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JOHNSON AND FLYNN AWAIT GONG
Fighters in Excellent Condition arid
Both Confident of Winning Battle
for Heavyweight Championship of
World at Las Vegas, N. M., Today.
Champion Rules a Two-to-One Favorite With
Enormous Crowd That Storms Arena-—Both
Contestants in Final Statement Declare They
Will Be Returned Victor of the Struggle.
Continued From Page One.
fight conditioning way. He has
come down from 240 pounds, which
was his poundage when he started
in at Bill O’Connell's gymnasium -
in Chicago, to where he will tip
the beam at 212 pounds when he
gets busy between the ropes this
afternoon. He - has done eveiy
thin'g that has been asked of him
by his trainers, and, if you* would
believe them and himself, he is
every’ bit as good as he was this
time two years ago. .
However, whether he is or not,
and whether he may have an extra
pound or so of extra tissue over his
vital points, experts are here in
number and giving their expert
opinions as to what will happen.
Many of these same experts were
present at Reno two years ago and
telling how little chance Johnson
had against Jim Jeffries.
Some Excuse For Picking.
That might make one think these
men prophets are without honor
in their country or any other coun
try. But there was some excuse
for picking Jeffries at that time
that will not hold when present
conditions are in the summing up.
They had a champion in Jeffries
to pin their faith to that would
stand much pounding with an ar
gumentative batterng ram. Jef
fries had beaten men with honor-’
able records on the Queensberry
roll of honor. He had beaten these
men in such away as to show
what looked like an unassailable
front against any invader. He was
the biggest and huklest man we
ever had in this country as a cham
pion. and his cave man appearance
smoothed his backers with confi
dence.
On the other hand. Jack Johnston
at that time had no imposing rec
ord over which one could study and
dope him as a winner in a cham
pionship race. It was even hinted
that he had a yellow streak, though
this hint had not then and never
has been proved. He will admit
himself today that he , does not.
know how game he may be, be-,
cause he never has been badly hurt
in battle. u
Since the battle at Reno Johnson
has been a known quantity and so
has Flynn. Those who might want
to see the white man win today,
however, can find no such peg as
that furnished by Jeffries upon
which to hang f prophecy,
Flynn’s Record Proves Little.
It is ’rue that he heat Al Kauf
man and Carl Morris, but other
men have done the same and yet
not earned the right to be consid
ered worthy opponents of the pres
ent champion.
Fighters Issue Statements.
Johnson gave me the following
statement this morning:
‘Just say to all my friends that I
am sorry so many of them will not
bo here to see me win today. When
I made the match I went Into it
with the full intention of training
the best I knew how and have
never had the slightest doubt as to
the outcome. While Flynn looks
to be as tough a man as any one in
this country today, and while he
even looks bigger and better than
I expected to see him look. I still
expect to beat him, and it will not
be a long fight either. . I have an
nounced that I would retire by
September, but that does’ not mean
that I will not fight again if a suit
able offer is made."
Flynn came across with the fol
lowing:
I can only repeat what I have
been saying ever since I started
training, and that is that* there
twenty-mile marathon
RACE IS RUN TO ALBANY
ALBANY, GA.. July 4.—A marathon
rate from Sylvester to Albany, a dis
tance of 19.7 miles, under the auspices
”f the Worth County Local and Albany
H'-rold, was run today. The winners
■’■re: First prize, SSO, Garrett, time
-■29 1-4; second prize. Hancock, S3O.
2:35 1-2; third prize, S2O. Brown,
time 3: ifi.
lulghum, who was leading the race
intll within two miles of the finish fell
"in exhaustion and was carried to a
j > pital in an unconscious condition.
The race started at 5:08 a. tn. The
"inner's average time was 7 1-2 min
utes pep mile.
FINN TAKES ON O'BRIEN
TO PLAY UTILITY ROLE
'’’■’er .1 O'Brien. unconditionally re
ed by rhe Atlanta team has picked
i loh with Mobile at utility man.
