1915-04-13 Joe Jeannette W-PTS12 Sam Langford [Atlas Athletic Association, Boston, MA, USA]

1915-04-14 The Boston Daily Globe (Boston, MA) (page 7)

SAM LANGFORD WELL WHIPPED
--------
Joe Jeannette Leads in 8 of 12 Rounds.
--------
His Second Victory in 12 Bouts With the Boston Scrapper.
--------
Sheppard Stopped in the Sixth by Larry Burns.
--------

When Joe Jeannette, the colored heavyweight, finished boxing 12 rounds with his old rival, Sam Langford, at the Atlas A. A. last night he was declared the winner by Referee Jack McGuigan of Philadelphia. There was no question about the decision, for Jeannette had the better of eight of the rounds. Langford carried, as usual, his large supply of fat about his body, but it did not seem to inconvenience him to any great extent.

Jeannette has gone back some, but last night he displayed better headwork than he ever showed here before. It was the 12th battle between the pair of colored scrappers and it is the second time that Jeannette has been declared the winner.

In the very first round it looked as if Jeannette was bound to get his usual whaling for Langford hooked over his famous left coming out of a clinch and caught him on the jaw. In the first four rounds Langford counted often with his left on Jeannette's body and face and a number of his short rights caught Joe on the face, jaw and ribs. Jeannette jabbed his left into Langford's face a number of times and shot his right into Sam's face, jaw and stomach.

Jeannette looked, after those rounds were over, as if he was cashed. He acted as if tired and his punches did not appear to have a great deal of steam behind them. Beginning with the fifth, Jeannette began to improve. He bothered Langford considerably by changing his style of attack. He would jab Langford, rush into a clinch and quite often tied Sam up so that he could not land a punch.

There were many times that he was not so successful and Langford hooked the left or right to the stomach or the face and jaw. Several times, Langford got the right over clean to the jaw, but Jeannette seemed to be able to take the blows without showing any effect.

After Jeannette used those methods for a while he changed. After shooting jabs to Langford's face, he would follow with a right and left to the face and jaw and Langford could not get back with many returns. Many times Jeannette, after he landed some jabs and Langford came at him, he drove the right to body or the left to the stomach and face, or uppercut with right on the chin. Several times Jeannette made Langford's head rock with rights and lefts on the jaw or eye and in the ninth session Jeannette came near putting him down with rights and lefts on the jaw.

The blows staggered Sam, whose left eye was the target for Jeannette's lefts and rights, and at the close of the bout the optic was nearly closed. Jeannette got about on his feet better than he ever did here before, and it helped him to get away from many of the vicious hooks that Langford sent for the jaw and body. The decision was a popular one.

In the opening bout Johnny Murphy was declared the winner over Tommy Doris in six rounds. Young Budreau stopped J. Taylor of New York in two rounds in the next bout. In the semi-final Larry Burns of Lawrence stopped Charley Sheppard in six rounds.

The feature bout next week will be between Gunboat Smith and Battling Levinsky.


1915-04-14 The Boston Journal (Boston, MA) (page 9)

JEANNETTE THE WINNER
--------
Gets the Decision Over Sam Langford in Bout at Atlas Opener.
--------
By Jack Malaney.

Sturdy "Old Black Joe" Jeannette won a decision over his also sturdy old fellow colored opponent, Sam Langford, in the main bout of the opening show of the Atlas A. A. last night. "Old Black Joe" received the decision because he outboxed the Tar Baby practically all the way through the contest. Again it was stiff left jabbing that made Langford the second best man in the ring.

There was absolutely no question about the award. It was right, and also popular. In fact, the goodly sized crowd in attendance was with Jeannette, at least, those who were rooting were, and it seemed to please them to see the local "bone crusher" outboxed.

Hard and Fast, But Not Furious

It was a hard and fast heavyweight battle. It wasn't exactly furious, but there was action all the time. Unlike the majority of these bouts, the combatants did not continually clinch and wrestle. Of course, they clinched, but there was punching as long as one arm was free. And then, when they were told to get away, they invariably did so.

Langford didn't seem to be in his usual shape. It is rather an old story to say that he was fat. He wasn't as fat last night as he used to be, because he was fatter. He hooked often and he swung often and hard, but the blows didn't seem to be the old Langford punches. Sam's paunch has grown since his last appearance until now it is a well rounded bread basket. It also looks as if he has accumulated more flesh on the chest.

