Show M O BE 1 FIRST IR T TO TO UR RC NG SP SPORT RT INTO EG LA P PROFESS OF SS N New Champions Chamons Gradually h Become Business Men Gory Glory of Sport Is Js Now Lost J Jeffries r t Only Real Fighting Champion By Robert Edgren L Y Malce the professional tins ring champl cham- cham pl n defend their tales at least once n e a year or forfeit their titles sentiment and the combined r b boxing commissions c of or the various states s can do It it in spite of the th tradition tra- tra I that thet a title can be lost Jost only I In n the ring That old od notion was va all an right when a champion would any any challenger who could put a stake to back his hla challenge i Itta lt a a. dead letter In these days when champions stay out of the for two or three years at a time timo jaa aa a matter of at business I oln ln the Lbs old days champions sometimes some some- A. A times went out Into the woods and andt t thought for glory and a hatful of ot i A fighter who was to do today would be bo bounced out 1 of the union Being a ring champIon champlon cham- cham plon pIon lon today Is la like cornering the stock market Any trick is used to keep k ep control and stick In tho the big It Is customary now for fort t to refuse to defend their tItles In the winter time claiming that any my bout they take part In Is L toO 1 tOo Important to be held In any covered ered ar arena na with a seating capac capac- lib sity of at only or so jo They IntI In- In olst tI t upon apon waiting for tor the outdoor pason sason Whey they do make a It must be bo made mode six months or more In advance of the fight date tl to give plenty of at time for tor the that builds up the gate When there Is any choice between aJ aJ- f real rival rhal and a a. soft sott mark the oft tt mark Is chosen because a a. title 1 ts s worth a mint of ot money and must Jie guarded with every precaution It a 11 t ring champion wont won't defend title at least once a a. year he lose the championship In t ll other sports a a. championship Ia I I defended ever every year In ten ten- c Is golf galt track and field sports rowing amateur boxing and other sports there are annual championship events fi ar Looking over the list of chani- chani pons ons the class has 1 had ad a few active fighting men but th the trick of f f stalling for a a. few Y years illa to make mone money through the old ok title Isn't either new or original with I Jack Dempsey CORBETT BUSINESS MAN Jim Corbett young oung and in hla 1 prime prime when he won the title from Sullivan an at New Orleans was first of the big champions to apply business busi busl- ness ss methods to championship hold- hold 1 Ing g. g He lie was handsome clever and popular and Immediately after atter wInning winning win- win J ning the champl championship he started a stage tage ge career and began to make more Thore 1 money than any other fighter ever had hal made He lIe didn't right light for tor sixteen months and then took on onto onS 0 to old Charlie Mitchell who was more bf f a a. wreck from dissipation than Sullivan and who weighed less Jess than 1150 pounds at that time Corbetts Corbett's bout with Peter Courtney in the I Same game same year although it holds a place In the records was nothing but a tryout for tor the early day moving pic- pic tures Four years after atter winning the Corbett boxed four rounds with ith Sailor Tom Sharkey inan in San an Francisco Francisco this this bout supposed to be merely an exhibition stunt lor wr Corbett as no one Sharkey would lay a glove on him During all nil the years from 1892 1392 to 1897 Bob I hounded Corbett for tor a fight tight and anti at last after five years ears Corbett really defended his title tille at Carson Nev March 17 17 1807 1897 1891 and was knocked out Jim Jeffries was the only champion champion champion cham cham- pion we ever had who preferred I fighting In defense of his title to 10 making money In other In-other other ways who didn't give a whoop whom he fought or how often he fought ana and who didn't give losing the old title a a. single thought He was a a a. real champion Jeffries was handicapped In getting matches because of his immense strength his size and his real fighting ability He lIe always preferred to box along carefully an and 1 either win yin by a a. decision or deliver a knockout after wearing his man down He lie had an