The Fight Took Place in Havana, and the Excitement Reached L.A.

From the L.A. Times of April 6, 1915, describing the excitement in Los Angeles over the Willard-Johnson fight:

“No sporting event since the Jeffries-Johnson fight at Reno July 4, 1910, stirred Los Angeles as did the fight at Havana yesterday.

“All yesterday afternoon the fight was the chief topic of discussion on the streets and in the business houses. Last night the hotels, cafes, cigar stores, theaters and saloons were filled with fight fans talking Jess Willard and singing the praises of the white champion.

“In the cafes, bottle after bottle of wine was opened. Thousands of times glasses were lifted to the health of Jess Willard of Los Angeles, the new heavyweight champion, by men and women.

“Waiters talked to the guests about Willard. Bellboys, elevator boys and porters told what they knew of the champion to hotel guests. Street-car conductors, taxicab drivers, soda-water clerks and street-car men indulged in intimate conversation with their customers on the subject of Willard.”