| Show I Wonder on in What Off Far Rings By GRANTLAND RICE I T WONDER ONDER IN what far off 01 rings Jim Corbetts Corbett's s spectra watts waits on view Where Jeff Jefferies cries hooks an and old Fitz swings Or Louis spins his follow through Where is s Jack Dem Dempsey's se s crashing frt fist As Tunney holds the foe fOt at bay St St-ll looking through the fogs and mists Where are ghosts of 0 yesterday The Ezzard Charles Rating Since the melancholy spectacle In Chicago known as the heavyweight championship various experts and noncombatants have been busy attempting to rate Ezzard Ezzard Ezzard Ez Ez- Ez- Ez zard Charles the winner The best rating would seem to place Charles somewhere between the Tun post-Tun- ney and the pre-Louis pre period It is difficult to make any clear cut estimate since he was facing an opponent who refused to fight the same being Jersey Joe Walcott Charles is a better boxer than Max Baer Primo Camera Carnera and Jim Braddock He Heis Heis Heis is no better a boxer box box- er than J Jack a c k Sharkey or Max MaxS S c h m e Ii n g happened happened happened hap hap- to be He t cant can't punch with c Baer Braddock or orf T That h n a tl t f l Tunney post-Tunney pre- pre Louis period was a Grantland Rice sad one for the fight game especially the heavyweight heavyweight heavyweight heavy heavy- weight game This new era now rolling in will be just as sad or possibly even sadder The winner of the Charles Wood Charles Wood Woodcock cock vs Sa voId contest wont won't reqUIre require require re re- re- re quire much on either side This is just as aswell well since neither side has much to offer At the very best such a meeting should be worth perhaps a 10 top if you happen to have 10 you dont don't need There is no complaint about the N nA calling the Charles- Charles Walcott fiasco a championship fight It was a terrible fight to watch from rom start to finish Jersey Jersey Jersey Jer Jer- sey Joe Walcott started at a rather brisk pace but after the second round suddenly decided that he was through for the evening He had collected three pretty fair purses in a row and he had been around 19 years He had squeezed about all he could out of mediocrity You cant can't keep on making lemonades lemonades lemonades lemon lemon- ades out of one lemon Certainly the heavyweight situa situa- tion doesn't want any more of Jersey Jersey Jersey Jer Jer- sey Joe Walcott This recent show was one place where the promoters had to work without any working material The fight mob for or years had been accustomed to fellows like Dempsey Tunney and Louis who could box and also punch Tunney was no stick of dynamite dynamite dynamite dyna dyna- mite but he ho could cut you up and hurt you The fight mob had become too accustomed to Joe Louis to start cheering for foran foran foran an Ezzard Charles or a Joe Walcott Walcott Walcott Wal Wal- cott minus any part of personal personal personal per per- appeal Or even impersonal Impersonal impersonal Imper imper- appeal Charles was at least willing to fight while to Walcott the thought of hitting someone or being hit was decidedly abhorrent Walcott would have been an ideal soldier in the War of the Roses More About Charles Charles is a serious earnest young fellow who Is a good boxer and who is willing But he is never overanxious He is careful He tried to make a fight of it but his punching punching punching punch punch- ing was too feathery to make him dangerous Charles is not much of a puncher even with a fair shot at some an an- Here was Walcott in front of him for 15 rounds and yet Walcott Walcott Walcott Wal Wal- cott emerges w without a knockdown or a scratch outside of or a split upper lip This isn't the type of fighter tighter who is going to revive the lagging fight game and start the multitude cheering loudly For all of that Ezzard Ezzard Ez zard Charles is very likely the best heavyweight fighter tighter left in the world today lie He should have no great trouble handling either cither Woodcock Woodcock Woodcock Wood Wood- cock or Sa void Woodcock never was very much and is well over the hill hilI Charles lacks any touch of fire or flame name Ho lie Hois Hois lieis is merely a 11 pretty good workman workman workman work work- man who is involved with inferior in- in inferior inferior in in- material Louis has been through for tor several several several sev sev- eral years His title was worth at least a million dollars to some ambitious ambitious am am- fellow who could learn fearn how to box and punch The inducement has been the richest prize in sport The ring game has had at least feast six years in which to develop just one fighter one good fighter The Thenet Thenet Thenet net result has been Ezzard Charles who in hi baseball parlance would be rated a hitter Gene Tunney stopped Tom Heeney Heen- Heen ey and retired in July 1928 Max won from Jack Sharkey on a foul in July 1930 |
