The Oregon daily journal., July 04, 1910, Page 12, Image 12

ORD OF
i t v 4-
Johi.s.cu'a Great E attics.
LOST.
ir-01. knocked out t7
Jo C'aoyr.ski.
I! arch 25s, .If CS, lest to Marvin
Hart on points in a 10 round
fiUt 1" fan Francisco.
WON' AND DRAW.
October 31, 1902, Riven decision
over. George G. Gardiner on a 20
round fight la an Krapcisco.
February 5, 1903, given fleci-
ion ovt Denver Ed Martin In
20 round fight at Los Angeles,
Cal. - - --H -
February 27, 1903. given dec!- ,
sion over Sam McVey In 20
round fight in Lob Angeles.:
April 22. 1904, knocked out
am McVey In 20 rounds In San
. Francisco.-' ' -' '- 5-
October .18, 1904, knocked out, v
-Ed Martin In 3. round la Lo
. 4 Angeles. - ;. ' '
April 2. 1906. got decision over
Langford la IS round fight at
. Chfelsea. ;:' :;-
July - 17. 1907. defeated Bob
. Fitzslmmon In S rounds la Phil- , 4
, adelphia. .:
November 2, 1907, knocked out
tf Jim Flynn In 11 rounds at Colma.
December 26, 1908, won the
4 world's championship by defeat- ;
4 ing Tommy Burns In 14 rounds
41 at Sydney, Australia.
October 16, 1909, knocked out .
Stanley Ketchel In twelfth round
4 at Colma, -. 4
.. ... , . . . ". . . '
'. ; ' - ,.
The ring career of Jack Johnson while
not nearly so brilliant as that of his
opponent, James J. Jeffries,' Is never
theless, a very creditable one, consider
ing the circumstances under which he
was often compelled to ' fight Blnce
his first battle in 1901, he has been one
of the principals In 70 ring contests and
has lost only thre, one by a knockout,
the second on a foul and the third by
a decision.
Several times Johnson has. figured in
"shady" fights and he has often been
accused of having . yellow streak, ow
ing to the fact that he won most of his
battles On decisions. His supporters,
however, claim that the champion has
plenty of. gamcness but that h has
J never been compelled to extend himself.
I As a ptoof of , this assertion they cite
1 the Johnson-Ketchel fight, in which tha
black man fought on the defensive for
12 rounds when a bjow on the Jaw from
, his opponent -aroused him and he im
t mediately , plunged in apd ended the
; fight with a knockout.
Bora In Texa. :
l Johnson was born In Galveston, Texas,
on March 81, 1878, and spent his boy
I hood days" around the docks in. that
city. He was possessed of an 'enor-
mous natural strength as . well as the
' quickness and agility (ot a 'panther. " He
; did, not figure in the pugilistic world,
a however, until 1901, when he was picked
up by Leo Posner, one of ' the leaders
,.of the Galveston A. C. In arder to fill
1 in boxing engagement J .one nlght
Posner cut Johnson on. with in urnerl.
rwedfbgftttjr -i-ry- the riatneBTTChaney
I Brooks. Everyone expected t see ,th
; negro made mincemeat of, but Johnson
; surprised them , by landing a knockout
in the eecond round.
This served to bring ; him into the
nmpLignt ana n soon figured in a nun
, er of bouts held in that section. He
. cleaned up the best darkey fighters, as
s well as several white heavyweights.
, About this time, Posner began to look
for a match outside the ""Lone Star"
state for his darkey charge. He ar
j ranged a fight with a hurley negro by
the nam of "Klondyke" Johnson, who
had been cutting wide swath Jn pugilis-
tio circles in the eastern section of the
country. 'Klondyko" : camo to Texas,
where ha met Johnson in a 20-round
i fight The battle was a . hard on but
; Johnson , got the decision, , :. : v o
v KMta CaoykskL i- -""'-:i :-;t.'
t As Jack had now disposed of all the
good black men in aight, Posner looked
around for 4 white opponent.- Joe
Choynski appeared to fill the bill and
1 the white man agreed to fight tha negro,
as he thought It would be easy money,
J The pair met in Galveston In March,
r 1901, and Johnson was defeated for tha
first time In his career. Be put up a
fairly good fight, but Choynski'g ring
j generalship was too much for the black
novice, and the white man dropped him
; in the third round for the count of 10.