,fl1 " Finn said yesterday: "I flg-
II Brien is better than some of the
"'1 I left on the Atlanta teanj He
! ‘ ertalnly played better hall against
I know h* will fir fn mighty fine
'• .ny team utility man."
will be a new champion of the
world when I get through with the
big smoke this afternoon. I still
feel confident of winning, but if I
lose it will not be while I am go
ing away. I am going to carry’the
fight* to Johnson from the. start,
and he ‘will find that he is up'
against the toughest man he ever
■has tackled. I am better than I
ever was before in my life and -if I
am beaten it will be because I have
been up against a better man than
a.ny other in the country.”
Referee's Final Word.
As I am the referee; I suppose I
should say something. Here is the
statement I gave all the newspaper
men this morning:
“Nothing remains now but for
the men to get Into their boxing
togs .this afternoon and settle the
question between them in the ring.
All of the details of the contest
have been settled upon and every
thing looks ready, including tlfe
men themselves The contest will '
not differ from others as far as the
present interpretation of the
Queensberry code is concerned.
The men have agreed to continue
boxing while either has an arm
free, but after corning into a clinch
to break upon command of the
referee. But they, must protect
themselves at all times during the
progress of a round. The referee
w ill , at no time step between them
or pull them apart. They have
agreed not to ‘hold and hit’ and all
other instances of foul work have
been cited .them so that they
fully understand what may be
grounds for a disqualification.”
Some Bets at 5 to 2.
The arrival of Al Tearney, of
Chicago, stakeholder of the $20,000
deposited by Flynn, Johnson and
Curley, started some lively betting.
Johnson remains at odds of 2 to
1, with now and then some one of
fering SSOO to SI,OOO at 5 to 2 1-2.
Many bets were registered where
Johnson would not be marked on
the face and some that Johnson
would not have- blood drawn at
all. while others made even money
bets that Johnson would win inside
twelve rounds, and some that Flynn
would last fifteen rounds.
Streets Crowded Early,
Early today the streets were
crowded and hundreds of new faces
appeared, a majority of them range
men and ranch owners; also many
miners.
Jack Johnson was the big light
at the depot yesterday, meeting all
trains and holding receptions on
the station platform. He made
. speeches or did anything else that
would amuse the crowd and never
failed to say:
"That man Flynn has absolutely
no chance; he is chicken for me,
absolutely and ripe for picking.”
Flynn was joy riding with his
trainers all afternoon and in the
evening he visited the headquar
ters and also the depot, where he
gave all of them the glad mitt.
Johnson Signs With Langford,
Johnson entered into a contract
today with Hugh D. Mclntosh, of
Australia, through T. S. Andrews',
to fight Sam Langford and Sam
McVey in that country within six
months time. He is to have an
extra month to prepare for McVey
after the Langford battle. Johnson
is to get $45,000 for the two battles.
An offer from Mclntosh was also
made to Flynn, providing he wins
from Johnson, of $30.000 and SI,OOO
expenses to go to Australia to fight
Langford. Manager Curley said he
would take the offer under consid
eration.
MOBILE TO GIVE MANES
CHANCE TO MAKE GOOD
i CHATTANOOGA, TENN.. July 4.
The transfer of Cavet to Huntsville
. means that Spurgeon Manes, the local
boy who covered the Initial sack for
( Fort Worth during the first half of the
, season, will go to Mobile for a try
out at the close of the Southeastern
league season. »
When Manes was at Fort Worth this
spring the Giants played a series of
I games there. McGraw was on the first
i base coaching line most of the time
and took a great fancy to the local
’ boy’s work, giving him material advice
and assistance on many plays.
MANTELL AND THOMPSON
GO 20 ROUNDS TO A DRAW
’ SACRAMENTO, CAL., July 4.—Frank
Mantel] and Cyclone Johnny Thompson
. went 20 rounds to a draw here last
night.
Mantel! abandoned his usual in-fight
ing tactics after the first ten rounds,
in which Thompson bad a shade at this
style. In open work towards the end
' Mantel! outpointed th* Illinois boy. but
th latter waa LUs aggressor moat of
th* way.
