New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1860-05-11
Aebo 0rIealrs 4aiIp Grtsssnt.
The Fight for sI,e champlonshlp.

eJjS%V O%+*sSts~ s4S5 C. $3.50 80
The Fight for the Championship.
AZ ----~---s-~--~---
M From tbe Iondss Saturday Review, April III
I've cannot but lament that the great fight has
not been fought ont Whether the appearance OF
the police was the real or pretended cause OF the
interruption we equally regret that the battle was
not continued until one or the other of the cham
pions became the undisputed sonqnerer His per-
fecy easy, this side Of the Atlantic. TO rest sat
isfied with the accounts which we choose to give
and to accept or the affair. But we apprehend
that in America it win be stated, and believed,
that Heenan, i allowed fair play. could have won
in order to avoid the loss of British honor and
British money involved in the defeat of Saycrs.
Surprising the merits Of the transaction to be
not to expect that they viii loudly and steadily re-
peat that version of it which Is most agreeable to
their own feelings. And on this aide Of the water
we shall not be wanting in consideration for the
sensitWeness Of British vanity. We fear that the
occurrences Of last Tuesday will be the beginning
of long controversy, which ii not likely to be set
at rest except by further meeting between the
combatants-s step which, however, we must not
be understood to advocate.
It is always diffcult, even for those who enjoy
the best opportunities for observation and turn
thern TO the best account, to describe exactly what
happened at moment of violent excitement and
confusion amid crowd ii men. We could men
ton celebrated battles to which nobody agreed
in fixing either when they began OF when they!
ended; and therefore II need not create surprise
that different versions have gained currency Of the
circumstances under which this fight was pYerna-
trrreIY stopped. But we are not without our aus-
picions that the ring would have been better kept
il the English champion had been fighting mani
testify winning battle. II was said over and over
again, when doubts were limited, that whatever
happened, the American should have fair play. It
is deeply to be regretted if he has not had such
full and undeniabe measure Of justice dealt to him
as would have placed the English national char.
acter in this respect as high in the estimation Of
other countries as iii our own II Is often alleged.
and we believe with truth, that one advantage Of
ducted is that they tend to cherish habit 81 self
restraint and love Of justice, which usually make
men forbearing and generous, even in their angry
moments; and if they, in their passion, infringe
the welknown rules Of istic law insure the inter
ference Of the spectators to redress any undue ad
vantage
| But if motives are to be allowed to operate,
| such as those which we fear did, to some extent
sion we have been used to make--to be, in this re-
spect, an example to the world. We would desire
all those who were near the ring during the light
4 between Sayers and Heenan to ask themselves
whether they would have acted precisely as they
/ did if they had regarded Sayers throughout as q
certain eonquercra We shall not attempt to an
swer this question for them, and we will only add
e i the repeated expression q our regret that
pectation that roguery and rufianism will in time
i to come, be banished from the prize ring.
i But we further have TO remark, that il Heenan
and his friends complain that the battle WAS left
Undecided, the American champion has chiefly
himself to blame for the disappointment which he
may think he has sustained. II is certain that he
was holding Sayers that he would have atFangled
him in another minute and the ropes enclosing ths
| ring were cut or loosened by some one near q
hand, in order to deliver Sayerg from what appear
4 ed to be the peril Of immediate death. When Thu
4 ropes were once lowered of course the ring wa
broken and it is difficult to pronounce whether al
L hp
i vitable.
Considering the pressure from without, both from
excitement and from the efforts Of the police, i
was natural to expect that as soon as the barrier
of the ropes and stakes had fallen, the small space
allotted to tie combatants would be inundated BY
intruders who could not, If they would have KEEP
Il outside. 1t seems to us that Heenan's conduct
furnished pretext which Savers friends might
If they chose, lay hold Of to break of the battle
. we do not say they did, but it Is probable thai
, Heenan's friends and countrymen will say. so
and it will not be easy to establish in Opposition
to their assertions that the whole of the confusion
which followed the lowering Of the ropes was ac
cidentaI and undersigned. But we must repea
Il that for this unsatisfactory conclusion Heenan ma
himself to blame. We believe that hts treatmen
| of Savers at the moment when the ropes wer
loosened was lawful according to the rules ri IN
prize ring. Savers was not down, and could nc
. get down, because the rope held him up--and 2
9 most any kind Of injury may be inflicted as long
the sufferer remains, by natural or artificial mean
n upon his legs. We say almost any kind Of in3ur,
y meaning any that would suggest itself to q con
Blatant trained in the English school OF prize igh
E, ers. Such eombatant would know, and hoWeyt
Il excited would probably remember, that il \
strangIed his opponent, his own life or libert
would be abridged as the penalty Of his violence
But Heenan appears to have forgotten this. ~
life of Savers was in imminent danger, and 1t b.
/ came absolutely necessary to Interfere.
). If the conduct of the bystanders was not with
the letter of the laws of the prize ring, it wa
Z most unquestionably within their spirit. One pril
cipal object of those laws is that fights with IFS
e between healthy and well trained men may Ga
$ forth courage and constancy, without any serior
risk to life. If American pugsts appear in u
u English ring, they must be content to night undt
at such restrictions own estimate OF the yalt
@s of human lives and limbs imposes. Suppose son
9 compatriot of Heenan were to introduce cough
in order to hasten the end OF an exhausting hattl
We believe that gonging as well as stranging
within the written law ,but the combatant who pra
l. ticed it would soon be taught that he would not
@ permitted to Amereanize British institution.
9f seems then to have been Legitimate interposih'
which delivered Sayers from the deadly grip
>, not inevitable, cannot be known.
$. Passing now to the general merits of the battl
IN we may say at that the majority OF the spe
sz tators beheld sight very different from that
which they bargained y was not to see the chal
five and twenty times that SO many hundred En
lishmen travelled down to marlborough. But
= they did not witness exactly what most Of the
is expected, tney saw even q ui1tI bISut. aNeyoL
the annals of pugilism were skill, GOODNESS jud
q ment, variety Of resource, pluck and bottom d
i e played in such wonderful degree as by Sayers
dc this splendid battle. Wherever manly courage a.
tie manly sentiments prevail his name will be held
es honor Taking the result it now stands, or ev
to supposng a further trial to end in the defeat
Savers we would still say that for spirit, seien
~ and endurance his character is unsurpass
throughout the world He was pitted against
man who was his equal in resolution and not We
far inferior in skill, while in hight, weight q
length of reach he possessed vast SUPERIOR
S. Keenan, before this fight, was comparatively
=. untried man, and itcould not be known beforeha
art whether as is often found in the noblest spe
to mems of humanity. he had not weak point SON
pc pc where. There was also the consideration that
on came to us from a land where nobody's gifts
merits are at all likely to be understood.
1 ip But the truth now appears to be that Heenan
eel five inches taller, and two or three stone heavi
eet and eight years younger. than sayers, while
length of arm is extraordinary, even for so tai
man. He has great natural advantages, and he
quite capable Of turning them to the best aecou
p We all know that in general big boy can thra
,u- a small one. There may be exceptional cases
s. cowardce or awkwardness, or weakness, but
. a rule is that hight and weight carry the day.
'de most every sort of artificial weapon tends more
e less to eqnalize of different degrees of statu
III but in using the weapons which nature gave
de- advantage usually rests where instinct teaches
A To look for it. Now the battle between Heen
III, HI and Savers may very fairly be described as
IA tie between big and little boy. II was thout