Idea Ideo that if he Joe ever hit a man with all his strength the result might be fatal tatAI and often orten told me that he was afraid to try ta to win with one punch and that he even held back the punch that finIshed finished finished fin fin- l and knocked him out gently when he saw Fitz was as going Jeffries' Jeffries reputation and his size made it difficult for tor him to find opponents as often otten as he wanted to fight tight Jack Johnson was extremely cagy about risking the title which was becoming more more- valuable to the holder year after year He wouldn't risk a fight tight with Sam Sara L Langford or Joe Jeannette either of whom might have beaten him He drew the color line harder than any white champion ever did and said so He won the title Jul July 4 1910 He boxed little Jim Flynn at Las Vegas two years la later er ignoring challenges from bigger and more dangerous rivals He boxed Frank Moran in Paris in another year and It was five years after winning the title before Johnson really risked It fighting Willard at Havana in 1915 when he was knocked knocke-d out DEMPSEY HOLDS LIMELIGHT I And now comes the curious case Of Jack Dempsey present cham cham- pion He lIe Is as great a fighter a. a as ever held the title and the the I most reckless when actually in the ring He worked up to the championship with an amazing list of ot round one knockouts He lie actually whipped Willard in a round but lost credit for tor that feat teat through a In Inthe Inthe Inthe the timing His ills last fight with FIrpo was the wildest and most sensational heavyweight title ever fought Firpo was a a. husky wild wildmAn wildman wildman man from the Argentine who been knocking everybody out and was full fill of ambition to flatten the champion He came within an ace of doing it Jt but Dempsey knocked all the fight tight out of Firpo in the craziest four tour minutes of at milling ever er seen in a a. ring and tamed Luis for lif life Dempsey won the title July 4 1919 Fourteen months later he beat Bill Billy who knew he had no chance against Dempsey but desperately needed the mone money Dempsey and were close friends De Dempsey said to Billy Ill I'll give you a match but Ill I'll have to knock you out He lIe did it In three roun rounds s. s Shortly afterward afterward afterward aft aft- erward Dempsey knocked out Bill Brennan In a tough fight twelve rounds July 2 2 1921 he out Georges Georg-es Carp Carpentier July 4 1923 he lightly Tommy Gibbons nt Lt t Shelby battie battle battle bat bat- tle tie was was was' September 14 1923 Since then Dempsey has boxed only Manager Kea Kearns ng avoided matching Dempsey with nobody Vms nobody knows why as Wills vms would be little more than a up set-up for tor Dempsey I 1 If Dempsey is right Finally splitting with Kearns because because because be be- cause of at a personal disagreement ment Dempsey announced that hed he'd fight tight as often as he could get mat matches hes and take any anyone one the promoters of offered ol- ol Following Follo this pleasing promise he signed to box Harry Wills a 9 ten-round ten no-d no no decision boutIn bout boutIn In September 1926 and started right out to clean up some cash with exhibition bouts i in 11 different parts of ol the country He signed for tor fora tora a a ten-round ten bout out with Martin i Burke a former sparring partner In New v Orleans He Ignored Gene Tunney's challenge although Tunney Tunney Tunney Tun- Tun ney had knocked out Gibbons who i went fifteen rounds with Dempse Dempsey Dempsey Demp Demp- se sey and Bartle Hartley Bartley Madden who was too tough for tor Wills vms Dempsey excuses putting off ort fighting Wills Vilis for lar nearly a year and letting Tunney cool cooJ his heels until some time after alter that b by saying that he doesn't want to take any big match until his Kearns contract runs rims out That's business again You cant can't get away from it as the game is run today It lOa may be reasonable from Dempsey's viewpoint but It doesn't satisfy the public What the public pub pub- lic Ilc wants is js a champion who will wil fight tight often otten enough to create a littIe lit lit- tie tle excitement What the public wants is a new champion And after a L year or so the new champion will be a business business busi ness fleas man like all the rest of ot them Copyright 1925 by the Bell Syn Syn- Inc |