The fight, however, proved a good thing
for Johnson. Both men were put in
Jail after the contest and while behind
the prison bars Choynski taught the
big coon many fine- points of the box-
- ing game. ;.-;..'-;,-.!:'"',:.,.
I la tho second year of his career John
son figured 1 in 16 fights. He scored
: six Jtnockouts, was given a decision In
- five cases . and the . remainder wera
draws. It was on May 16 of this year
that hs met Jack Jeffries, brother of
Jim, In Los Angeles and kndeked him
:out in five rounds. . L:'v,:.;'
On October 81. 1902, Johnson fought
: one of the hardest battles of his ca
reer with Joe Gardiner. The fight was
; pulled off in San Francisco and Went
20 rounds, Johnson 'winning on points.
; His first fight in 1908 was with "Den.
ver" Ed Martin, a -powerful negro. The
fight waa held in Los Angeles and after
;a grtielling 20 round contest, Johnson
, was given the decision. The latter part
" of tha same month he was given a de
cluion over Earn, McVey . in a 20 round
fight at Los Angeles.
Defeats Terguson.
In April be defeated Sandy Ferguson
In 10 rounds at Boston and In the fol
lowing month he knocked out Joe Butler
;'et Philadelphia. He had two more fiithts
the sa ma year with Ferguson and one
with McVey. ";c ; .
The yeir 1904 waa a dull one ifor tha
big black fighter and his meals "were
very irregular.. In April of that year
he knocked out Sam McVey in a 20
round fight fit-San Frandsco and'dlsi
; post-d of Ed Martin In' two rounds at
Los Angeles Jn October 'of tha same
;;; year. .-ir-i-.-v. -.- X".;:.-y.
; i " Johnson figured in U battles In 1905.
jCOne he -lost under a decision, another
on foul, he won tnreeJ with knockouts,
Lone on a foul and one on points. One
of the contests was a draw and;' the
other five there were no .decisions ren
dered.. ' ' '-,3'V;
His first fight that year was with
Marvin Hart. The pair met in San
Francisco, and after 20 round sof hard
'EJ.1.'-". J..LL LL. '
BRIGHTON BEACH
TO'..."-"..
1) j O J
All Irnprovemcnts
No Interest .
4i: -113-414 LumLcr Cx. Bid.
JOHNSON
fl.chting Hart was given the decision,
although the- referee was hooted by the
onlookers who thought that Johnson c!b
served to Win.
la November of the same year John
son lost to Joe Jeanette on a foul in
Philadelphia. Ha met Jeanette the fol
lowing month in a six round bout, but
no decision was rendered, although John
son won on points. '
Sam langford. ;
Johnson's .most Important battle In
1906 was with Sam Langford. The first
took place at Chelsea jn April 26, John
son weighing 190 pounds and Langford
only 138 . In the second round Lang
fordhot wit -tremendous - Tight" -and
knocked Johnson to the floor. Appar
ently the referee did not care to see tho
fight end, so he indulged In a "slow
oount" It was charged that 15 seconds
had elapsed, before they had finished
the count of 10, and by this time John
son had staggered to msreei. jsck
managed to stick on for the remainder
of the round and after that he fought
Langford at long range. , As he - was
much more scientific than his smaller
opppnent, he was given the battl on
points.;
ntzsimmons was defeated by Johnson
in two rounds In Philadelphia in April.
1907, and In November of the same yoa.'
. - '
Jeffries' Greatest rights.
