Imperial Valley press., 1938-02-28

TODANS
SPORT PARADE,
kSAARNathlDe
BY LESLIE AVERY
pinch Hitting for Henry
Mel Ipmgrel

NEW YORK, Feb. %. (UP)-Since
our Heavyweight Champion Joe
Louis smeared one Nathan Mann
last week I'VE been subjected TO an
incessant barrage of coincidence for
Max Schmeling.
Remember Make? He knocked
Louis colder than a herring some
20 months back And now folks
are beginning to feel sorry for him
because he has to fight Louis again
this June. Just why so much SYM
pathy should be wasted on Mr..
Schmeling is more than a mystery
to me- 1t is idiotic and a sinful
abuse of those tender sentiments
usually reserved until at least 10
minutes after rigor mortis has set
in.
The last to belittle the Wallop
that Joe carries in either mitten,
/ question whether the time IS
right to begin singing a requiem
! for Herr Schmeling. OF course
Louis three round knockout over
| the Connecticut Yankee was more
impressive than his decisions over
Pastor and Farr. In both of these
latter fights Joe looked like some
thing less than the worlds best
fighting man. And l doubt that his
performance against Mann was
worthy of the bewailing it provoked
for Schmeling.
Mann was made to order for
Louis. Schmeling isn't. Mann stung
Louis then waded in to finish him.
Schmeling stung Louis then didn t
wade in to finish him. Mann got
clipped on the chin. Schmeling
didn't. Mann got knocked out.
Schmeling knocked Louis out.
A hand-picked opponent calcu-
lated to keep Louis from becoming
ring rusty, Mann's weapons were
mediocre and his defense was less.
Yet, he stung the champion. Stung
him just enough to change him
from a cold blodded fighting ma
chine into a raging jungle man. 1t
was the first tilfe Louis ever had
| been infuriated in the ring, and the
sudden savageneSs with which he
finished Mann was magnificent. 1t
| is not hard to agree that Schmeling
or any other man, could not weather
such barrage OF leather. Schmeling
won't have to. He is too cagey a
fighter; too versed in ring strategy
If you happened to have read OF
! heard a bloW-b blow account OF
the fight you will recall that three
right had smashes to the jaw trans
formed Louis from a shuffling Ala
CANA colored boy into a killer. See
ing the champions beWildered look
after those right hand clouts, Mann
tore in to finish him. 1t was his
own fish Louis, the greatest
counter -puncher in the game, con-
nected with his famed left hook.
To a casual observer this probably
means that Louis is his Old self
the Brown Bomber who Wadec
through Camera, Baer and Pauline
but it also means that Joe still is
sucker for a right hand punch
despite nearly two years of school
ing by his trainer Jack Blackburn
to perfect a defense for that one
punch.
Louis has no natural defense
dSdlllSJ Il IlSIlJ lldllu. I1io llCCh la
too long and his shoulders too slop-
ing for him to tuck his chin be-
hind a protecting left shoulder
Schmeling discovered the weakness
from watching movies of Louis
fights. When he said he knew how
to beat Joe, he was laughed at
But never will l forget that June
night in Yankee stadium. A couple
of rounds went by and Joe was
dressing his man for, the kill. II
was the third round before Make
threw that cooked right. 1t land,
ed and it won the fight for him
eventually. Der Schlager was juS'
a little too ring wise to rush in
He hung back, waiting, waiting
When the opening came again II
the fourth he threw the right thai
was heard round the world. i
sent Louis spinning to the canvas.
And how Make stood back, pa
tiently and methodically throwing
those right hands until Joe collapsed
in the 18th, is history-so dom
begin to shed any tears of lament
for Mr.. Schmeling yeti think hi
has Louis number.