"Iloilo typhoon" to meet Cavite Port sides

Title

Language

English

Source

The Sports Review Volume I (Issue No. 2) April 18, 1931

Year

1931

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Fulltext

Page 20 The SPORTS REVIEW "lloilo Typhoon''' To Meet Cavite Port Sider champion, a fighter of the fiFst degree. C 1 ea n in g up all opposition in the Philippines, three or four years ago, he decided to try his luC'k against the best inen of his weight in the world. Fi.'.. ghting under the banner of Frank Churchill, famed promoter, he confirmed all the nice things that were said ahout him. In no time, he fought lhe best, one by one, and within the first vear of his stay in the United.Stales, ,, he was unanimously picked as being among the best ten fea lherweigh ts in the world. And just as he was knocking 8l the door of a world's championship, he slipped. A believer in the old pagan maxim of "Drink and be merry for tomorrow we will 'die'" he fell a victim to the fast life he led in Chicago. He ha~I to hang up the gloves. ny Hill we saw several yea1'S ago, confident, full of life, a truly colorful fighter? the fan shakes his head and says: "Impossible. The Hill of yesterday is dead. He fought his grrat fig h ts 1 on g ago. We will merely see his shadow." Kid Johnson is the boy whom cruel fate placed in the lap of men who know not what Bcixing is, and today, stj]] a very young man, he nurses a cracked jaw, and energies burn eel out prematurely. When Hill and Fernandez left for the United States looking for bigger worlds to conquer, Johnson stepped on the pedestal of popularity and for two years was a monarch of all he surveyed. Johnson never had the privilege of learning the fine points of the game under capable instructors. He fought his way to the top through sheer '{'';, Will we see the same John1 ,.--\ ~- ~::!.,-1-., .. ~!t '.,. • .. -.-.~-/;JiJ/1;1 Kid .Tulmson Two shadO\\'S of Lhcir former selvrs, two memories of ~1 glorious past. meet at the Sladinm this monltf. The iaw l ha l Young Fernandez cracked one evenlful nighl will face the iron knuc k !es of one .Johnny 1-I ill, a great hat l ler who once dreamecl of a world's championship; the lrntlered body of one who sacrificed Fortune ~rnd Fame that he might have Wine, Women, and Song, will fare Lhe sledge hammer blows of one Kid .Johnson, lhc favorite bov of l\fanila's Fisliana. Bnl J\lanila's fans <"are nol if tl1eir jaws are crystal, if their energies fail to respond to their fighting instinct, for they know that Lheir hearts are made of steel. Two great fighters are Lo meet, two great little men who know not Fear. And because the world loves a fighter, it loves Johnny Ilill and Kid Johnson. Johnny Jlill's example stands as the most pitiful one of a figh ler foxy, cleyer, and endowed wilh one of the grealest fighting he:ouls it has Leen our privilege lo see, he possessed all lhe great qualiA· BIG FIGHT IN THE OFFING Johnny 'Kid HILL • JOHNSON 1:30 LBS. The Greatest K.O. ARTISTS of the Local Ring WATCH FOR Ignacio Young Fernandez to Fight soon at the OLYMPIC STADIUM lilies lhal make up a world's L-----------------------~ Johnny Hill natural ability, a terrific punch and a great fighting heart. Then his jaw cracked. After a disastrous invasion of Autralia, where after making a r}ean sweep of the featherwe1gh t division, incompet~nt handlers urged him match ~Is skill with men outweighlmg him by as much as 15 pounds, he came back to the Islands completely burned out. He had shot his bolt. The Sports Review picks Johnson to beat Hill. In their prime, Hill would have slaughtered the Kid. By no stretch of the imagination can we place, side by side, their respective abilities. Hill was a truly great fighter who could aspire to a world's championship: Johnson, a great crowd pleaser, would never ·have been allowed to step in the same ring together with the men Hill fought and defeated. Today, however, Johnson is in a much better physical condition than his adversary. Only . a · year ago, Hill could not move one · of his arms. He was· suffering from a partial paralysis. However, whichever way the bout ends-and it's bound to be a great fight, here's a toast to the two game fighters, the bravest of the brave.

Media