March 22, 1898. knocked Peter
4 Jackson out In three rounds la , 4
8an Francisco. ,
June 9, 1899. became world's
champion by defeating Boh Fits-
Simmons In tl rounds at Coney
''Island. N. T.-y.i:-'-..'-'"eW'!
Ndv. 8, 1899,-was given decls-
Ion over Tom Sharkey at the and
of a 25 round fight at Coney
Island, N. T.
. May 11, 1900, knocked out
James J. Corbett In 28 rounds
at Coney Island. N. T-
July 25,. 1902, defeated Bpb
Fitssimmons in eight rounds at
San Francisco, Cal. - - 1
August 14, 1903, defeated
James J. Corbett in 10 rounds
in San Francisco, Cal.
James J. Jeffries Is undoubtedly a great
prizefighter. Whila he haa. not fought
as many battlea as a few other cham
pions, he has engaged In more Important
contests than ny other champion. . He
disposed of the greatest fighter of his
time. . .
Jeffries was 'born In Carrol. Ohio.
April 15, 187S, and is the son of the
Rov. Alexander Jeffrie.. Ills father in
addition to being & cirouit rider had a
small firm, where . tha ,. ex-champion
spent his childhood days.
But Dame Fortune failed to smile on
the Jeffries family, so the father packed
up. ma belongings and moved to Call
fornia in the early eighties, ;W
Toung Jim - attended school, until ho
waallS and then started, to work In 4
Doner lactory, whera ha developed .bis
' always iona or poxing, ana
to account 01 nn great sirengtn, soon
acquired a local reputation.
7. .i ' Trained Carefully,
AtMhla time. California waa crowded
with 'second, rate fighters-all- the big
contests being held in tho east Jeffrie
spent considerable time in the training
Quarters or a number of the fighters
and it was in one of these places that
he was found by Billy Delaney,
Delaney went down to Colma oh day
to watch Billy Gallagher, ' who waa
training for his fight with Mysterious
BlUy Smith. He saw Jeffries working
with the gloves, atKed him up as cham
pionship timber and "grabbed" him.
At this lima Corbett was training In
Carson City for hi great fight with
Bob Fitzslmmona, and Delaney packed
hi protege off for Nevada.; Her Cor
bett used tha big overgrown boy as a
sort Of human punching bag for several
weeks, little dreaming ' that this aame
youngster would some-day give him tha
worst beating of his life. .
Whila Jeffries was being Initiated in
Corbett' camp, Delaney decided to give
him a real tryout, so . ha arranged a
match with a big heavyweight by tho
name of Van Buskirk, who was known
a the champion of the Pacific, coast
Tha result waa beyond all expectations.
Jeffrie met tha old timer and finished
him in two round. Thia waa ia April,
1897, and Jim was only 22 years old. -.
' -; Hglita XXarry Eaker.
Th next month Jeffries successfully
defended his title against Harry Baker.
At tha end of . thia contest h was
matched for the first big fight of hi
career that with Gu Ruhlln. At this
time Ruhlln had I been picked up by
Billy Maduen, and was known as the
"Akron Giant. Tha fight was sched
uled to take place in August '. Unfor
tunately for Jeffrie he underrated hia
opponent, and when they entered ' tha
ring he wa confident of making abort
work of the Ohloan. But Buhlln knew
a little mora about boxing than the big
bollermaker and for a time it looked
rather bad for . Jeffries. However, he
managed to pull through and in tha
twentieth round h put a left to Ruhlln'
head which nearly finished him. The
fight waa called a draw.
RECORD 'OF JEFFRIES .
- uib uqai ict LiKUfc vauiQ in V v taii u 'l A " . -1 ' ...... ,.. .
of th same year, when h met Joe'rle took on a spurt and followed him
U(. . . . 11. a . . . , r , ..
Choynski in San Francisco. Choynski
had never been. a champion, -but he had
met eom of the best men In th ring
and! they had only won bT close d&cia-.,
ions. ; Accordingly, he was the favorlta.
When they entered the ring. Jeffries
outweighed hia opponent by- nearly 60
pounds. . Tha contest aodad la a draw in
thtwentleth round. .
