A One-Sided Boxing Bout
How the Dempsey-Miske, Fiasco of Labor
Jack Dempsey (left) and Bill Brennan (right) as their respective managers were
signing a contract for a future bout to be held some time before Jan. 1
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T
HE chief thing in the boxing world during
the past few weeks was, of course, the
"championship" fight between Jack Dempsey
and Billy Miske at Benton Harbor, Michigan, on
Labor Day. Aside from the fact that Miske never
had a chance, and that everybody knew he never
had a chance, this was a wonderful battle. A
man who hadn't fought for a year, and who had
always been counted just a good second-rater,
meeting a mighty championoh what a cinch,
and what wonderful matchmaking!
Miske lasted less than three rounds, after being
carried up and down the ring like a leaf upon a
gale. He never hurt Dempsey, he never had a
chance to hurt him. It was remarked after the
battle that Dempsey was now a hermit champion
that he had nobody to fight. At the same time, it
was noted that flocks of scrappers clamored for
matches, all of them to carry a fat loser's end.
Miske got $25,000 for less than eight minutes of
Dempsey's pounding. There isn't a heavyweight
in America who wouldn't gladly fight Dempsey
for the same moneybut how many of them would
meet him winner take all, or with the coin split
say ninety per cent. and ten?
Georges Carpentier sailed for this country the
other day. The gallant Frenchman will get his
chance at Dempsey, after he has boxed Battling
Levinsky-and the Frenchman, on speed, hitting
power, and allround skill, seems to have a better
show with Dempsey than any of the American
heavies. Of the whole American crowd, Harry
Wills looks probably the best fitted for a hard fight
with the champion, and Harry may be accommo-
dated, despite his dusky hue. Still, so say critics
who have seen both Wills and Dempsey in recent
action, Harry isn't likely to get farthe white
man is too lithe, too fast, too full of springs and
pepper.
It has been a long time since anything so
ridiculous as the Dempsey-Miske thing was put
over on the great American public, but the farce
had its redeeming features; nobody was really
swindled, excepting by his own volition. There
was no big betting coup; the gamblers had no
chance to skin anyone or make a nickel. Every-
body knew exactly what would happen, and nobody
Day, has Demonstrated the Immense
Superiority of the Heavyweight Champion
By W. A. PHELON
But where do they get that stuff, and why should they be
afraid of me? The records show that I am far from being
invincible. I was knocked out by Al Palzer in six rounds, by Jack
Dempsey in 18 seconds, and by Harry Wills in three rounds. I am,
therefore, not so hard to lick, and people ought to gladly grab the
chance to fight me. Won't somebody take me on?"
A mill between Fred and Jack Johnson, when Jack finally emerges
from his cell, might be well worth the price of admission. As to Jack
Johnsonthe old saying, "Stone walls do not a prison make, nor iron
bars a cage," sure goes for the sable warrior. He has been living
the life of Reilly while nominally under lock and key, and a Chicago
paper recently came out with a rich story, telling how Jack came
and went at will, went motoring all day and all night, had boxing
bouts in the jail, and was feasted by his colored friends, who bring
offerings of chicken and watermelon to the feet of their idol.
* * * * * *
Two rattling good light heavies, Harry Greb and Chuck Wiggins,
have been showing great form of late, both against assorted adversaries
(Continued on page 610)
was stung. Nobody had to go to the burlesque;
the crowd could have staid at home just as well,
and the throng that gathered at Benton Harbor
just went there to spend an idle day, spend a little
loose change, and see something they knew was
absolutely certain.
It wasn't the fault of the press-agents, though,
that the public wasn't "taken." Ream on ream
of bunk and bull came out of Benton Harbor and
Chicago every day, trying to persuade the fight-
fans that Miske was a demon; that he had an
elegant chance; that he had held Dempsey even,
when they met on two previous occasions, and that
nobody need to be startled if the championship
changed hands.
Give the fight-fans credit: this time, they refused
to be bunked. They absolutely declined to fall
for the yards of hogwash that the press-agents
tried to force upon them. They knew, knew
perfectly well, that Miske was merely a good
second-rater, vastly inferior to the champion
physically and in boxing skill; they knew that
Dempsey had spared Miske and let him wobble
along at their previous meetings, and it is doubtful
if there was one man in the Benton Harbor crowd
that expected anything else than what he got
and what Miske got.
Butshades of the mighty fighting deadjust
think of giving a champion $50,000 to knock out
a helpless mark, and giving an easy victim $25,000
to be battered!
* * * *
Action in the heavy-weight class was infrequent
during the past month, aside from the Dempsey-
Miske comic opera. Bob Martin, the A. E. F.
champion, has been showing less often than usual
the stock of easy marks is about exhausted, and
the public's patience is about exhausted, too. It
is high time that Martin fought somebody that
wasn't hand-picked and planted beforehand, or,
at least, had a rating better than Z 23 in the books
of the heavies.
Fred Fulton, like Truth, when crushed to earth
wants to rise again. Fred's latest appeal for
battles is rich stuff. Says Freddie: "The clubs will
not hire me, because they say I am too big. Billy Miske, who " d i d his best." He was well
paid for the drubbing he received. But it's
Fighters won't meet me, because I am so big. worth something to take a Dempsey Wallop
610 B ASEBALL M AGAZINE for N OVEMBER
largely for taking on a match
with Johnny Tillman, one of his
regular chopping-blocks, and
chasing him through ten playful
rounds. Then he received the
wouldbe comeback, Mr. Bronson,
on the end of his left glove, and
yawned his way to the finish.
Bronson, of course, never had a
look-in, but Britton, master of
everything from 140 to 156
pounds, is too kindly to knock out
anybody.
* * * *
Little doing among the light-
weights, as little among the
feathers. Frankie Brown, who has
been traveling a long time on the
fame gained by knocking Johnny
Kilbane down in a bout about
two years ago, went to Cincinnati
and boxed K. O. Mars, a fighter
who would become champion to-
morrow if he could hit harder.
Mars hit Brown with everything
except the bucket and the bottles.
* * * *
Pete Herman is back at his old
trickstaking things easy in no-
decision bouts. He got a lovely
licking from Joe Burman of
Chicago a few nights ago, not
even trying to resent Burman's
impertinences. Herman is an
awful frost in no-decision mills
and a terror of the ring when a
decision hangs on his efforts and
he really has to fight. He is going
to England, it is understood, to
A ONE-SIDED BOUT
box Jimmy Wilde, but how
(Continued from page 596)
they can ever agree on the weight
and against each other. Greb and
is a mystery.
Wiggins can hit any opponent
about 1,000 times a minute, but * * * *
neither of them carries a K. O. The anticipated opening of the
drive. game in New York City has been
* * * * again delayed through official red-
Peace prevailed among the tape, and various big bouts ar-
middle--weights, but some arduous ranged for the metropolis have
matches were in sight for the new been indefinitely postponed. Al-
champion, Johnny Wilson. He though Kentucky was officially
will have a lively campaign this declared open for boxing some
fall, and will have to be a real time ago, nobody seems to be
champion if he is to escape un- doing any boxing. It is said that
battered. the license fees charged for each
* * * * show have killed the game before
Labor Day was marked not it even started.
only by the Dempsey-Miske farce, |
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but by another comedy, in which

the champion treated his oppo-
nent more kindly than Dempsey
handled poor Miske. Jack Britton,
the welter-weight champion, met
Ray Bronson at Cedar Point,
Ohioand the only question is,
where was the foolkiller when
that match was made? Bronson
had been out of the game six
years, and had fallen from the
top class before that time. Yet
they put him on with Britton,
and advertised it as a champion-
ship battle! Britton trained