The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-03-22

action OF Murphy on the stage betrayed the
experienced and gritty though not great
was manifest TO the experienced and I'M
prejudiced observer from the middle Of the
I first round. The fighting in this and, in
/ fact, all Of the rounds was terrific, to put it
mildly. 1t could only have had one tsrmlna-
ton If a fatal blow or series OF blows
had not been struck, and that would be the
retirement Of one Of the fighters on account
Of exhaustion. There has boon o great deal
/ OF talk made about the blow alleged TO have
| produced the fatal result. Il is supposed
that the final blow landed by Murphy in the
fifth round was the one that caused death.
IL there were any way Of proving when the
/ fatal blow, or blows, were delivered IL
would be found that il happened not later
than the third round. The much
talked-of blow in the fifth round ives
swinging right handler, and IL struck
Willink straight on the mouth. In itself it
amounted to nothing. 1t was a compare
lively funny ana spasmodic effort Of a man
who was thoroughly tired out after a hard
days work tanning cotton and fifteen
minutes Of the hardest kind of fighting.
Much talk has been made about this particu-
lar matter, and the accounts Of eye-wit-
nesses diverge greatly. The MORNING
NEWS reporter took particular pains to
learn from Murphy himself at the conclu-
sion Of the 6ght just how the much-dis-
cussed blow was given, and where it lodged.
He ought to know, and is corroboratiye
authority Of the description given above
TIE FINAL ROUND.
II was injudicious to have allowed the
fight to go on after the fourth, If not the
third round. It could easily be seen that
Willink was defeated. and motives of pity
should have induced his removal.
In the third round Willink struck Murphy
heavy blow. and the latter momentarily
faltered, whether involuntarily or on pur-
pose Is only a matter of conjecture.
Willink must have been, and his friends
were, undoubtedly, deceived as to Murphy's
staying powers by this exhibition Of real
or simulated weakness and they were eager
for the beginning OF the fourth round.
When time was called Murphy was the
stronger of the two men, but was far from
being fresh. The exertions Of the three
previous rounds were not alone the cause of
this condition. His hard days work on the
cotton wharves explains it. At this juncture
the spectators were wild with excitement
Murphy had vieiferous though loyal friends
from the "Old Fort' In the galleries, and,
urged on by their friendly though noisy
demonstrations, went in determined to win.
On the other hand, Willink had an incentive
to do his utmost in the presence OF large
body Of friends in the body Of the house
and on the stage. The stimulating influence
! OF their intense expressions OF approval,
the keen excitement OF the occasion and
| the prestige that would be hts il he sue
| ceeded in conquering q man OF Murphy o
caliber and toughness, all combined in
working the young man up to the highest
notch OF discrimination, and stimulated his
| nervous force far beyond its normal condi-
ton. Murphy appeared to be a man of
| tough fiber, and years Of hard toll have
Injured him to fatigue and made him physi-
cally able to withstand great punishment.
BEATEN IN THE FORTH ROUND.
Under the exciting conditions that pre-
vailed on the stage, in the ofches-
ira and parquet, and that agi-
tated the distant occupants of the
galleries, the fighting was continued with
the same fierceness of the previous rounds.
At the finish Murphy proved himself be-
youd a doubt the better man, but the judges
thought otherwise. and another, and what
proved to be tragic one, was ordered.
There was much buzzing and subdued ex-
| element among the onlookers. Murphy's
| adherents were Jealous of his interests, while
Willink's admirers we're earnest and eager
In their attention. The feeling in the air
was for fight to finish; no draw. The
| fateful round was ordered and the
| judges rightfully interpreting it, sue
|
/ of five minutes came together and
| fought with their usual ardor for nearly
three minutes before Willink fell. 1t was
his fifth or six fall during the evening,
and il was safe to say that he
| was suffering from the effects of those
| falls, and the tremendous punching he re-
| ceived on the jugular veins must have, by
| that time, reduced him to semi-stupefied
condition. Murphy saw his opportunity to
win, embraced 1t and, standing in glada-
torial attitude, awaited ten seconds for his
postrated antagonist to rise, which he
never did.
There is no use in attempting to deny the
fact that the fight was in earnest from the
| beginning. Both men were sanguine Of
success and fought for knockout from the
very first. This was the kind of amuse-
ment the audience was hankering for, and
Its qualification was expressed by the most
marked demonstration of approval, voually
and otherwise. Some of the tame and un-
interesting exhibitions put up by the pre-
| vious contestants were received wholly IN
silence, except an occasional generous out
| burst Of applause, and sometimes an iron
ical cheer. The preliminary work of MUIR
| ply and Willink aroused them from their
| apathy.
The management claimed to have had nc
| previous knowledge that the heavy weight
1 contest was going to be Of such a san.
was the excitement that one of the Judges
repeatedly came down to the ropes stretched
| across the front of the stage and implorec
| the audience to restrain their ardor and
cease their expression of disapproval and
| vehement remarks Of appreciation. These
| appeals had but a momentary effect, how
i ever.