Si Great fight.
Th battle, however, which really
brought Jeffries into th Jimellght and
gave "him an international reputation,
was hi great fight with Peter Jackson.
This was held.,, in San .Francisco on
March ; ZZ.i 1898. Jackson' wonderful
reputation as a fighter gave him a larg
following. But Delaney figured that on
account of the life of ease which the
Australian" had been Hying in England
for a number of years, Jef fries stood a
good chance of winning. His expecta
tions proved true; Jackson was so. badly
punished that th police had to stop th
fight la th third round. . . . .
About - this ; tlm Tom Sharkey had
achieved 'quit a reputation along the
Paciflo coast Ho had won on a "foul
from Fitzslmmons, anSl he had fought a
four round draw with Corbett , Delaney
figured that ha would be a good match
for his protege ahd tha battle wa ar
ranged. When the two men stepped Into
the ring their physical contrast was re-,
markable. Tha big California towered
half a foot above th sailor' head, and
it looked a though . Sharkey wouldn't
even hav the pleaaura .of landing a
punch. But appearance a r deceiving.
All through th fight Sharkey kept
boring In, winglng both hand and
fighting like a windmill. Jeffries stood
hi ground, and hit almost at will.. At
the end of the twentieth round both men
wcil l)y.Oiy,xutufi, iuUlii.aUXoi-DiaB
was the 'fresher of the two and was
given the decision. - '
New Tork city at this time was the
llecca of the big fighters, and Delaney
J(,:.;"-'n :::!-''., , - Jim : ' ;. r. ! in ! ' v vi a r . - - ,. ,! :
t:,'vcnl.!i r. :;r..i-';-t C ..1, C ' i:i tvo Tc- w 1.
It was In l!iv5 Cat Tommy Turns Tho lug fei'-ny tiirn nils a tour of
Won "the 11 orld's cliamplonship by d- j rnghuid- and (KsroMca of ,U Vt? av.-Ul-ft-atin?
Marvin Hart, who -had been pre-; t.Wa material In that country and then
son ted with the titla by James Jeffries ; returned to America, whero ho fettled:
when the latter retired from the ting. j down to farmer's life, on his ranch near
Fince that time Johnson lia.i been Lor Angeles.
playing "hare and hound" with the lit- Ifa announced, his retirement and pre-
tla Canadian in an effort to force iiim :
into a fight. He followed him to Lng
land and from there to Australia, where
Burns finally agreed to fight the negro,
providing a large enough purse was
offered. Hugh Jlelntosh put up a purse
of $35,000, but Burns made the condi
tions that he was to receive $30,000, win,
lose or draw. So anxious was Johnson
to meet him that he agreed to be con
tent with the remaining $5000. The bat
tle was fought on December 26, 1908,
and was Johnson's fight all the way
through. HeMM not exert .himself in
the Ieasf iahd the contest was stopped by
the police in the fourteenth round to
Save Burns from further punishment.
Johnson returned to this country In
1909 and has only engaged in four bat
tles since that time. The first two were
six round bouts with Jack O'Brien and
Tony Ross, and the third was . 10 round
bout with Kaufman- ' No .decision was
given any of these battles, but Johnson
showed his" superiority over his oppo
nents. ' .,'..
The last battle .was with Stanley
Ketchel, middleweight champion,, and it
was fought at Colma, October 16. John
son won by a knockout In tha twelfth
round.' '. . . -V : ........
thought It time to take his 1 protege to
the eastern metropolis. He made ar
rangement for Jeffries to meet two
men in one night and the fight was
pulled off at the Lenox Athletic club.
Bob Armstrong and Steve O'Donnell,
two burly heavyweights, were selected
as tho eacrlflcea Armstrong waa the
first in tha ring and he gave tha west
erner auch a stiff fight that Jeffrie
was fortunate, to got the decision, at
the end of tha tenth round. UnfortU'
mately, he injured hi hand and was un
able, to meet o'ponnelL.. .
