Evening star., 1959-06-18
A TCHIS.ON'S
AN LIE
The Lost Vocal Chord
sY LEWIS :. ATcHlsoN

THERE WAS SOMETHING that didn't ring true about
this Floyd Patterson Ingemar Johansson fight coming up
next week The old malarkey was missing. Too many
people said the challenger didn't have chance and too
many were predicting quick easy win for the champ
This strictly against all rules for promoting prize
fights.
But change came this week when both camps
apparently apprised tagging ticket Sales sprang to
their verbal guns. Gus DAmato Pattersons volatile
manager, charged that Ingy dealing OF the bottom
OF the deck. The angelic swede, Gus decared-eyes
blazing In righteous indgnaton-was purposey looking
like bum in public and doing his serious training in
secret.
I've got agent in his camp" DAmato said limiting
that there are no flies on him Somebody close him
they'd be shocked If they ever learned who it was"
Well now this is more like the old blood and thunder
the late Mike Jacobs fired at the public. A couple Of
weeks before the combatants began training in the old
days OF press agenty the public suspected
that the champion toerng the brink of disaster
And week before the fight it could picture the challenger
counting the and being measured for new head
piece. 1t paid of at the gate.
Gus HAS COME UP before with tales that would
shame fiction writer but he may have mined the choicest
publicity nugget of all with this secret-agent story ngys
encourage includes his mother father brother and
Suppose one of them tipping of Cusl Suppose the girl
has been shamelessy Turing Ingy out to all those dances
hes supposed to have attended and loading him up with
popcorn and soda to make he won't be shape
for the fight?
Or Is 1t possible that Ingys mother, who supervises
the cooking has been larding her boy with the wrong
kind OF food? Do suppose his father been standing
AZ rngSde during workouts telling him to throw left
when Ingy obviously should uppercut with the right or
10 step IN when he should duck? Has the brother
hoeratey set slow in roadwork that Johanssons
wind will be short the night of the fight?
DAmato's yarn has unlimited possibilities Suppose
Tor example the secret agent really counterspy feed
ing bad information to Patterson's camp what then?
Almost anything could happen Floyd might come into
the ring prepared to block ngys right and get cobbered
with left. He might discover Ingy to be polished will
O. the wSp impossible to hit who would show the champ
q fancy pattern of punches.
JoHANssON, TAKING HIS cue denies all this nom
sense about living high the hog dining and dancing
all night and appearing TV shows when he should be
getting his sleep. He wasn't convincing especially with
no Knockdowns recorded by him. while Patersons sparrng
partners have been hauled away like fallen logs But Ingy
says his training is right schedule
In the old days the promoter kept couple of ancient
nghters or retired handy bolster the waverng
courage of backsders who didn't like the looks of fight
II the challenger looked bad in training the odtimer
supplied logical reason with reference to some upset
to prove the point.
Johansson has looked bad even the shils wouldn't
put'n good word for him. correspondent from his
homeland has prepared his readers for the worst and
Nat Flescher, who in an unguarded moment picked
See ATCHISONS ANGLE, Page Ar