Each Principal Wears a Kimona

Langford showed up covered by the same old green kimona and the usual retinue of local colored attendants. Jeannette wore a very striking kimona with a thin blue stripe in it. Just to show that he was fussy and particular, Jeannette objected to the gloves which were handed him, and the start was held back about ten minutes until a new set was procured.

They agreed to break clean at the call of the referee and to bar the kidney punch. No sooner had they started than Jeannette began his jabbing. Sam took a few on the nose and then sailed in. During the first two sessions it looked as if Sam was out to win in short order, for he slam-banged into his old opponent in a very business-like way. And about half way through the second round there were many who thought that the contest would not last long, for Joe seemed to wince under the fire.

Succession of Lefts to Sam

Throughout the rest of the bout it was almost a succession of lefts from Jeannette to the left side of Sam's face. It isn't intended to give an idea that Langford remained idle all the time, for he didn't, but he wasn't as busy as his foe was. After Joe would straight-arm, he would repeat the stunt, and many times he repeated it five or six times before Sam retaliated. And then again, Jeannette would cross his right over and it would bring up hard on Sam's jaw.

In the sixth, Joe jabbed until a count was given up. This was about the poorest round Langford had, for he failed to do any punching of note in it. After that, some very fine defensive work was shown by each, and particularly by Langford, who blocked and shunted off many hard blows. Not until the 12th did Sam really try hard again, and in that session he started out fast. But it would have taken a knockout to win for him.

Bloomer in First Prelim

The opening preliminary and the semi-final contests turned into bloomers. Joe Boudreau of Medford and Johnny Taylor of New York were the first pair on, but Boudreau silenced the New Yorker in the second session. The semi-final which was to have gone eight rounds, quietly stopped in the fifth. Lary Burns of Lawrence and Charlie Shepard of New York were the participants and it was a pretty even affair while it lasted. Shepard suddenly got tired in the fifth and went down and out on the mat without being hit.

Tommy Doris of Cambridge and Johnny Murphy of South Boston presented a fast and interesting six-rounder, however, in which Murphy was the winner. The milling was very close until the fourth when Doris was put down for nine counts. He wasn't right after that and Murphy outboxed him.

Maffitt Flaherty was back on the job again as referee, but he only worked in the bouts preceding the main one. Jack McGuigan officiated in his usual satisfactory manner over the main bout. But the men behaved very well so that Jack's task really wasn't a hard one.


1915-04-14 The Evening Times (Pawtucket, RI) (page 4)

JEANNETTE AT LAST SCORED 2ND TRIUMPH
--------
Hoboken Negro Fighter Outpoints Sam Langford in 12-Round Bout.
--------
HUB HEAVY NEAR K. O.
--------

BOSTON, April 14.--After several years of struggling to attain a second victory over Sam Langford, Joe Jeannette, the colored boxer from Hoboken, N. J., had his most ardent desire gratified last night by obtaining the award over his ancient rival in a 12-round bout that marked the opening of the boxing season at the Atlas A. A. The contest was the 12th between the two heavyweights, and like the 11 others, last night's was as good as any they ever had. In many ways it was better, as several were delighted to see Langford made to fight his best and finally come out second in the result.

Few expected that Jeannette would survive the distance after watching Langford start out like a sure winner and earn the lead in the first three rounds. But Jeannette was in superb condition and the longer the contest went the better he fought, while Langford wilted under the fast pace and at the finish of the 12 rounds was a tired and clearly outpointed boxer.

From the fourth round on, when Jeannette started to take the lead, Langford was a target for stiff lefts that hit their mark with plenty of weight behind them. Right-handers to the midriff and several cuffs around the ears brought Langford upon his heels more than once during the remaining eight rounds. But there was never a time when Langford was not trying his best.

Langford made several fine flashes, and at inside short-arm style had much the better of the fighting. Twice during the contest Langford was on the verge of a knockdown. The first time was in the ninth round, when Jeannette reached Sam with a hard right after scoring a left to the face. Langford shook from his head to his heels, but managed to stick on his pins. Again, in the 11th, Jeannette shook Sam with a hard right under the heart.

From the opening bout, between Joe Budreau of Medford and Johnny Taylor of New York, which was won by Budreau in two rounds, the boxing supplied by the principals in each bout was as good as any seen in Boston.

Johnny Murphy of South Boston defeated Tommy Doris of Cambridge in a six-round bout.

Charley Sheppard gave Larry Burns a good fight for six rounds. Then Burns landed a few rights and Sheppard flopped to the floor.

The programme for next week was announced as bringing together in the feature bout Gunboat Smith and Battling Levinsky.