THE ATLANTA GEORGIAN AND NEWS. THURSDAY. .JULY 4. 1912.
HOW JOHNSON AND FLYNN LOOK IN THE RING
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This photograph was posed especially for The Georgian by Johnson and Flynn, and
shows how the champion and challenger size up, Johnson looks like a giant compared to
Flynn, being bigger and stronger looking from head to feet.
Noted Referee Analyzes the Lightweight Rivals
Wolgast and Rivers Are About Equally Matched
Bq Charles F. Eyton.
Famous American Referee.
LOS ANGLES July 4.—The
world's two premier light
weights have, like true pa
triots, tendered their services for a
red-blooded celebration of the na
tion’s birthday.
They will attempt.to decorate, in
one.of the nation’s colors at least,
the ring of the Vernon arena to
day. when they will battle for the
world's lightweight championship
and some emoluments in the way
of cash.
There are several very interest
ing and unusual phases in the com
ing melee that I will try to analyze
for the benefit of the Queensberry
"bugs."
Some of the angles which are
open to comment are as follows:
Which boy has the more science,
which is the more rugged, whiclf
is the more natural fighter and
which of the pair can hit the hard
est ?
To sift this mess of trouble, let
us first take up the argument from
a purely scientific standpoint. Im
mediately, everybody ‘ arises and
cries that there is not much argu
ment about this question, that Riv
ers is undoubtedly the. mo, e clever,
that Wolgast has never made any
claims to being clever.
There Is Little to Choose.
All of which MAY be true, but I
wish to go on record as saying, and
I believe that the fracas- will bear
me out. that there is little to choose
between the two in thi.- respect.
The Mexican, perbaps, has a
shade in his favor—his science is
the, polished article —while .Wol
gist's is the science of a natural
fighter.
The champion ig clever, though:
make no mistake on this point. If
you think Rivers ha a walkaway
from a purely boxing standpoint
and are going to bet that way you
had better spike your bankroll to
a pltchen chair and have the hired
girl sit on it until after the festivi
ties
I have been in the ring with both
hots times Innumerable and I have
no hesitation in saying that there Is
vary little to choose hetwren them.
What little shade exists is in the
Mexican * favor
Which boy is th* rn'in* rugged
and dunable? A year ago this ones
t!nr. would have been an easy on*
tn answer. Wolgast I would have
said without a moment s consid
eration Rut that < it ing spe< lai
ty he and the ductors did together
may have sapperl some of his rug
gedness. .
Howev*r, th’re never was a
doubt that, fundamentally, Wolgast
is much the stronger. I never be
fore saw a. man so small, with such
a frame to build.'the muscle on as
Wolgast. he is a very pocket Her
cules. From head'to hock and down
to the feet he is built on the same
sturdy plan. Dame Nature sure
was in a generous mood when she
molded this tireless hunch of fight
ing energy.
As to Rivers' ruggedness, all I
can say is that nature didn't neg
lect him either. His development
above the waist line is something
extraordinary. He has the torso of
a middleweight, his upper body is
perfect from an athlete's viewpoint,
but below the waist Joe is a little
light. His legs have not kept up
with the advancement of his upper
anatomy. But as he has not yet
attained bis full growth, being now
only twenty years old, they’ prob
ably will come out ali right ere he
reaches his majority.
I should advise the little hrov n
battler to strengthen his underpin
ning as much as possible because
no matter how strong a man is "up
stairs,” or how alert rhe brain
these assets are of small profit if
his locomotion is on the bias.
Which brings us down to the
third point, the indictment as io
which lad is the more natural fight
er. Again the populace will arise
and shout “No argument—Wol
gast!'’
I am not so sure but what this is
the correct answer. Ad is certain
ly there with the untaught stuff.
He can slash and mutilate better
than any untaught wrecker of pugi
listic hopes J ever saw.
Ad is a cyclone at fisticuffs when
milling along at the Wolgast pat
ented style of annihilation.
Rivers a Student of Game.
