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JOHNSON AND FLYNN AWAIT GONG
Fighters in Excellent Condition and
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.
By Ed W. Smith.
East las vegas. n. m., Juiy
4. —Johnson and Flynn are
in the ring waiting for the
timekeeper’s bell to send them oft
their way in the battle for the
heavyweight championship of the
world. The men have received
final Instructions from the referee
and with gloves tied and shoes well
rosined, they have only to shake
their flimsy bath robes and tear at'
each other.
Flynn was the first to climb Into
the roped arena. He was given a
rousing ovation. He bowed time
and again In acknowledging the re
ception. Finally he went to the
east side of the ropes, held up his
hand for silence and yelled his
loudest:
"There will be a new champion
tonight, boys!”
Again the multitude broke loose
nnd the noise was deafening. It
didn't let up until Johnson worked
his way down the isles and climbed
into the ring.
And then it let up only for a
second. Johnson opened his robe
and the crowd could not help but
admire his wonderful physique. He
looked trained to the minute.
He. too, was given a big hand,
but nothing compared to that ten
dered the white challenger.
There are those,, and many of
them, who think because of his
present ruggedness and known
gameness that it will be a race over
a distance of ground, and that
Flynn's present condition will en
able him to tire down his oppo
nent and finally win.
But while Flynn has been work
ing like a trojan, Jack Johnson has
been doing, a faithful task .in his
fight conditioning wgy. 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 every
thing 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 s-o 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 roiitf
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 cjiampion in Jeffries
to pin their faith to that would
stand much pounding with an ar
gumentative battering 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
fmnt against any invader. He was
the biggest and hukiest 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 Johnson
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
mat ne nan a yenow 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 he, be
cause he never has been badly hurt
in battle.
Since the battle at Reno Johnson
has been a known quantity and so
has Flynn. Those who might want
•o see the white man win today,
however, can find no such peg as
’hat furnished by Jeffries upon
which to hang a prophecy.
Flynn's Record Proves Little.
It is true that he beat Al Kauf
man and (’ar! Morris, but other
men have done the game 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
Hatement this morning:
Just say to all my friends that I
m sorry so many of them will not
’* here to see me. win today. When
I made the march I nent Into It
’■ i'h the full intention of training
• f best I knew how and have
’•-'■•-•er had the slightest doubt as to
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- a
nounced that I would retire by
September, but that does not mean
that I will not fight again if a suit
able oft«r 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
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 1 am go
ing away. lam going to carry the
fight to Johnson-from the start,
and he will find thalt 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
beeh up against a better man than
any other in the country.”
Referee's Final Word.
As I am th° 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 mgn 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 artd every
thing looks ready, including the
men themselves The contest will
not differ from otheis as far as the
present interpretation of the
Queensberry code is concerned.
The men have agreed' to continue
boxing while either has an a-m
free, but after coming into a clinch
to break upon command of the
referee. But they mus.t protect :
themselves at all tlines\during the
progress'of a round'/ The referee
will at no time step between therh
or pull them q.par_t, mhey ■ have .
agreed<nnt to '.boid'and, hit' and all*
other instances of foul'work have
been cited to them go, 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 s2o,non
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 now 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 algo 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
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
games there. McGraw was on the first
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 playa.
. . .THE ATLANTA GEORGIAN AND NEWS. THURSDAY, JULY 4, 1912.
Noted Referee Analyzes the Lightweight Rivals
Wolgast and Rivers Are About Equally Matched
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.
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 tlm 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 tbe 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 mesg 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 more, 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
tne out, that there is little to choose
between the two in this respect.
The Mexican, perhaps, has a
shade in his favor—his science is
the polished article—while Wol
gast’s is the science of a natural
fighter.
The champion'is 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 pitchen chair and have the hired
girl sit on it until after the festivi
ties.
I have been in the ring with both
hoys times innumerable and I have
no hesitation in saving that there is
-w»ry little to choose betwten them.
What little shade exists is In the
Mexican’s favor.
Which boy is the more rugged
and durable" A year ago this ques
tion would have been an easy one
to answer. Wolgast I 'Anuld have
said v ithont a moment s consid
"ration Rut th it carving p rial
ty he and the doctors did t gether
may have sapped some of his rug
gedness.
However, 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 foot he is built on the same
sturdy plan. Dame Nature sure
was in a generous mood when she
molded this tireless bunch 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 his full growth, being now
only twenty-years old, they prob
ably will come out all right ere he
reaches his majority.
I should advise the little brown
battler to strengthen his underpin
ning as much as possible because
no matter how strong a man is “up
stairs,” or how alert the 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
w-hich 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 I 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 pot so
much as Wolgast. Joes Is more
of the acquired talent. He has stu
died everybody he has seen anl h is
benefited by thoije observations un
til today he occupies the proud po
sition of being selected by the great
American public as the most likely
contender for the lightweight
c ro w n.
Joo is a "ruffian" when ft comes
to the toe and toe, no quarter ar
ticle of gloving. He will drop be
fore he will back up, and with his
scientific knowledge of tht game
he <ure on* stand Lttle 13.';-
pour'd t lot when he gets flirted
\\ hit h of them 'an hit tre naid
ef 1 " 'tell, this Is a pretty hard
preposition to an«wor in I per
sonally j • ■'kina. 1 Ln t believe
there is anything to choose between
them. Five people out of six pick
Wolgast as the hardest pounder.
Ad, 1 think, has the harder short
am, 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.
Tag them as two packages of con
centrated vitalized energy and
hang them up for public inspection.
This is known—they will maul
and mar each 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
exactly how our Boys Clothes fit and \ VLS
look after the boy gets into them //\ ,1 IV i \
Notice the graceful lines in the back— / J ' jVa' • • IX\\
the smooth, snug-fitting collar—the mannish Vu fi \ JI » • n-\\\
way it fits in front— | A jf' \ Afil
It s no wonder we sell so many Boys . ■iLnjr*, J
Clothes—for they re made of the Best Blue
Serges finest Worsted Cheviots and r/fl '■ /|/
Crashes—the workmanship is done by skillful I
hands—they retain their shape. 11 va /
This style with extra pair of Pants—
ss.oo to $lO 00. 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 B oys.
Seoiit Eiseman Bros., Inc. Scout
Ulfs 11-13-15-17 Whitehall Street OhOeS
‘Tm Better Than Ever”—Johnson
d-g-r d - * - ? - •!•• +
“Old and Crippled? Not Yet!"
d-»d- d-*d* +•+ <••+
Jack 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 all.
Bv W. W. Naughton.
LAS VEBAS, N. M„ July 4,
"What is all this foolish 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
here 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 w-ill
find that Johnson scrapbook a bar
to progress.
It has come to a point where
Johnson has the snort 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. Ir.
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 tw r o
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 has
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. F/ynn will find In me art 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.
I am faster and I hit milch 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 Reno Johnson
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
all 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 the 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 and have sparred
with them day by day will wave the
towels, have charge of the bottle
and tender whatever advice may
he 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 the 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 ths
other man. But Delaney did not
dictate to me. He just asked me to
be guided by him in one thing. He
ivanted me to fight very carefully
and I did so. I believe I could have
whipped Jeff in eight rounds, but,
to 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 comer. I won’t
need any advice. A second’s ad
vice is all right, and far be it from
me to spap at any second of mine
when he speaks, 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 hist
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.”
15
