OCR Text |
Show BOXING CONTROL . BOARD ANSWERS OHIO MINISTERS TOLEDO. May 27. Blistering rays of the sun beat down fiercely on Jack i Dempsey's training camp today and t cauaed his handlers to again send him through his paces during the cool hours of the morning. Trainer .De Forest sent Dempsey through his first vigorous workout. The challenger boxed six roundy, four furious sessions with Bill Tate, and two with Terry Keller, a light-heavyweight. Keller Kel-ler boxed the second and fifth round to give Tate a rest. Dempsey was on top of Tate from the start and the giant negro ne-gro received a punching that he did not expect. One right-hand uppercut nearly lifted him off his feet. Jack Kearns, manager of Dempsey, : plans gradually to switch his protege's ; hours of working so that he will become hardened to the heat of midday. Kearns realizes that when Dempsey and AVil-lard AVil-lard get into the ring July 4 the day may bo burning hot and that Dempsey will be obliged to stand up under the heat. The army, navy and civilian board of boxing control, numbering among its members several governors, army and naval officers and representative citizens, today answered the protest of the Federated Fed-erated Churches of Ohio against the match. The letter was addressed to Ed-ward Ed-ward .R. "Wright, secretary of the organization, organi-zation, at Cleveland, "The government made boxing an in- tr.rv,--,1 1,,,1-t of thA trninititr- nf soldiers of war, which resulted in a great revival of the sport," the letter reads in part. "For every single person opposed to boxing box-ing in Ohio, and in all parts of America, we arc convinced that there are a thou- , sand devoted followers of the sport to whom the proposed match -will be. a source of innocent and pleasurable entertainment, enter-tainment, and wo cannot see any reason why it should be denied them any more than we could see the justice of interfering in-terfering with any of the religious entertainments enter-tainments which you frequently organize in conjunction with your churches. j Behind the Times. "If you will pardon our saying so, your ' opposition is half a century behind the j times. We consider that those who are . opposing this match are incurring gravel responsibility, as such opposition can I only react to the detriment of religion in the minds of millions of men who can ; see no harm in two exponents of the i highest skill in a given sport engaging ; in a contest for supremacy. We have : read the rules of the Toledo boxing com- ; mission governing public contests in that j city, and we have no hesitation in saying say-ing that they are a model of what such rules should be." The letter was signed by Adam Empie, secretary of the boau of boxing control, and its publication was authorized tonight. to-night. Tex Jlickard, promoter of the Wiliard-Dempscy match, received a copy , of the letter and turned it over to newspaper news-paper correspondents. Ma.ior General j Beonard Wood, commander of the Cen-, j tral department of the army, is one of the officials of the board. Richard Uneas j Failing to receive any official word from Jess Willard concerning his departure depart-ure from Bos Angeles, Tex Rickard, promoter pro-moter of the heavyweight championship battle between Willard and Jack Dempsey Demp-sey here July 4, today telegraphed the champion requesting him to start for Toledo To-ledo immediately. Rickard asked Willard to abandon his proposed stop lor a day at his home in Ivawrence, Kan. "Willard agreed to be here six weeks in advance of the contest," Rickard said, "and that time is past. He asked for a few days in which to attend to persona! affairs on the coast and I consented; but I think he has delayed his departure long enough. , It is time that he should he on the ground and in training. T have requested him to be here Saturday." Jess Makes Retort. BOS AXGB'BBS, Cal.. May 27. "Tex Packard need not worry about me being on hand," commented Jess Willard, champion heavyweight boxer, here today when he learned of a statement in Toledo, To-ledo, O., by Rickard, promoter of the championship fight to be held there July 4 between Willard and Jack Jempsev, to the effect Willard had not left here as soon as he should. Willard said he would leave for Toledo tomorrow. "I agreed to be in Toledo a month before be-fore the battle, or June 4. I'll be there," said Willard. The cnn mpion has been training here ' for several weeks. He boxed several fast j roLinda early loday with Walter Hemple, j one of his spnrrine: partners. I |