Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-04-01
A BRACE OF BANTAMs.
Featherweights Fight, But
Not to a Finish.
ZONE AFRAID, ToTHER DAREN'T''
Eighty Rounds Fought and the Gate
Money Divided Between
the Pugs.
Associated Press Dispatches to the HERAID.l

Weir, otherwise known as the Belfast
Spider, and Frank Murphy. of England,
for the championship of the world, took
place at Koutts, Indiana, this morning,
but resulted, as SO many fights have
done recently, in most unsatisfactory
manner, the referee, after the eightieth
round, being obliged to declare the fight
off for the day, and announced that it
would have to be finished some time be-
fore Tuesday. It is extremely doubtful,
however, if the men will come together
again-certainly not within that time
and another draw will probably have to
go on record. The fight was most Pc
culiar one. For eighteen rounds it was
as scientific and hardly fought battle as
has ever been seen, but the other
sixty-two rounds, save the sixty-seventh
and sixty-eighth, amounted to nothing.
In not more than ten of them was blow
struck, and most of the time the men did
not even put their hands up. The ex-
PLANTATION for this lies in the fact that,
after ten or twelve rounds, the Spiders
hands went back ON him, and he could
do nothing with them. Murphy, who
proved himself to be most pluckv,
but most wretched general, failed to
get any advantage out of the predi' a.
ment of Weir, who kept dancing just
out of his reach. Another thing was
that Murphy was not in the best
of condition, as shown by the
great welts left from each blow
The Spider proved himself much the
cleverer of the two, and the way in
which he sailed at Murphy during the
first few rounds, smashing him first on
one eye and then on the other, then on
the nose, and twice knocking him down
with sounding crack on the neck, con-
vinced many that he could have won the
fight had his hands held out. There
were others, however, who were loud in
their assertions that Murphy showed
himself the better man of the two. He
certainly proved himself one of the
gamest men that ever entered ring, |
and with his two eyes almost closed, |
and in spite of having been sent to grass |
twice, he rushed his long-limbed antag-
onist all over the ring. This was in the |
early part Of the fight, no owever. During
the rest of it neither seemed inclined to
do much of anything, and the two men
alternately chaffed each other, the spec
tators occasionally varying the monotony
of the proceedings by taking a hand in
the talking-match and urging the fighters
to give them their moneys worth.
After round after round had been
fought without blow, Weir made q
splendid rally. The 9th and 6Sth were
as lively as the most blood thirsty could
desire and Weir had almost had Murphy
knocked out. The squirt was a short |
one, however, and the old tactics were
again resumed under the instructions of |
their hackers. When the spectators saw
nothing could be expected they soon
tired of the show and the postponement |
was really made at their demand. Weir's
hacker acted very square, and before the !
rally repeatedly urged the Spider to 90 |
in and fight, even if he got licked. Par
son Davies management Of the affair was
excellent, and bis arrangements were all |
carried out we'll. After the fight Weir |
showed but little punishment, though he |
said his ribs were frightfully sore and he
thought his jaw was broken. Murphy |
was badly bunged up. His eyes were |
almost closed, and on his ribs was a |
huge lump.
During the morning there were one or |
two encounters between sports and the |
natives of Koutts that served to enliven |
the proceedings. Near the end of the
fight the owner of the hall declared be
had not rented the premises for week,
and unless the fight was finished pretty |
soon he would have it stopped.
Fuller details OF the fight, by rounds,
are as follows:
The first rounds as above indicated
were rattling good ones, the Spider pun
ishing his man very badly.
Tn the Rixtaauth and snvantanuth
rounds not blow was struck. In the
eighteenth round both men spared very
cautiously for an opening. Weir finally
led but fell short. Murphy did the same
thing, and as the round closed Weir got
in good one on Murphy's ribs. In the
nineteenth round Murphy's eyes seemed
almost shut, but he made a vicious
effort. The round closed without any
damage to either. In the twentieth
round Weir led. In the twenty-frst
another clinch for the opening
as the result of Murphy's lead. Weir
got in good one on the ribs, but at the
end of the round the Spider seemed out
of wind and little sick at the stomach.
In the twenty-second round Murphy
opened with rush and got in good
crack on the Spiders ribs, which we're
by this time considerably cut up. Weir
tried vicious upper cut, but fell short,
and as the round closed Murphy gave
him another good smash on the ribs. In
the twenty-third round not blow was
struck. In the twenty-fourth round
Murphy cornered Weir against the
ropes end got in another crack
on the Spiders ribs. This was the only
blow of the round. In the twenty. fifth
round Weir led and the men clinched.
After they broke away, Murphy, with
rush, knocked his antagonist against the
ropes. The twenty-sixth was walk
around. The men stood with their hands
down during the twenty.seventh, twenty
eighth, twenty ninth, thirtieth, thirty
first and thirty-second rounds, not blow
being struck. In the thirty-third Murphy
made little rush, but no result followed.
The Spider seemed to have recovered his
wind and spirits and resumed the dancing
tactics practiced early in the fight, but
kept we'll away from Murphy. The next
thirteen rounds were without result.
The Spiders hands looked badly, and
there was great, big swelling in his
right elbow.
Shortly after this a queer looking speci-
men worked his way through the crowd,
and cried, "This fight is stoppedv' Be-
fore he had time to say anything more he
received crack behind the ear that sent
him over the chairs, and, with the aid
of several more vicious blows, he reached
II s,.to- o;- II, a varv dazad condition.