The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-01-26
Joe vChOynski. 7 Rated Greatest
 Jewish Fighter
By JOE WILLIAMS

New York, Jan. 26.--T1ae death of old Joe Choymski out In Cincinnati sportlights the fact the ring has produced very few Jewish heavy weights of ability. Old Joe was far and away the best.
 Naturally we don't go back to the stone age when Q Spanish Jew named Daniel Mendoza was knock ing out all corners to become the heavyweight champion of England. All we know about MT. Mendoza is that he must have had Q fantastic fighting stance. You've probably seen those old sporting prints in club grills which show the gentle- man with his feet spread wide apart and his arms extended in 9 manner to suggest he might take off at any minute.
 The paucity of Jewish heavy weights Is all the more curious when you consider how many fine Jewish fighters the other divisions have de- veloped; fellows like Abe Attell, Benny Leonard, Barney Ros, Leach Cross, Joe Bernstein, Young Otto, Lew Tendler, Charlie White, Willie Beecher, Matt Wells, Ted Lewis, Battling Levinsky, and we'd suppose you'd have to- list Al Mccoy of Brooklyn, too. After all this Jewish battler with the Irish ring name did win the middleweight champion ship.
 But old Joe Choynski was the only pure, Jewish heavyweight who left the imprint of his fists on the rec ord book. (The Baers were as much German as Jewish). Choynski fought Corhett, Ftzsimnncns, Jeffv ries, Maher and all the other top rankers of his time. One of the re- markable things about him, too, was that he never was much more than a middleweight. He weighed only l65 pounds the time he held Jeffrtes to a twenty round draw.
 Years ago we sat in Dallas res" taurant with Jeffries talking fights. Jeffries was down there fronting for some oil promoters. They had Q project which they called the 'Knockout We'll" They were in- spired men and that's low they hap pened to tie Jeffries up with the promotion.
 "You want to know who hit me the hardest punch in my career?" Jeffries repeated in his gruif man ner. well, 1t was that skinny Jew Choynski. He nearly tore my head oil with a left hook. There are times when it seems can still feel that punch" The punch, incidentally, came in the aforementioned 20 round draw.
 ChoynsEd was well rounded fight CT, a splendd boxer and tremen- dous hitter for his weight, which of course was . handicap. Whats more, he had a full cargo of moxie. Mo- body ever out-gamed him. He knocked Fitzsimmons down, had him almost out, fiattened Kid Mccoy, stopped Maher and held Sharkey even.
 Choynski had another handicap besides lack of weight. He had a glass jaw. This helps explain why he was on the floor so much himself. It was characteristic that he either knocked the other guy out or was knocked out himself. He'd be go- ing along winning round afer round when all of sudden Q boom. And then his seconds would be carrying him out of the ring to the sym- phonic accompaniment of the birdies. Tn this respect he was like Bombardier wells. the gifted Brit ish boxer. It didu't mean much at the time but. 1t was @ performance which took on iustre in retrospect. We refer to the time Ohoynski met Jack Johnson in a Galveston ring and made him quit in three rounds. Johnson was just starting out and there was Q little reason to expect one day he'd win the heavyweight championship from Jeifries. We seem to remember vaguely both Choynsil and Johnson were jailed after the fight but it could be we are confusing them with two other fellows.
 We met choynakl only once. That wag four or i've years ago in Cln. cinuatl. He was still active as . boxing instructor. We had dinner wlih him. It vas winter and he aT- rived in q hoppy black hat Q fnr eallared eoat end a flowing DOW lie. IIe had developed q majestic manner afid Hna nFecIfe, of times penderous. in speech. ii pas unkind'