Rivers, also, has quite a big sam
ple line of natural stuff, but not so
much as. Wolgast, Joe s is more
>f the acquired talent. He has stu
died everybody he hfts seen an 1 has
benefited by the,se observations un
til today he occupies the proud po
sition of being selected by the great
AnVrit an public as the most likely
contender for the lightweight
crown,
Jo® Is a "ruffian" when it comes
to the toe and toe, no quarter ar
ticle of gloving He will drop b ■
fore he will hack up, and with his
scientific knowledge of ths game
he i- sure on* grand little 1.33-
pound riot wh<n he gets started.
, Whl< h -f tne.n can hit the hard
eat? Well this is a prett> hard
proposition to answer, and per
sonally peaking, 1 don't b lit ve
there is anything to choose between
them. Five people out of six pick
Wolgast as the hardest pounder.
Ad, I think, has the harder short
arm blow; he can accumulate a
lot of power in a five or six-inch
punch. In fact, his short arm work
is one of his greatest assets. But
at the ordinary long distance, get
in-and-get-away work, without
clinching, I think Joe has a wal
lop fully as hard as Ad s.
All in all, there is nothing to
choose between them on this score.
them as two packages of con
centrated vitalized energy and
hang them up for public inspection.
This is known—they will maul
and mar ea< h other for the edifica
tion of a sweltering crowd of hu
mans in whose souls the "primi
tive brute” stuff will be para
mount.
Our Boys Clothes I
The picture to the right shows just |p
exactly how our Boys Clothes fit and
look after the boy gets into them //I // j \
Notice the graceful lines in the back— f
the smooth, snug-fitting collar—the mannish Vs l\ »•H \\
way it fits in front— jW n ir |
It s no wonder we sell so many Boys
Clothes—for they re njade of the Best Blue it” /
Serges finest Worsted Cheviots and * /11 ■/ j HF '
Crashes—the workmanship is done by skillful ~ y'J /
hands—they retain their shape.
This style with extra pair of Pants—
ss.oo to SIO.OO. With single Pants—
s4.oo to $15.00.
Norfolk styles, too—mannish and ' sporty --$5.00 to $12.00. Nor
folk in Wash fabrics—s4.oo to $6.00. Junior Wash Suits—sl.oo to $5.00.
Everything Summerish for the Boys.
Scout Eiseman Bros., Inc. c ° ut
Olllts 11-13-15-17 Whitehall Street Shoes
‘T’m Better Than Ever"—Johnson
“Old and Crippled? Not Yet!"
lack Explains to Naughton
W. W. Naughton, one of The Georgian fight experts, visited the camp of
Jack Johnson early this morning and secured from the champion his last
statement before entering the ring. Johnson says he is better now than ever,
can hit harder and is faster. But read Naughton’s story and get it aH.
By W. W. Naughton.
IAS VEBAS, N. M.. July 4.
“What Is all this frfrilish talk
about Jack Johnson having
become old and crippled just be
cause It is two years since he had a
championship fight?" asked the
king of the world's heavies of the
writer this morning. And right
it might be remarked that
Johnson maintains a private clip
ping bureau and keeps himself
thoroughly well informed as to
what the sporting critics are writ
ing about him over the country.
Woe betide the fight correspondent
who has said things about Johnson
and who- comes to the Johnson
camp looking for news. He will
find that Johnson scraphook a bar
to progress. ’
It has come to a point where
Johnson has the sport writers
graded. Some are on the preferred
list, while others, according to
Jack, merit treatment ranging
from a sharp reproof to having the
door slammed In their faces. It.-
one or two extreme cases the
champ is only sorry that his news
paper detractors are not -white
hopes. He would take a keen de
light in letting them feel the full
.force of his pet. uppercut.
