Show SPORT LiGH IF flotsam and jetsam J e asam heavyweights Heavy weights by GRANTLAND RICE HERE ARE TWO things that T THERE make a great or an unusual heavyweight champion the first Is his own ability the second is a competitor or an opponent who can help build the headlines this is no alibi tor for ezzard charles charles might be the greatest heavyweight ot of all time but how can he prove it with the present crop of challengers suppose we look back a lew few years jim corbett had a sullivan to beat fitzsimmons had a corbett to handle fitz had a jeffries Jet fries in the road and jeff had a fitz and a corbett also a tom sharkey and the old sailor was no squash he could tight fight rice jack johnson had jim jeffries tor for his buildup build up although jett jeff was then tat fat and partly bald jack dempsey a great fighter had the best break of them ill all jack weighing pon pounds rids the he day before the willard fight had a pound giant to face a fighter who after all had won the title from the great 4 jack johnson I 1 I 1 after that dempsey had carpentier the great french war hero 4 his ability as a heavyweight far over publicized but the buildup build up was on then dempsey was lucky enough to come upon the massive firpo the wild bull of the pampas the tighter fighter who threw rocks after firpo the old mauler from manassa had two other good breaks as far as crowds excitement and reputation go he had gene tunney and jack sharkey tunney was the dead game young heavyweight just out of the war ile he could box punch ind nd take his bis share uc he was badly underrated so was jack sharkey on days or nights he wanted to fight which too often this sharkey was the most temperamental tighter fighter the ring ever saw but he could box and punch when he wanted to dempsey had all the fight game needed great ability to start with a flaming spirit and at least five opponents who could draw 1 gates dempsey De repsey was responsible for the two great tunney crowds no one knows this better than gene although he added his share it was entirely different when tunney had to face his ring future without any dempsey around I 1 think tunney retired when he did for many valid reasons new order now we begin to see what ezzard charles is up against what any heavyweight champion might be up against this includes joe louis it is certain to work heavily against ezzard charles tunney had a sorry lot to face after dempsey lost his bis second start lie he had sharkey and one or two more they were all terrible tunney picked heeney a short armed pushover I 1 know rickard wanted sharkey who had lost to after tunney had completed his operation on heeney there was nothing left just as there is nothing left today sharkey baer camera braddock elotsa flotsam and jetsam both and baer were dangerous punchers at times braddock was smart game but all through while carnera camera was a pound joke here was a spot in which no great heavyweight could have proved his rightful place there was nothing but inferior fighters to face then joe louis came along joe louis has been a great tighter fighter A hard puncher and a fine boxer but only fair on the receiving tide side where head punches have hurt him louis has never drawn one of the head liners to beat most of those joe stopped had been beaten by somebody else braddock out pointed baer baer knocked out ng baer wrecked camera a joke from start to finish louis was forced to get his reputation from a second rate group headed by billy conn a light heavyweight but was the best fighter louis had to meet through his career 20 game winners As usual the crop of 20 game winners will all be quite thin this season only a trifle over two months are left and there are still only five of six pitchers who are in fairly close shooting range the three with the better chance to land in this promised territory are ken heintzelman of the phillies Phil lles howle howie pollet of the cardinals and vie vic of the yankees heintzelman has done the best lob iob of the year |