Old-Timer Has Poor Opinion Of Jack Dempsey.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18937, 6 December 1929, Page 3

Old-Timer Has Poor Opinion Of Jack Dempsey.

“ OVER-RATED FIGHTER,” AVERS JACK JOHNSON. “ If Dempsey had fought me when T was in my prime, I would have hung up my gloves if he had gone past the ninth round ” —thus Jack Johnson, boastful negro ex-champion, in an article in the “ Sunday Times.” “I* think, he was the most highly over-rated fighter who ever held the world’s championship. He was a slugger, pure and simple. And he wasn’t even a good slugger. He had Firpo down seven times in one round and couldn’t keep him down. He had Willard down five times in one round and couldn’t keep him there. He hit Tunney seven punches on the ropes at Chicago, and Tunney got up arid was strong enough to pedal away from him. “ You can’t expect an old timer to rave over that sort of slugging. You modern fans claim that Dempsey was a great slugger, a knpek-'em-dead puncher. We veterans must be pardoned if we laugh up our sleeves. We remember punchers who would knock you dead in a punch. “ Why, listen here while I tell you about slugging that was slugging and sluggers who were sluggers. The Fitzsimmons Way. “ Take Bob Fitzsimmons, for instance. You take him because nobody else could. Now, brother, there was a puncher. When Bob hit you, you stayed hit. He never had to knock anybody down seven times to keep him down, like Dempsey. “When Fit* flopped them the first time they never got up. “ He hit that big Peter M&her one punch and started for his comer. Martin Julian, Bob’s manager, yelled from his comer: 4 Look around, Bob. Be careful! 1 Fit* just grinned at him. 4 He won’t get up.’ He didn’t.” 44 Fitzsimmons hit Corbett one punch in the body and paralysed him. “ Dempsey wasn’t in the same class with old Bob. * And I’ll tell you of another fighter of my time who could outhit Dempsey three to one. I refer to Sam Langford, the little, sawed-off black man who had shouders as wide as a wardrobe trunk and who had arms that almost reached to the ground. What a punching fool that little man was. I can still hear the wind whistling as his right hand passed by my face. He had the greatest right cross the ring ever saw, past or present, and when he laid'it in, the party was all over. 44 Now, why do I say that they would have licked Dempsey and knocked him out? That’s simple. ‘ “ Dempsey was easy to hit. Everybody who ever fought him hit him. Anybody who could be hit was an easy thing for Fitzsimmons or Langford. Fitzsimmons would have knocked out Dempsey in four rounds; Langford would have knocked him out whenever Sam got mad enough. Fitzs.mmons * would have torn Dempsey’s body to pieces, and Langford would have beaten him to his left hook with a right cross.”

Billiards. LONDON, December 4. The scores in the billiards matches are:— Lindrum, 20.176 ( 720, 426 and 603): Smith, in play, 17,057 (529, 330, 613 unfinished). Lindrum’s 603 is his fifty-third break of over 500 during the seven weeks, beating Smith’s record for the whole of last season. M’Conachv, in plav, 15,203 (413, 235). Newman, 15,883 ( 378. 578, 342)* Newman took the lead for the first time in the match with a brilliant break of 578. scoring 1399 in the afternoon, with an average of 101. M Conachy, who was oft form, only averaged 38. The New Zealander, in the evening, made a fine break of 413. He averaged 63, against Newman’s 61. Davis has scored 1141 unfinished, his totaj being 16.921. Falkiner has scored 15,871, including a concession of 3000. Amateur Athletics. LONDON, December 5. The British Olympic Council debated the broken time problem. It was unanimously decided that no competitor who received any payment in compensation for loss of salary, directly or indirectly, or in any guise whatever, should be permitted to take part in any future Olympic game. The Totalisator. LONDON, December 5. Lord D Abernon, addressing a meet ing at Newmarket, said that the totalisator was responsible for a remarkable increase of race-goers, amounting in some instances to 80 per cent. Judging by the investments thus far, it was anticipated that the first year of operation would result in a turnover of £36,000,000. The average yearly amount spent on betting in England was £267,000,000. The experience already gained confirmed the view that the totalisator would also lead to better racecourses, better stands, cheapvr admission, larger prizes, and diminisheA entrance fees.