The Gotham fight fan, however,
didn't like his excuse and took no pain
to hide their displeasure. , Broken
hearted and disgusted, Jeffries and, his
manager started back for tha coast4-
For some time Delaney and Jeff went
Into retirement; but .it takes money
to make the mare go," so Delaney again
got in touch with tha New Tork fight
managers,, in order to arrange a match
lor hi charge. New Tork, however
had been bumped once, and had decided
that it did not want any mora of the
Calif ornian. ; In desperation, Delaney
wrote to Billy Brady and asked him to
arrange a match. Brady got busy and
surprised not only Jeffries ' and his
manager, but the entira sporting publlo
by closing an agreement for a fight
with Fitzslmmons. who at that time
held the world's championship. East
erner wera inclined to laugh at the
contest, but this did r not affect De-
laney.V ..'Me., brought T Jeffries east and
started him training at Asbury Park,
while Fitzslmmons managed to keep In
shape at his home in Bath,. Beach.
vV.'v;HIa" ramoua Crouch, -
Tha great fight waa pulled off June
9, 1899, at COney Island, and more than
10,000 enthusiastic fana crowded the
Ifiat Jeffries first used Jiia famous
"orouch, and for time it puzzled the
old ring general. They fought aavagely
for 10 rounds, but Jeff youth and
ability to at and punishment soon began
to tell. When Fit walked to tha center
of the ring for the eleventh round, he
was all in. Both men feinted several
time, and then Jeff threw hi left
across his face as a guard and launched
hi right full against his opponent'
law. Fit dropped and lay on his
back, Another world champion had
come to th front. ',.',;..-t :f----n.-:.::,::x-'
'A world' champion Jeffrie wa je
tered to death- by aspirant to tha
heavyweight titla On account of Shar
key' excellent record ha was given tha
Ri-eference over- a lot of challengers,
and a fight was arranged to take place
at Coney Island, on November 3, 1899.
s This war undoubtedly one of tha hard
est contests of Jeffries' career, and it
did more than any other fight to prove
his wonderful stamina' and enormous
capacity for punishment , ' f ,.j
For, 20 founds the men tore Into one
another. Time and again Jeffries land
ed on tha sailor's ribs, and when tha con
test closed in the twenty-fifth round,
Sharkey had half a dozen ribs broken.
Jeffries was given tha decision, although
a great many present claimed it should
have been a draw, r Subsequent 'events
proved, however, that th referee was
right, a' Jeffrie fought and, defeated
several hard men after this, but Sharkey
wa compelled to retire-from tha ring
on account ; of tha terrific beating he
had received. ',..' , ..
.' XToarly Knocked Out. '.
. pesplta tha fact that Corbett had teen
decisively beaten, by Fitzslmmona, he
still retained " championship aspira
tions and felt confident that he' would
regain his lost laurel if he could get
thfe ex-boiler maker in tha ring. A fight
was arranged, and the pair met at Coney
Jgland, May 11, 1900. Jeffrie waa a
strong favorite, but those woo witnessed
the fight were given th eurprise of
their lives, and Incidentally saw ona of
the greatest .boxing exhibitions ever
held in this country. Corbett danced
around the ring, jabbing tha champion
with bis right and left for nine rounds,
and- had Jeffries groggy. ; Then, the
strain began to tell on him, while Jef-
around th ring, and in the-twenty-third
and last round drove Corbett near the
ropes. H feinted with his right and
Corbett drew back, but hia hooU)er
struck the rope and ha waa hurled back
iuii into jeiines ien, wnicn iouna . His
Jaw and aent him down for the count
- Ruhlin- waa tli next man to meet-tha
champion, and the stiff fight which he
had put up against Jeffries beforo th
latter Jhad won hi . laurel mda . hi
manager confident 1 But th Jeffrie
that fought Ruhlln In 1900, was a dif
ferent man than the Jeffries of three
years previous.- H had fought and de
feated not only the best fighter but
the best; boxers. in th world and had
profited by his experience. H disposed
of Ruhlln in five rounds. -
Fitzsimmona resolved to make an at
tempt, to regam hi lost honor and
he challenged Jeffrie a score of times.