"People don't stop to think, and
I think newspaper men above all
should look at things from every
angle before putting their ideas in
the paper. Now, if I had gone off
after beating Jeffries and had given
myself up entirely to the pleasures
of life I could understand there be
ing a doubt as to whether I was as
good as I used to be,” continued
Jack. “I would probably be on the
anxious seat myself over the out
look. But this thing of giving out
to the public that Johnson has done
nothing for two years but take life
easy is entirely wrong and very
misleading. If that is the one thing
Flynn's friends are building on to
bring him home a winner over me,
goodness help them and goodness
help Flynn.
Has Had Plenty of Boxing.
"I have done more boxing during
the past two years than Flynn has
done. Every one seems to forget
that I put in a full course of train
ing for a fight with Bombardier
Wells in England. The fight did
not come off, but I had the benefit
of the preparation. And for one
year and eight months of the two
years that have lapsed since I de
feated Jeffries I have sparred con
stantly on the theatrical circuits all
over the world. I have been meet
ing all comers on my stage bouts,
and I have been in constant train
ing and constant practice.
"The work I have been doing
been of a kind to keep me in touch
with everything I know about box
ing. It has been eye drill and hand
and foot drill; so that instead of
having to face a champ who has
been laid away on the shelf for two
years. Flynn will find in me an op
ponent who has been working un
ion hours right along and has had
mighty few holidays.” .
"The gist of all this is that you
consider yourself as good as ever,”
the writer remarked.
“As good as ever?” snorted the
champ. "Why, I’m better than
ever, and I want you to under
stand that I'm not in the habit of
kidding myself about such things,
tarn faster and I hit much harder.
I've studied it all out, and I know.”
No Bench Show of Seconds.
One thing notable about today's
fight is that there will be no bench
show of high-priced and world-fa
mous seconds. At Rfeno Johnsotj
had Billy Delaney, Jeffries’ old
mentor and an expert conditioner
and handler of pugilists, behind
him. To counteract this, Jeffries
had Jim Corbett, who, it was
thought, in addition to giving Jef
fries advice that would be of ines
timable value, would contrive to
taunt Johnson into making mis
takes and leaving openings. It was
thought beforehand that the sec
onding would cut quite a figure in
the Reno affair, but when it was
ftll over there was no telling
whether the sages in the rival cor
ners had had any influence on
results or not.
It may be that Delaney’s pres
ence in the opposition angles de
pressed and discouraged Jeffries,
but even this has not been clearly
established. Jeff looked and acted
like a defeated man when he toed
the scratch, and it is doubtful if he
could have done any differently if
Delaney had deserted th* negro’s
corner and gone over to the white
man’s.
Anyhow, there will be no Delaneys
nor Corbetts in evidence today. The
fellows who have helped train the
heavyweights ahd have sparred
with them day by day will wave the
towels, have charge of the bottle
and tender whatever advice may •
be asked for. And the chances are
none will be asked. Flynn and
Johnson both seem to think that
seconds’ duties should- be in the
line of rendering first aid to the
injured rather than in mapping out
the moves on the pugilistic’ chess
board.
Delaney of Great Service.
"Wasn't Delaney of great serv
ice to you at Reno?” Johnson was
asked when question of seconds
was being discussed.
"Well, yes, he was; but scarcely
as an adviser,” said Johnson. "I
wanted him with me, for I knew
he liked me and I certainly liked
him. Then, again, I felt, of course,
that it did not do Jeff any good to
see his old standby behind the
other man. But Delaney did not
dictate to me. He just asked me to
be guided by him in one thing. He
wanted me to fight very carefully
and I did so. I believe I could have
whipped Jeff in eight rounds, but,
tn please Delaney, I went at the
job cautiously and took longer.
"Today I will have Professor
Burns, Marty Cutler and other men
of my camp crew behind me. What
I will want principally will be good
attendance in my corner. I won’t
need any advice. A second’s ad
vice is all right, and far be it from
me to snap at any second of mine
when he sp*aks, but I think the
fighter is the best judge of the
way things are going and what is
to be done. He is feeling his op
ponent out and has noticed things
that a second may never catch
on to. It’s like a good jockey on
a race horse. He knows by his
sense of touch how his mount is
holding together, and his own judg
ment is better than any advice that
can be shouted to him from some
one on the ground.”