Show oi 1 TUNNEY VERY SLOW IN r j- j I DEVELOPMENT IN RING I L Li i g S. S J d 4 At I- I qi q r aJ 1 I V 4 t s Ia-s- 4 tr GENE TUNNEY Genes Gene's Fights With Greb and Renault Were Poor iti Critic Says This is the fifth of a a series of articles by Joe Williams Wiliams expert ex cx- pert of N NEA EA Service and The Telegram Telegram Tele Tele- gram dealing with the life Ufe story of Gene Tunney challenger for the heavyweight championship I By Joe Williams William Wiliams Gene was glow In devel devel- Even the switch to Billy Gibson Gibson Gib Gib- son sn not noted d as as the creator of the great great Leonard had no immediate I effect in ripening his fighting qualities I Ites If It an any He continued to show I the tell tale tel talc marks of the manufactured manu manu- fighter tighter Gibson accustomed to w watch Leonard step In and out out- hit and get jet away With ith the Instinctive genIus genus gen gen- lus Ius us of a master must have suffered a violent violent pain pain In the neck the first time he went behind Tunney in a fight Ight This was at the Commonwealth sporting club in New York Chuck Wiggins a a. a mediocre mauler from rom Indianapolis was Tunney's ent The decision went to Tunney Ion on the ground that mat he had insulted the he ringside observers In a somewhat somewhat some- some what lesser degree than had Wig Wig- gins It I was in shor short a horrible thing hing S Several veral weeks later Tunney made madeUs his Us second start under Gibbons and was thrown out ot of the ring I didn't see the fight but I was told later ater Tunney was not at fault faul He tried to fight In his earnest plodding plodding plodding plod plod- ding way but the procedure was a bore to Jack Jacl Renault his op oppOnent op- op Philadelphia was the scene of this his meeting The rhe clients endured It t In silence for four rounds and ind then showered the two young tents gents with wih a bumper crop of or razz- razz erries bertles The demonstration influenced Pop OBrien O'Brien the referee to tr re request request request re- re quest both Tunney and Ken Renault alt to look ook around and choose their nearest nearest near near- est eat exits exis Tunney's next activity under GIbson Gibson Gibson Gib GIb- son was va-s wao another championship fight against t his old rough house com companion com coth- panion Mr Ir Harry Greb Tunney bad in this fight too The judicial gents at the ringside gave him ilm ah art undeserved decision Greb clearly him and had what I thought was a big edge atthe atthe at at- the finish But deserved or no the decision went vent to Tunney and with wih It the Amerian American American Am Am- erian light heavyweight title tite a a. title Itle tte of ot no great v value lue or standing In n ring history but a 1 title tte less ess As a 1 consequence Tunney joined the he ranks of the rings ring's small smal circle of comebacks five in all Billy knocked out Stanley l etchel for the middleweight championship In 12 2 rounds at Vernon Vernon Ver Ver- Vernon non Cal Cat S Sept pt 7 1908 1903 Three months later Ketchell Ketchel came back and and stopped apke In In the same number of rounds thus recording the he most remarkable reversal In orm form known to the game Jack Britton Briton dropped the welterweight welterweight welter welter- weight championship to Kid Lewis the Englishman Jin in a rounder 20 at Dayton 0 O. lr Two years later Britton Briton knocked out Lewis to tore re regain res-nin the thi crown Pete ete Herman n won won the bantamweight bantamweight bantamweight bantam bantam- weight championship from Kid Williams in In 1917 lost it I to Joe Lynch in lii 15 rounds In 1920 and won I it back six months later when the pair met in a a return bout In New York Herman then took on Johnny Buff But and was beaten In 1 15 rounds rounda in September 1921 1921 Lynch quaIl quaIl- fied for another shot at the title Ute and proved a successful comeback by Ly walloping Buff Bur Tunney came back to get the the the-dc- de decision de- de over Greb Oreb after atter he had spent just nine months in the ex cham pion circle Greb could have knocked me out that night had tie le known the tito condition con cOn- diton I was in In Tunney admitted referring to his second fight with wih the I went vent into th the ring with wih a a high fever ever and It was I an effort tn to nit mtr I. I lops lop's wo a s 1 i ll f n. n n o my arms Tunney hadn't let it I be known he lie was sick either before or ar after r the fight An alibi albi good or bad I never h helped a fighter is his phil phil- phi phi- Tunney proceeded to prove that he wasn't precisely right that night by meeting Gr Greb b again later in inthe the year and whipping whipping him beyond the pale pal shadow of doubt This was the fight by the way that saw Tunney making his first definite steps toward ring log great great- ness It I saw him feinting with wih a purpose Instead of merely sticking his left lef out and bringing It b back ck Ina in ina ina a stiff mechanical manner It I saw him creating openings following following fol tol- fol- fol lowing them up UI and bringing over clean hard punches to the uncovered uncovered uncovered ered spots Even with wih his great sP speed ed and bounding ball bounding bal tactics Greb Greh had trouble reaching Tunney with wih clean hits This was surprising and annoying annoying annoying an an- to Greb Oreb because he hadn't had ha this trouble trouble trouble- In their two previous prevIous prey prey- ious bus fights The answer was that Tunney had hadnot hadnot hadnot not only developed the science of and blocking blows vs but he ha had made a e a minute stu study of ot Greb y ana anti was no easy to do for Greb was and still sti Is is a most perplexing problem in the ring But Tunney y had studied Greb Oreb just as he had studied Weinert in months month gone by he had dk decided wh what t he thought would be an ef effective ct- ct defense and an effective of of- of Ills His decisions proved ac kc- kc c- c curate curat Greb was beaten fro from i the start and Tunney was on his way to big game Jame for tor the te first time Ume since that December night when he folded Ma Ia Tunney In his arms amid and announced his his determination to b become come a professional pro pro- fighter tighter Copyright 1926 96 NEA Service Inc I |