TBe match waa finally, arranged and
th pair met in San Francisco July 24,
J3U2. But tn old master had gone
bacic whu hi opponent was eteadlly
improving As a result Fit went down
to defeat in tha eighth round. ,'
y .. .p'- . Second Iietlng. ;
I August of the following year Jef
frie met Corbett for the econd time.
In 4 the. interim Fitzslmmons had been
teaching : the champion a few riding
tncKs ana wnen th v pair met Cor
bett discovered that h not only found
his superior as a fighter, but had also
found his equal In ring generalship. The
fight only went ten rounds, when Jef
fries put over the sleep producer.
Another battle whloh Jeffrie fought
and which caused a great deal of com
meet waa that with Jack- Munro, Munro
had been touted as a coming champion,
and an enterprising press agent-had
etmtlate--irrtrmrr that Tie" "had knocked
Jeffries out in a four round stag con
tent ' .
Subsequent events, however, proved
the falsity of theto report! The pair
Fentea ms title to Marvm Hart at Keno,
Nev., July 3, 1S05, on the occasion - of
Hart's victory over Jack F.oot.
JOHNSON COIN IS
SCARCE; BETTORS
- - ARE PlKEfr$ NOW
fContlnued From Page' One.)
sagebrush
tators j-.
flats fills up with spec-
It Is generally agreed that the bet
ting oh this famous event will prove to
hav been comparatively light, which
may seem passing strange In "view of
th vast importance. of the. match 'and
th widespread interest that- has been
taken in it
' All Ar Piker XTow.
- Various explanations of the lack of
speculation . are offered. If a vote of
the members of the innermost circle
of aportdom were taken It would prob
ably be found that more of the expert
favor Johnson than they do Jeffries,
yet Jeffries is the favorite. This, say
nine ui ,ine wise iiea.ua, is Decause 01
conflict between Judgment and sen
timent.1 The men who think Johnson
will win are in sympathy with Jeffries
and . do not car to bet against him;
whereas, every man who favors Jeffries'
chances is eager to back his opinion
with' money.
Thi may b the reason of It, but to
th writer it looks as if the dearth of
wagering wera mainly due to th fact
u4
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seemmsly, and it men look as it t:-.
army of j I (, 1.
So .T r as can be learned, Clarenr
Berry of Loa ApctoIps is about t.'ia
heaviest bettor on Jeffries. Andy CruU
ot Chicago is another heavy speculator
in Jeffries stock. He is 'credited with
placing several thousands and he Is
willing to bet about J25.000 more.
.Mat Larkln of San Francisco is the
staunchest supporter of Jack "Johnson.
Up to the present Larkin has bet $8000,
getting 10 to ty, for a portion of the
money and. 10 to 6 for tha balance.
Tb betting situation her has been
a puzzling one. There Is no doubt that
Corbeft'a Theadquarters has -been" the
best place to learn the market price
ana an inquiry at Corbett' last night
brought out the information that 10 to
6, with Jeffries on top, was what specu
lators were . demanding and receiving,
yet from one establishment on th main
thoroughfare megaphonlc announce
ments were mad at frequent Intervals
that, there was a big fund of Johnson
money ready for action and that 10 to
7-against any portion of it would ba
acceptable. ,
' jTohnson Beta Few Thousand.
It wa Very confusing'. Th only an
swer 'I that sporting men would rather
content themselves -,with the odds of
fered at'Corbett'a, which waa the offi
cial betting quarter, than accept more
tempting offers from outslda commissioners.-
.,.... ., .. ....
