Wichita eagle., 1889-07-03
ghe auhia 1au Eagle: aeduesday gouina gully B. 1893

A
| man works bis arms back and forward with
| piston like motion as he endeavors to find an
| opening tn his opponents guard which viii
| enable him to strike blow. Sometimes this
"fiddling," as it is technically called, is kept
| I'D for several minutes, the men cfcling
around each other like panthers eager to
make spring.
Suddenly they come together like pair OF
game cocks and with lightning like rapidity
each showers blows on the other. If the
! Frally" is sharp one the ''thump," "thump.''
@thuplp" of their clenched fists can be heard
for fifty feet. Sometimes the men tempo
rarly separate or ''break away" after
| sharp exchange Of blows of this kind, and
! sometimes they clinch and struggle for fall.
In either event the spectators soon have an
opportunity to take stock Of the injury done
| by each Sometimes man will come OUT OF
| a rally with bleeding nose, pulled eye, or
a Lump on his face or ribs as big as goose
egg, and then the partisans of the other man
cheer with delight.
Should either man be knocked down or
thrown to the ground, or should both fall in
a struggle, the round is at an end. The sec
onds rush to their men, get them to their
corners as speedily as possible, and there
sponge them of, stanch the flow of blood,
should any be flowing, and in every way In
their power that is possible in thirty sec
ords repair all damages inflicted by their
principals opponant and reinvigorate their
man. At the end Of thirty seconds "time"
is called again and another round begins,
and the fight continues until one or the other
is either stretched senseless on the sward OF
is beaten SO badly that even his hacker and
seconds take pity on him and give up the
fight in his behalf. In rare cases the men
fight SO evenly that at the end it is found
that neither can defeat the other. Oddly
enough this was the cass with both Sullivan
and kilrain in their last battles. Kilrain
fought over three hours with Jem Smith,
the champion of England, and Sullivan
fought fully as long with Charley Mitchell.
In both cases, by mutual consent, the results
were drawn battles.
PRIZE FIGHTERS ARE TOUGH.
Though prize fighters pound and hammer
each other terribly it is but seldom that
man Is killed in the ring This is due, first,
to the fact that pugilists are commonly
young, strong men, in the very zenith Of
health, hence they are able to recover
speedily from punishment which, if inflicted
on ordinary men, would entail serious and last
ing effects. Then those who back fighters
have no desire to be apprehended by the law
as aiders and abettors Of manslaughter and
they usually stop fight before it becomes
dangerous to life.
The fight between Sullivan and Kilrain Is
not likely to be long one. AS rule fights
between big men rarely last over an hour.
In the present case neither man. through in
sufficient training, is likely to be In condition
to stand protracted struggle, especially as
they are to fight within 200 miles of New
Orleans in the very midst of a southern sum-
mer, with all that that implies. When Sui
Ivan won the championship from Paddy
Ryan at Mississippi City the thermometer
indicated 90 degrees in the shade, though the
date was the 9th Of February. The torridity
which will prevail within 200 miles of New
Orleans ON the Sth of July is likely to ener-
vato both men and to induce them to reach
conclusion as speedily as possible The great
amount Of the stakes-the largest ever fought
for-will be forgotten in the heat Of battle,
and, after all, a man can only do his best, no
matter what the prize for victory may be.
JOHN JOSEPH KILLIoN.
Jake Kilrain's real name is John Joseph
Killion. He was born in the United States,
of Irish parentage, about thirty-dve years
ago, though his friends claim that he is not
over thirty. He began his sporting career as
an amateur oarsmau on the waters around
Boston, and gained considerable celebrity
as very clever sculler. His first fstic en-
counter Of note was with George Godfrey,
celebrated colored boxer who recently met
with defeat in San Francisco at the hands of
that other colored athlete, the Australian,
Peter jackson. Kilrain defeated Godfrey,
and bis next opponent was old Jim Goode, a
famous English boyer, who made a draw
with him Many thought that he had the
best of Charley Mitchell when they boxed in
Boston, but Mitchell's friends say that he had
u sprained ankle at the time This was also
a draw. Jake fought draw with Mike
Cleary, in New York, and the police stopped
an encounter he had with Jack Burke
subsequently he defeated William Sheriff,
an English fighter, who Is called 1.-The Prus-
sian," on account of his German appearance.
He beat Frank Herald near Baltimore in one
round and then defeated Denny Kellegher.
Then came his famous struggle with Jack
Ashton at Ridgewood park, on the outskirts
of Brooklyn. Though he was awarded the
victory by the referee many OF the spectators
believe that the decision should have been q
draw" He defeated Joe Lannon after a
very hard fight. In addition to these encoun-
tiers he has had q number of others with lesser
lights of the ring, while meeting ''all corners"
In sparring tours. He once met Sullivan in
four round contest and the friends of the lat
ter and also the referee OF the occasion say
that he was defeated by John L., but this |
Kilrain strenuously denies, saying that the |
bout was merely an exhibition one.
Be this as it may, certain it is that Kilrain |
never held himself in Sullivan's class until |
after Sullivan had broken his arm on Patsy |
Cardiff's hard head and had while crippled |
bantered him and badgered him beyond en-
DURANGO Then the worm turned, and find |
ing responsible backing he accepted Kilrain's |
challenge. The big fellow was unable at |
the time 10 make it good, and then Kilrain
went TO England, where he was matched to
fight its champion, jim Smith. They met |
in France, and there is no doubt that Kilrain
had the best of that encounter. The men
fought until it was dark, and then by solicit
tation kilrain consented to draw.
As pugilist Kilrain has matured slowly
but surely. AT the outstart of his career he
was thought to lack that element Of savagery
which made Sullivan so terrible to his oppo-
nents He has improved with age, however,
until now there is no doubt of his ability TO
cope, with reasonable hope Of success, with
any pugilist living. klrain is a married
man with wife and one child and resides in
Baltimore, where lie is as greatly respected
Is any man Of his calling can be. He is the
most popular American pugilist Of any who
ever visited England, and many Of Sullivan's
friends claim that he is more English in his
way than the cockneys themselves Should
le win this fight i; is not irnprrobabie that he