Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-07-16
HEENAN VS.. SULLIVAN.
An Old Sports Estimate Of the Men
Pugilists Of the Olden Time.
From the Cincinnati Gazette.

| From the Cincinnati Gazette
! The Sullivan-Kirain fight continues the sb
sorbing topic in sporting circles. and divers ar,
the opinions expressed upon the outcome
while comparisons with former fstic encounter,
are freely discussed. A representative of tn.
Commercial Gazette few days ago happened Il
be one Of Q party who were discussing the
affair, all the others being old sporting mer
who had witnessed q number Of battles in the
ring. Among them was Fred Hunt Who fol-
many years, held the position Of sporting editor
on the cid Commercial when II was under the
| regime of the late NJ. d. Potter, and who has
probably been an eye witness to and reported
| as many prize fights as any man connected
with the American press.
Mr.. Hunt, while engaged upon the CONNER
ctot. was dispatched to Canada to report the
fight between Keenan, and Morrissey. and upon
being asked how the former would compare
with Sullivan, he was pretty freely outspoken
In bis estimate Of the men.
when Heenan fought Morrissey," said he,
he was a. much out of condition as man
could well be. He was diseased and should
never have been permitted to enter the ring;
but Notwithstanding, had the rules under which
they fought been observed, Keenan, had Nor
rissey whipped in the third round. As you
know, the battle was fought upon a desert
sandy island of Lake Erie, and the men were
conveyed upon stretchers two miles to the only
ground solid enough to construct ring which
was at the base of the light house. while the
witnesses, or spectators rather, had to tramp
nearly knee deep through sand. There we're
about 400 excursionists, of whom 1000 at
least were Morrissey men, those who favored
Heenan being mostly from the west and south
Only few newspaper representatives were
present and with the exception of myself there
was not one west Of Buffalo.
1.-The contrast in the condition Of the men
when stripped was apparent, for Morrissey was
In perfect form, while Heenan, although taller
and heavier, had fiabby and sickly appear
ance. The first round, however, was a revela-
ton OF the superior fighting qualities of
Heenan. Morrissey led off with vicious
highlander, which was neatly stopped and
there was more cautious sparring. He tried it
again with the same result. when Heenan let
ny with his right with such effect that in q
moment Morrissey's face resembled a chunk Of
raw beef, and following it up with one or two
more blows, they clinched and fell, Morrissey
under. The odds. which had been two to one
in favor of Morrissey, veered around with
Heenan for choice, who in the second round
sent Morrissey to grass with fair knock-down
blow. In the third round, when aiming a
vicious blow, meant to take effect under Nor
rlssey's left ear, and which would have settled
the night, he struck a stake and fractured two
OF mis- knuckles. There was another clinch, and
Morrlssey was again thrown.
AT this point in accordance with the London
rules under which they fought, Heenan's Sec
onds should have claimed the fight for Norris
sey was SO far gone that at the call of time his
seconds supported or rather carried him to the
scratch, whereas the rules expressly state that
ne must be placed upon his feet and walk there
unassisted, but the men who handled Keenan,
Aaron Jones was one-lacked sand, and in face
OF the overwhelming Morrissey majority were
afraid. From that time the contrast in the con-
di.ion OF the men was apparent. Heenan had
outfought his strength and wilted. while Nor
rlssey recuperated i'll every succeeding round.
and you all know the result.
when certain writer's insist that the Sulli-
van-kllrsin fight was the greatest pugilistic en-
counter that has ever taken place in this coun-
try" continued Mr.. Hunt, they 20 in for
quantity minus quality. Had the referee de-
clded In accordance with the rules the fight
would not have lasted twenty minutes for Jake
continually fell without blow, and, as alleged.
struck palpably below the belt He must have
been in fairly good condition or he would not
have lasted two hours, but from the early start
1t was clear that he had no chance. How, then,
can 1t be called a great fight? 1t was long
drawn-out fight, like the handle of a lug ali on
one side, and for great fight 1t is requisite
that the men must be evenly matched. There
have been greater and more acknowledgements
nights from the early day of Awful Gardiner
to say nothing of Tom Hyer, Yankee Sullivan
and many others. Great things were expected
OF kllrain from the record he made with Jem
Smith, the English champion, but he has
turned out a dismal failure; and now, in reply
to the question respecting the relative merits
OF John L. Sullivan and John c. Heenan, l
consider the latter the best and pluckiest
tighter that ever figured in the American prize
ring, who, after his fight with Savers, was
fairly entitled to the claim OF champion of the
world"