial disaster I
> 1929 can set him back. He can
) always fight off the years and tt
:, punches of a rival as he did la
r Friday. Even the Cinderella coac
A the vehicle he rode f rom Il
t docks to glory, may turn into
pumpkin shell one of these night