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Show PI ! IN VIEW of a number of some- what sombre events that have ! taken place lately, it is now a simple matter to announce Joe I Louis' next defense of his heavy- weight championship. In the new program, Louis will meet Joe Baksl. Ollie Tandborg, Easzard Charles, Violent Kay and Jersey Joe Wal-cott, Wal-cott, under the following fol-lowing condition! he Is to knock out each one in a single sin-gle round, for which the price of admission will be $2. As usual, being a Joe Louis quU.k thln)ceri U remained re-mained for Louis to call the turn on j a September tight in these words "I don't believe anybody would pay j 15 cents to see me against cither Uaksi or Tandborg." The price for Ezzard Charles or i Violent Ray might be lifted to SO cents. All of this Is fun for everyone BXOept Joe Louis. Here Is one of the Croat heavyweight champions of all lime a 10-year holder of the ring's big crown a lighter who can't defy the challenging years much longer with no one to light. No one knows this better than Joe Louis, with a purse ranging from faOO.OOO to $1,000,000 waiting if only , one fair challenger had emerged from the morass while he was In the army for four years. If you picked out the five leading ! challengers today, I believe Louis, I given 20 rounds, could stop them all in a single September evening. Provided Pro-vided no motorcycles were allowed in the ring. Boxing $ Oddest Turn The second Louis - Conn fight looked to be a natural. It turned out to be the greatest of all heavyweight heavy-weight flops. The Mnuriello nlTair wasn't even a work-out. And yet, today, Mauricllo is a better "fighter than most of those suggested for a September massacre. It is only natural that Joe Louis would like one more fight before bowing out. But it so happens that in the last five years no heavyweight heavy-weight has come along who could even tie his shoes. There were earlier ear-lier predictions that, with thousands, thou-sands, perhaps millions of soldiers taking boxing lessons In the army and navy, at least one or two could be developed. The first shock I got came from Jack Dempsey, who worked 10 hours a day with 10,000 men for many months. "The best fellow I've seen," he told me, "can't even chin himself twice." Here's a target or a goal the heavyweight championship worth one million dollars. The defending champion has been knocking around for over 10 years. And yet, with sport's richest prize at stake, there hasn't been even a good second-rater developed in the last five years. Baksi Maurielio Walcott Ray Tandberg Woodcock two middleweights of the past, Mickey Walker or Harry Greb, could take them all apart without any extra effort. Just why this happens to be, we wouldn't know. Golf has Hogan, Nelson and a flock of others. Tennis has Kramer and Riggs. Racing has Assault, Armed and Stymie. Baseball is packed with high-class talent, Di-Maggio, Di-Maggio, Feller, Blackwell, Shea, Mize, Cooper, Williams on and on. The middleweights are packed with good fighters. Ray Robinson is certainly cer-tainly an able welterweight. But, outside of Louis, the best you can say for the other heavyweights is that they can breathe and eat. Especially eat. Attendance Surprises The number of human feet that find their way through various turnstiles turn-stiles is always the main tip on public pub-lic interest. It is also one of the main arguments among camp followers, fol-lowers, liach rabid fanatic is a hot rooter for his own game. There was an early report that baseball, racing and boxing, three : of the major sports, would take a ! dip this season. The pessimists were only partly right. In the check-up to date, the answer is that baseball is still the national game, with lengths to spare. Racing has taken its only important impor-tant dip in New York. It is setting new records in California. It is O.K. In New Jersey, where Monmouth has more than made good in public comfort. Boxing is well down for the simple reason there are not enough good fighters left to fill out a card. Or half a card. Louis, the heavyweight heavy-weight champion, has no opponent in sight. Only the middleweights have any combined class with Zale, Graziano, Cerdan and La Motta. The lightweights are a drab lot, as far as any public appeal is con- cerned. The major surprise has hit baseball. base-ball. Few figured that 1947 would approach the more than 18 million who visited big league parks in 1946 But, despite the worst spring I In history, plus a wet, cold June, I there is a good chance this 18 mil-! mil-! lion mark will be broken. r |
