BOXING.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 276, 1 May 1915, Page 7

BOXING.

JOHNSON v. WILLARD. FURTHER PARTICULARS ABOUT THE CONTEST. (Cables in the Australian Press). Vancouver, April 5. Willard knocked out Johnson in the twenty-sixth round. Johnson incautiously looked over his shoulder towards his wife's seat, and Willard whipped in a sudden right to Johnson's ..jaw. He went to the boards and was counted out. (The details of the contest prove conclusively that the knock-out was not by a chance blow, but was brought, about by Willard having completely worn out the negro-cestusj. With £IO,OOO worth of advance sales and only the 12s seats to be sold at the turnstyles, sunrise found thousands of people waiting in the line. It w.-is estimated that there were then 17,000 on the spot, including throngs of natives, who seemed to'be secure in the belief that Johnson would retain the laurels.

The negro was confident, and said that he. was fit to go any distance. Willard's backers, on the other hand, wore certain that he would win if ho could last beyond the tenth round. Johnson was favorite at S to 5 on, and then 6 to !> on. The ringside box-seats were sold at '£s. The ring was 18ft. square, and the platform 22ft. square. The heavy ropes were wrapped twice round with black tyre tape, and great care was taken in protecting the floor, a score of red blankets being placed underneath the canvas. London, April (i. Interviewed after his fight with Willard, at Havana, yesterday, Johnson admitted that a younger and a better fighter was entitled to the championship. In the early rounds of the contest Johnson displayed characteristic tactics, wearing a huge "smile, ■ and constantly chaffing His opponent, while pounding him on the body, which was soon red, Johnson was hardly marked, but lie failed in an exhausting eil'ort to bring the contest to a sudden conclusion. Willard assumed the offensive in the twentieth round, when he had Johnson at his mercy. The black was-clinching continually, and ho was knocked out with a terrific right swing to tiie jaw. The crowd was disorderly, and yelled, "Kill -the black bear!" Soldiers were, called out to disperse the disorderly element.

Vancouver, April fi. Later details from Havana show that the suggestion that the knocking-out of Jack Johnson was due to a chance opportunity is an injustice to Willard. The consensus of opinion is that up to the end of the twentieth round'the black would have been entitled to the verdict. Then he allowed signs of wilting under the terrific strain, and thereafter the contest was tame.

The collapse of the negro was complete at the end of the twenty-fourth round, when he turned to Tom Flanagan who was sitting with Mrs. Johnson, and remarked, "I can't go much further; toll the wife to leave." Willard declares' that the decisive punch was a right to the body early ill the last round. .Johnson was limp in the next clinch, and while it is true that lie looked to see if his wife had left, it is not substantiated that Willard chose that moment for the knock-out. When the referee broke the clinch the cowboy rushed in and forced Johnson into his (Willard's) corner. Jack was slow, and was guarding against a swinging left hook which found the body. His legs quivered. The towering white giant again feinted for the body, Johnson dropped his guard, and the title was won by a quick, hard swing, exactly on the point. Johnson declares that he proved he was in condition by going 20 rounds. He tried his best, but he was up against a man who refused to crumple up when hit. ' There has been a hot argument as to whether Johnson was knocked unconscious. The first man who entered the ring says most emphatically that he was.

It is generally believed that the black knew that he had no chance of winning, and chose to take no more punishment.'

In the seventh round he all but stopped Willard with a blow on the niidrilT, and at least half a dozen times rocked the Kansas champion with fierce jawpunches. It is not expected that Willard will risk the title for twelve months. His manager, Tom Jones, says that the new champion hopes to visit Australia. The Havana correspondent of the United Press Agency states that Jack Johnson and his wife are on their way to Martinique to take a boat for France. On arrival there it is their intention to start chicken-farming. London, April 0.

Dick Burge, the well-known boxing promoter, has cabled Jess Willard the new world's champion, offering him substantial inducements to meet a heavyweight in England. Vancouver, April 7.

A message from Havana states that the promoters of the contest have announced that the receipts were and the attendance 32,000.