Los Angeles herald., 1891-02-21
FOUGHT TO A DRAW.
HAPPY JOE" AND YOUNG JOHN
LIN THE PRIZE RING.
AWeu-Fought Contest Before the Spanish
American Athletic Club-Much Nerve
and Little Science.

A waiter and bootblack fought
twenty-four hot but bloodless rounds in
the rooms of the Spanish-American Ath-
letic club on Buena Vista street, last
night, to prove which was the better
man, without reaching any decision on
the matter however. The waiter sails
under the name OF "John l.. Sullivan,
Jr." and the bootblack, a gentleman of
color, is known as "Happy Joe.r
After preliminary set-to the main
fight of the evening was called, and the
men were introduced to the seventy-five
sports who had assembled in the dingy
hall by Referee Soto. The gloves were
announced as weighing six ounces, and
looked as harmless as pillows.
The first round of the fight opened
viciously, Sullivan swinging his arms
about like windmill and with about as
much science. Joe showed himself to
be clever dodger and gave the white
man right and left double on the face.
In the second round John l.. made a
dive at Joe and both men fell down.
Sullivan continued to wave his arms
about and swing savagely at his oppon-
ent, but the latter's quick dodge re-
lieved him OF the force OF every blow he
received.
In the third and fourth rounds Joe
seemed to get the worst of the fighting,
but in the fifth he succeeded in landing
two good ones on the Irish boys face.
In the sixth round Sullivan threw HIM
self under the ropes twice by awkward
swings. The seventh round was hot
one. The black man received right and
left swings twice in succession ON the
jaw, and Sullivan was staggered by a
nasty blow on the side of the face.
The ninth round ended with honors
about even. The tenth round was SLOW
and in the eleventh the white man
stopped Joe's left with his mouth and
got another hot drive in the face. In
the twelfth the fighting was warm, and
Happy" received bad left-handed
swing on the jaw. In the thirteenth
Sullivan seemed to have it all his own
way, and one of his hackers was so en-
couraged that he called out, Ten dol
lars on the Irish boy" The referee
quickly suppressed him, however.
IL the fifteenth John L. stopped a
blow in the face and another in the
mouth. The sixteenth was slow, and
III the seventeenth the colored man
landed several good blows and seemed
to be freshening up. In the eighteenth,
however, he took the worst blow of the
fight from Sullivap's left, on the jaw,
which was followed by left uppercut
and right and left swings, all landing.
In the nineteenth round Sullivan got
the black mans left in the face, straight
from the shoulder, and infighting and
clinch followed. In the Twentieth Sui
livan got left-hander on the jaw and
retaliated by volley of blows on the
black mans face. This was Joe's round
In the 21st ''Happy" commenced to
rush the fighting and gave Sullivan a
good one with his right on the side of
the face.
In the twenty-second Joe got right
handler OH the ear. Sullivan showed
signs of distress when the round closed.
At the beginning of the twenty-third
round Sullivan got right-hander on
the side of the face and fell down. Hot
work followed, and the black man took
Sullivan's right and left ON the jaw.
Sullivan was paid in kind and went to
his knees, arising only to take an upper
cut on the jaw
The twenty-iourth and last round
lasted about five minutes, and was the
hottest of the fight. Both men fought
recklessly, and stood up to the scratch.
Sullivan took stiff blow in the jaw and
went to the floor, claiming, however,
that he stumbled. After stiff rally
time was called and the decision OF the
referee announced, to the effect that the
fight was draw, the contestants divid-
ing purse OF $50 between them.
Sullivan gave evidence in the mill that
with training he would make a good
fighter, but he was utterly without sci
ence. "Happy Joe" stood good deal
of punishment, and was as fresh at the
wind-up as at the start.