Show I I Victory Over Madden Yields Naught Gene Has Tough Luck in Quest of Heavyweight Heavyweight Heavyweight Heavy Heavy- weight Ring Championship By JOE WILLIAMS NEW YORK Nov 7 When When Gene Tunney flattened Bartley Hartley Madden recently he did something no other fIghter had bad ever been able to ac ac- ac And along Scrambled Ear row these days you hear whispering whispering whis- whis about that knockout You hear Madden got for his ils end and that the bout was de desIgned designed designed de- de signed primarily to build up Tunney Tunney Tunney Tun Tun- ney ney as the foremost challenger for fol forthe forthe the heavyweight championship This may mayor or may not be true If It Madden was paid he got ex exactly exactly exactly ex- ex 2450 more than he was worth Madden was ready to be knocked out by any fairly good hit hit- ter er The fact that Harry Wills and others other had tried to knock him out and failed is of nd no great importance It was Wills and others who softened him up It has been re repeatedly repeatedly repeatedly re- re pointed out In this this column column that hat no fighter ever gets better after taking a severe sevire beating And Madden Madden Mad- Mad den en has taken more severe beatings that hat any heavyweight in the game What Is more re he had not fought for months previous to the Tunney en- en Indeed he had not even een been seen in training ng In view of ot these circumstances Tunney sho should ld have had no trouble scoring coring a legitimate knockout and we are inclined to believe that is 18 precisely what he did If It Madden got he got it for coming back backo to o the ring after he had practically retired not not for taking aking a dive Tunney felt he needed a 11 knockout over Madden in his hb record to make hIs ds campaign for a Dempsey match all the stronger Tunney's line Une of i reasoning was to be this I am your foremost challenger I did something Wills vms couldn't do I i stopped topped Madden It didn't work for within a few tew hours hours' after the Madden knockout Dempsey was active in Michigan agreeing to a championship fight With the negro Thus a very shrewd piece of building up has fallen absolutely absolutely ab ab- ab flat I If the Tunney Interests actually gave Madden 2500 to come back they simply shot that much dough at the moon Tunney's s 's present position position position tion in heavyweight politics corresponds corresponds corre come to that of ot a halfback hallback ho carried the ball the length of the field only to lose It on the yard 1 line His situation Is almost without a parallel in heavyweight history He knocked out Tommy Gibbons who was good enough to hold Dempsey off oft in fifteen rounds when Dempsey was a real champion He stopped Hartley Bartley Madden who was good goodenough goodenough goodenough enough to hold Wills ot off in twelve rounds when Wills was a better fighter than he Is today And yet et ethe he is forced to sit back and see the championship chance go to another Im I'm not saying that It took a great fighter to knock out Gibbons or Madden but these two knockouts seemed necessary to qualify for a crack at the title and Tunney put them over However Dempsey may never fight Wills and we doubt If it he willever will willever willever ever fight tIght Tunney Dempsey has already turned up his synthetic beak at a cash guarantee of ot to take on Tunney and In a 11 recent statement he admitted publicly that Tunney would give him a better fight tIght than the negro Im after the Jack said the champion and I think the Wills bout will bring it That curious underground noise you Just heard was old John L. L turning o over er in his hIs' grave I |