Who Will Be Gene Tunney’s Next Opponent ?

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18009, 20 November 1926, Page 9

Who Will Be Gene Tunney’s Next Opponent ?

The recent world’s championship bout between Dempsey and Tunncy should have demonstrated that Gene Tunncy, the new heavyweight champion, has been a very much underrated prizefighter from the moment he abandoned almost purely amateur fighting, and announced that he was about to make himself one of those logical contenders for the heavyweight championship.

Gene Tunney was a better man than Jack Dempsey the moment the bell rang, and Dempsey was not at all “a mere hollow shell.” He might not have been quite the man that he was at Toledo, but he was a great ring fighter. He met a man who was not afraid of him, not even slightly impressed by his record in the manly art of modified murder, a young man who was willing to meet his rushes with some highly effective punches, and who could meet his savage scowl with a smile.

But the experts are still unimpressed, and the work of selecting new opponents for the heavyweight champion is proceeding with great rapidity. They arc talking of matching him with men who would not be considered as anything like logical opponents for Jack Dempsey. The one first and most prominently mentioned is M. Orville Chapdelaine, better known as Jack Delaney, the light heavy-weight champion. Another is Paul Berlenbach. Now, neither of these men would have been considered as opponents for Dempsey. The fact that they are being ballyhooed as possible opponents for Gene Tunney indicates that experts are still underrating the new champion. Why should they be putting up as logical contenders for the conqueror of Dempsey men who would not be considered seriously as opponents for the conquered Of course Tunney must fight somebody, and in the comparatively near future, for an idle heavyweight champion cannot cash in on his great asset. Mr Tex Rickard says that he would like to match Tunney and Dempsey again. There are enough sceptics to make this a highly profitable affair. Gene Tunney would be quite willing

to meet Dempsey again at any time for if there is a return match, it will mean that Tunncy will get something like 700.000 dollars, while Dempsey, being now a mere ex-champion, will have to be contended with a mere 200,000 dollars. As soon as the news reached the Argentine, Senor Luis Angel Firpo sent word that he was planning a return to the ring, and that he would be among those challenging the new c h a m p io n. Of course, there always will be Harry Wills, the sombre Senegambian. It is highly improbable that there ever will be a Tunney - Wills bout. When he was a mere contender for the championship, Tunney offered to fight Wills, but the Senegambian very clearly indicated that he wanted no fight, but a fight for the championship, where the losing end would make it worth while for a former stevedore. When he was matched with Dempsey, Tunney declared that he never would fight with the Senegambian, and Gene Tunney is a young man of his w’ord.

Of course, to be consistent, the New York State Boxing Commission may insist that Gene Tunney must fight Wills before the expiration of six months, or become null anrl void. But it is possible the Commission will be a little more cautious about issuing edicts against the new heavy-weight champion. Tunney is most popular. The popular notion will be that Tunney should be given plenty of time to enjoy his new honours. Certainly the new heavyweight champion is the finest type that ever held the title. lie is everything that the ideal champion is supposed to be. In fact. Gene Tunney is so far above all of his predecessors that he may succeed in making the cauliflower industry respectable.