100 years ago in The Record
Thursday, May 17, 1917
Buffalo Bill Cody died earlier this year, but his Wild West show goes on with a new star attraction: heavyweight boxing champion Jess Willard.
The Wild West plays Troy today, and Willard gives an interview to Record sports editor Marty Mack Dee.
Willard is the archetypal “Great White Hope,” having taken the heavyweight crown from the first black champion, Jack Johnson, in 1915. He last defended the crown in March 1916, but was taken the distance by Frank Moran.
“It is true that I have not fought in a year,” Willard tells Dee, “but why should I when there isn’t a man in the world who can measure up to me?”
The champ challenges claims that he’s gotten grossly out of shape since fighting Moran. Trojans attending the Wild West show will see for themselves what shape Willard is in, as he’s scheduled to put on a threeround sparring exhibition.
“To listen to some of these illy advised sports writers you would think I was as fat as the woman in the side show,” Willard protests, “You can see for yourself that I am in fairly good trim. It is true that I am not ready for battle at this moment, but it wouldn’t take me many weeks to be down to fighting form.”
Willard’s manager Tom Jones estimates his current weight between 265 and 269 pounds on a 6” frame. “Willard is a bit softer than when he met Jack Johnson,” Dee observes, “but he is far from being the fat individual some of our writers would have us believe.” “Here! Take a punch at my stomach,” Willard tells our sportswriter, “Does that sound like a pad of fat? No, you’re right – not on your life. It’s all a lie, this weight bugaboo.” The champ also denies reports that he’s been hitting the bottle recently. “I seldom touch anything intoxicating,” he claims, “and really such reports should not be circulated.” Willard and Jones tell Dee that the champ is ready to take on any of the leading contenders, but claim that “public demand is lacking” for any title fight at the moment. The Record has little to say about the Wild West show , but a few days later the Sunday Budget pans it. “The show was the poorest apology for a Wild West which could ever be imagined,” a reviewer writes, while many “perceptibly disappointed” spectators quit before the show is over. Had Buffalo Bill seen it, “the staunch old Indian fighter would turn over in his grave.” Willard’s sparring exhibition costs ticket holders an extra 25 cents.