Show SPORTS V J thu B L'- L' p J r AY R Robert ren Its th the champion with th the punch who gets erets all an the popularity said Freddy W Welsh a t few tv v nights ago as he watched Rocky Kansas being rubbed down after I losing a round fifteen-round decision to Benny Leonard Leonard L is Ima making g a great record went on He rte always nas has to the e punch After winning the title from m me a he went right along winning other fights fight s without knockouts He lIe hasn't needed neede d decisions In the decision fights he has I fought he has stopped Welling and an d Ritchie Mitchell l and has d Rocky Kansas But he flattened Kansas I I In the eleventh round and its it's something to put that human battering ram on the floor I never made a hit with the tho crowd that Benny makes and only because be- be because because be be- cause I didn't have the kick Welsh said eald a lot there In a few tew words Looking back over the long list Hat of ot champions chamI champions cham cham- s In different weight I classes I Its It's l st nse r I easy t to see how the e possession o IO of a k K O. O punch commanded m e respect and popular popular- a ft ity T The crowd likes action plenty action IOan plenty of t It it excitement excitement thrills And there Is nothing that puts a thrill Into a boxing contest like the possibility of a decisive punch that may slip over at the most unexpected moment John L L. Sullivan was world famous because because because be be- cause he won his fights with crashing knockouts There are few decisions In John L Ls L.'s s record Jim Corbett was popular popular pop pop- ular f for r awhile after beating Sullivan and knocking out Charlie Mitchell But he ne never ne r had a real I K O O. punch and It wasn't long bt before fore harder hitters took his pac e in public esteem Tom Sharley Sharkey had nothing but strength and a punch He once knocked out Gus Gu s Ruhlin with the first blow struck H He e knocked out Kid McCoy after atter McCoy ha had d dropped him twice He was always dangerous dan dan- There were Just two men h he e couldn't knock down Its It's the Snap That Counts One Wa was Bob Fitzsimmons who was wa s too crafty cratty to get In the way of ot Sharkey's Sharkey s sr swings and who was the hardest hitter hitte r In the world at his weight weight perhaps perhaps th the e hardest at any weight The other w was as Jim Jeffries Sharkey hit Jeff often otten n enough but he couldn't make an Impression Impression impression sion on Jeffs Jeff's tremendous frame In hi his s prime Jeffries was the strongest man ma n ever seen in a ring and no fighter living in his time could hit hard enough to upset upset up up- upset set him Jeffries had a great punch He Ire often otten held It back being afraid of ot injuring his opponents if It he used all aU his hitting power but when he needed the pun punhe punch ch he could deliver It ft There Is a peculiar thing about punching punching punch punch- ing power The weight of the blow counts for nothing The s snap with which it is delivered gives it the stunning effect When Fitzsimmons was VoaS training at Carson to fight tight Corbett for tor the heavyweight heavyweight heavyweight heavy heavy- weight title I boxed with him one day dayI i I and had several samples of ot Bobs Bob's ter- ter I rifle body blows The punches I landed on didn't worry him much After boxing we had a discussion about hitting power and went down to try it out on a punching machine with a r registering reg reg- dial I was more a shot putter and weight thrower than a boxer and this is where I slipped sUpped one over on Fitz- Fitz simmons Bob hit the pad on the punching machine machine machine ma ma- chine some mighty swats and the needle I flew up and registered about pounds When my turn came I had sized up the working st style le of ot the machine and Instead In Instead instead In- In stead of ot driving my fist into it with a snappy boxers boxer's blow I lunged with a shot f putting too t pounds fI drive v or twice registering f t the punch approximately toc delivered by Fitzsimmons t bitz Fitz tz Puzzled Over Hard Ones Fitz couldn't understand it at all He Ire couldn't believe that anyone anone could hit harder than he did so he kept on poundIng poundIng pound- pound pounding Ing the machine for tor nearly an hour Finally Fitz had a bright idea Look ere he exclaimed you cant can't be fitting arder ardor than I am When I It it so ard the needle flies files once around so quick we dont don't see it It and then it goes slower for tor four hundred pounds more Im I'm once around the dial that's dial that's twelve undred pounds pounds and and four tour undred unfired more sixteen more sixteen undred pounds And Fitz stuck to his claim The fact was that his pound hit was wasa blow tin a ww- ww 4 w i hit t w wul would ul have up upset tn a man without hurting him much but Fitzsimmons' Fitzsimmons hit would have nave Jarred the senses out of any man it landed on on on Naturally Fitzsimmons Fitzsimmons Fitzsimmons mons never hit as as hard a blow at a moving ing target as he did at the padded cushIon cushion cush cush- ion on the tho machine Dempsey has earned a place among the worlds world's greatest hitters by establishIng establish establish- ing tho cleanest knockout record ever held by a champion His punch has earned him fame Look at the lightweights Benny Leonard Leonard Leon Leon- ard is the most popular popular champion the class ever had and he nearly always wins with a punch Joe Gans Cans was a great lightweight champion because he could get up from a knockdown and even when reeling snap over a winning knockout knockout knock knock- out blow v. He did that twice with Dal Hawkins The he Little F Fellows Hit Hard I n U LU was vas U a marvelous counter hitter I Battling Nelson was a popular champion cham cham- ri pion b because e ho he won his fights s via t the K O. O 0 route but it took Nelson I g sY Y years 8 to work his way into real popularity be be cause he took so long to win Some Some of ot his battles went over forty rounds His Ills other qualities stubborn courage ag ag- gln and sell self confidence gave him popularity he ho couldn't win with the m more Johnny spectacular Kilbane re punch could 1 hit when he wanted to He liked the clever stuff the dancing looking around smiling kidding He Ho lost most of ot his popularity at one time by byr fooling tooling too much showing much showing off to a tiresome extent contenting himself with clever work But when he realized that the public was beginning to count him a has haa been without a punch he took on a match with the most dangerous hitter in his class George Georgo Chaney of Baltimore and knocked him out in three rounds KiU KU- banes bane's popularity came back with bound a Jem Driscoll of England had a wonderful wonder wonder- ful punch and the crowd loved him Terry McGovern is IJ still counted the greatest little fighter ever known In the tho bantam and featherweight classes McGovern Mc Mc- fury Govern fought like a I fury tury every stop step t of ot every fight tight and had a n. K 0 O. O punch as sudden and decisive as ns a rifle shot George Dixon was Another nother great and Little Chocolate hitter was the his day idol of ot The greatest and most popular middle middle- weigh weights s were Kid McCoy Tommy Ryan p Stanley Frank Ketchel X J. J Billy BUly ii- ii p p i Thunderbolt I Law Law- AU r J on uni LS' LS 1 Mike l Gibbons Gibbons all all men with aLt s sa etka a punch jl I i Of Ot the welters Mysterious Bill Joe Walcott Honey Mellody Bia a a. hitters the were men In the cla names made lasting places in fib tory The present champion Jaton Ja JaL ton has hag been a great puncher N reaching the point where he ll by out boxing his opponents Bob Fitzsimmons spent yea years the effect of ot different blows e r a 3 theory of ot his own about th the k kh 1 I ate to urt anyone Bo Bobs t t tell me so I always look fora to gal land ota a clean n na kl knockout Nol 1 that that not not e even a e wh oh s wake up fl After all all boxing Is la the art b an unarmed d man can defend d t ll and d defense t s is best t conducted l db b ing the attacking party party which I accomplished by dancing arou tapping H lightly for tw Points oits Th Is Vr the Lr b beet J t thing In ln the e game me T S Copyright 1922 by the Bell S Inc a |