OCR Text |
Show 1 J cmriAND 1 ylf V ACE Jj..h- 1 CHICAGO. The circle narrows about Joe Louis and the contenders con-tenders come into clearer view. Young fighters who wouldn't have been even remotely considered as opponents op-ponents for him are ranging themselves against him. Johnny John-ny Paycheck already al-ready has been matched with him. Lee Savold is being readied for a shot at him. Only a week or so ago Louis faltered 17 I'M Grantland mrougn n rounds Rice w'tn e rough and clownish Arturo Godoy, the South American threat This doesn't mean that Louis Is ready to be taken and that the time Is at hand for some strong young fellow to rush in, belt him out from under his crown and rush off to gather in a million dollars or so. He still can hold these young fellows fel-lows off he should be able to, since he still is a young fellow himself. But it means that he has entered on a new phase of his career. He is just the heavyweight champion cham-pion now and not a bogey man. The lightning still crackles in his fists and he still ranks as one of the greatest fighters the ring ever has known. But he no longer frightens fright-ens his opponents out of their wits. There are no more Paulinos dying In the training camp or Levinskys dying In the dressing room. A Terrifying Appearance Once nobody save Max Schmel-lng Schmel-lng thought of getting Louis off 6 JOE LOUIS that single track on which he travels trav-els so fearsomely. That was In the time when to be matched with him meant certain destruction. Men took matches with him for the money alone and then almost immediately began to regret their greed. There was something mysterious mys-terious and inscrutable and terrible about his very appearance. He was, It seemed, greater than any of the fighters who had gone before him. He was invincible and the utter ut-ter lack of emotion that he showed made him terrifying. Most of his fights were won before he laid a glove on his opponent. The psychological psycho-logical advantage was tremendous. Schmeling, in their first fight, demonstrated that Louis had no defense de-fense against a cunningly launched right hand and knocked him out. Louis came back from that knockout knock-out a better fighter because it fired him with a new determination and taught him a valuable lesson. He was a magnificent fighter the night he knocked out Jim Braddock to win the title and again the night he took his revenge on Schmeling. The Scene Changes But the scene in which he moves has been changed. None of those pressing closer about him now is capable of beating him but they know that he can be beaten. They know that in his last two fights he was hit often enough to have been knocked out but actually didn't come even close to a knockout because be-cause neither Bob Pastor nor Godoy can punch. Naturally, this is stimulating to the young heavyweights around the country. Two years or so ago there was no real inducement to any young heavyweight, beginning to throw his punches in some remote corner, to hit the trail for a title match because there was a bogey man at the end of the trail. Now every young heavyweight is rushing to join the circle that has been formed about the champion. Rugged and Willing The boys are coming out of the bushes out of the shops and off the docks and down off the trucks and out of the jungles. The old lure is there again the chance not only to grab some money to stay the limit, perhaps but to beat Louis and win the title. This should bring about some exciting ex-citing action. Louis, at 26, is rugged and full of health and not yet bored by his title or given to the usual soft way of living. |