I see America’s boxing monopoly broken now that the sport has taken a firm hold in far-off countries hitherto unseen on the fistic map. South America, Central America, Europe and Asia will crown world champions. Whatever the caliber of present and future talent as compared with olden times, the pulse-stirring excitement will still be there. The humor, pathos and glamour of the ring will never cease. Were I to live my life over again, there is nothing I would cherish more than to be a part of the boxing scene and play the role that has been mine during the past half century. [Illustration: Stanley Ketchel, the famed “Michigan Assassin,” was the most exciting fighter I have ever seen. I rate him the greatest middleweight of all time and often wonder what other ring glories might have been his, had he not been shot and killed by Walter Dipley at the age of 24.] [Illustration: Here Ketchel (left) poses with Billy Papke prior to their second 1908 title fight in San Francisco. Stanley regained the championship with an eleventh round knockout.] [Illustration: Though not a popular champion, Jack Johnson ranks as the best all-around fighter of modern times in my book. The demand for his dethronement brought aging Jim Jeffries out of retirement. Tex Rickard promoted the bout in Reno, July 4, 1910 and refereed it. Sentiment rode with the balding Jeffries (shown above sparring for an opening in an early round), but age soon told as the cat-like Johnson battered him into submission. The end came in the fifteenth round (below) as Sam Berger threw in the sponge and referee Rickard pushed Jack off the fallen ex-champ.] [Illustration] [Illustration: Johnson’s unpopular reign as champion continued until high living and Jess Willard caught up with him in Havana, June 10, 1914 (above). Willard’s great size and strength proved decisive as the bout wore on and Jack was finally counted out in the twenty-sixth round. He claimed afterwards to have taken a dive. In the picture below it appears that Johnson is shading his eyes from the sun. However, such a gesture is not uncommon for a beaten fighter (see photo of Billy Conn on another page), and since I was present at the Havana fight, I cannot agree with Johnson’s version.] [Illustration] [Illustration: Tex Rickard’s rise to greatness coincided with the appearance of hobo camp brawler Jack Dempsey on the heavyweight scene. Paired together by destiny, the rough, pug-nosed battler from Manassa, Colorado, and the imaginative promoter personified Boxing’s Golden Age.]