The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1942-02-16

Shanes
Toe Louis
BY JACK GUENTHER
Tacoma Times Special Writer

IhfomA Ifmcs Special Nrftef
NEW YORk-If I were blessed
with talent for reading minds
and isn't IT a pity that I'm not
I'd be willing to bet my last
pound of sugar against q comic
valentine that Private Joseph
Louis Barrow of the United States
army spent the better part of an
hour last night being thoroughly
ashamed of his ability as prize
fighter.
Don't get me wrong. II
wasn't anything Private BAR
row did that brought on the
embarrassment which I as
sumo he felt. His appearance
In Madison Square Garden
was that Of a spectator, not
participant. He simply
mitted the crowd, bowed
mOdestly and shook hands
with an easy show Of grace.
No, it wasn't anything he did
it was something he didn't do.
Namely. it was that he didn't
knock Billy Conn clear over the
right field fence at the Polo
Grounds in the first round of the
fight that warm June evening last
year instead of being forced to
dilly-dally for some 3s minutes
before he could step in and make
the kill.
FEEBLE VICTORY
For last night Old Joe sat five
rows from the ringside while
Conn sweated. grunted, bicycled,
clinched and paved feebly to
victory over the worlds middle
weight champion-Tony Zale, of
Gary, Ind, a man who he out
weighed by almost Is pounds. out
sped from the opening gong and
out-ranged by several inches in
every direction.
Conn won by a decided
margin of points, but In doing
II ne was unable to knock his
smaller opponent down, was
clipped square on the chin
and stopped In his tracks at
least three times, and went
back to his dressing quarters
with chorus of boOs buzzing
In his handsome ears. As the
worlds foremost heavyweight
contender, he was a plaster
of paris bust.
A few days ago I said there |
never was a reason for this fight, |
and last night my opinion was
by the parties of the
first and second parts themselves.
Conn was dull, gun-shy in the
alter rounds and as full of fight |
as a sofa cushion. Zale was will
ng. rugged and unable to get |
close enough to his opponent to |
10 real harm.
STYLE
The first round was fancy and
n the second the customers were
elling Conn to go back to Holly
wood and make another picture.
The third round Yale won by a
zig margin and the fourth and
fifth went to Conn because he was
bigger and spent most of his time
Gaming on Zale's shoulders.
In the seventh Conn had
everything to himseIf-except
a punch. He hit Zale with
jabs. uppercuts, crosses and
hooks. He hit him on the
chin, on the head, on the ears
and In the belly. Whatever
II takes to knock Yale down,
Conn didn't have. Before the
round ended he had been stag
gered himself.
Conn was slower than good
Jews in the eighth. He went to
work again in the next round and
t was a repeat performance of
he seventh-except this time Zale
over the hardest blow he
anded all night and he took all
he steam out of bigger Billy for
he ensuing minutes.
The fans started to boo.
OF course, Conn was at
disadvantage here because In
this fight he was the big boy
not the fair-haired lad who
had walked in against Louis
and walked out again with a
grin on his cocky face. As
well. he hadn't fought often
since last June and his timing
was poor. But the best YOU
could say of the evening was
that IL was too bad Zale
wasn't heavier.
II he had been Conn's weight,
,ale would have won the fight.
As it was, he carried off most of
he plaudits and whatever glory
here was it will take a long time
or Conn m araca the ,,,ar,n,x. ho Z