Johnson had bet a Tew thousand on
himself and It wa his Intention to in
crease h's investments to '15000. He
had been advised to refrain from placing
the balance of tha money until 'wagering
began Jn tha arena, as It was reasonably
Wages a combat between two of the great
est athletes of Modern times -Both of these
giant gladiators v and their trainers recom
mend a pure beer as an ideal tissue builder
..Will Mean
The
Ei'ftFfailfiay
xTC6 Ml U I
The Family Beer for Thirty Years .
"THE HOME BEER"
Ummdki M fiiiy
AN INVIGORATING BEVERAGE ;1
MADE ifI IPOIHlTlLArJO
. FOR THIRTY YEARS'
o
mm
ilrM
t,
1 1 t I t U t 1 - a
1 r. It is wi;.l k:mn, luiv,-
t 1 , t t t1 e 1 n tr m 1 t ,, i 1
t 1 ulv f--iin lei i'r, J 1 m 'ttt 1 1
l'Mnli Go ten, placed tlielr money quhuy
and in ?ood chunks. Hector -Melvcnzie.
Jacic Lipper, partner of Jeffries in t .e
saloon business, and Jack 'Wouiey, al.io
wagered heavily, on. the big roan's
chances.
The men who are firm believers in the
theory that a fighter who ha3 enjoyed
a few years of retirement never comes
back have persisted that while Jeffries'
condition and his work at the training
camp were of of a pharacter to encour
age tha belief that the big fellow had
not retrogated physicalry, the question
Of hia. fighting ability had yet to be de
termined. 1 .
Jeff JJef lolent la Boxipg?
Tou could hea.t them arguing that it
was In the boxing department .of the
gam that Jeffries would be found de
ficient It waa common talk that Jeffs
trainer were disgruntled because, h did
not go in more extensively for practice
boxing, and it was even said that the
principal reason he refrained from it was
because he feared criticism of hia defic
iency in that line. .
"It i the aimplest thing In the world
to figure out" said a Johnson man yes
terday.. '"Jeffries has "not boxed, and
when he face Johnson It may be he will
wish he had. Take a. fairly good, bil
liard player and let htm etijy away from
the green cloth for six month and you
will notice all the difference in the
world. Men that he used to discount will
beat him easily. A It Is With billiards,
so It 1 with boxing and everything
el"-" " ' " ... .
In connection with the report that Jef
frie abstained from boxing because he
-V-
Much To Those Interested
Public Knows That
o
, t . t 1 , r
1 , 1 ! ! a U '
1' -f r 1 al'st' '
if 1 , ' 1 'rri
t 1 j , is. r e . n-'y
1 r it m I i1
l v it i t t JU fiii - l-Kldded,
if 1 1 1 i 1 1 1 .3 It simply ro. s
to t -!:nv how thoroughly the situation
h-is t.-en sifted for arjument with which
to bolster tip opinions. .
Theie waa on a!armS?t report around,
too, la connection with Johnso.n yester
i'av. f:amo C the' fight visitors who
liaii from Chicago had given it out
that Jack had a weak back. They said
ho fell dawn a f tairway while Indulging
in horse play with George Little in Chi
cago about a year ago and that his back
and loins bad not been robust since. If,
there were any real grounds for siich' a "
report it could easily be seen how any
one with knowledga of Jeffries' powerful
physique could be inclined to iit
Johnson. - .. . .
Here is tha other side of it, nowever:
Johnson has no recollection of shooting
the chutes with Little or anyone else
and stoutly declares that his back is a
strong as it ever was.
'.Next' comes Al Kaufman, the big na
tive son blacksmith who has been John
son'a pulling and hauling partner for
a month or more. Kaufman, by th
way, Is well muscled fellow with par
ticularly powerful forearms, the result
of several year of work with a weighty
sledge hammer. ,
There Is little to be said now.
The men have come through their trairv
Ipg without a mishap serious enough to
give themselves or their well wisher
concern. Each of them Is a fit for th
battle ss careful and conscientious Work
can render him, and, barring accidents,
It looks as if tha man who wins should
call himself the better man. . ,. ;
.
LL Lyj
mm
" r