The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1891-07-25
WOULD-BE PUGILISTS.
Conceited Men Who Think They
Are Born Fighters.
An Old Teacher of the Manly Art Gives 9
Few Instances of the Folly of Some
Aspirants Who Have En-
tered the Ring.

IcTcu U1o 1AAA$5.
The leading boxing master in New
York, the teacher in one of the big
athletic clubs, was talking about the
manly art to an interested group Of
young men, says the New York Sun.
Gone of the funniest things in life"
said he, sis the fancy that some men
have about their fighting abilities.
You've noticed when you attend spar
ring exhibitions that certain chaps
came forward to box who could not
stand three minutes against the worst
plug ever seen. They haven't the body,
the endurance or the art, and yet they
come up as though fighting was thing
anybody could do. I've observed this
thing a hundred times in my life, but
never had it brought so plainly before
me as when, the other night, went to
q downtown theater where lot OF the
best men in the business were exhibit
ing The professionals were offering
prizes TO anyone who would come on
the stage and last four rounds. The
fellow that came out to meet Kllrain,
the man that fought Sullivan, was more
like a wisp of hay than all athlete. Kill
rain looked him over and smiled then
t3abbed him On the face a few times,
and the poor chap did NOS know where
he,was. He staggered OFF ityno1nin1oasly,
vet he had received no punishment that
Any man even ordinarily well con-
saructed could not have taken smiling
ly, Now, why did tha5 chap think he
eon]d face heavyweight professional
prize Fighter?
s,liaen two middJe-weigl1t amateurs
met each other. One was lightning
Hitter. He was quick, strong and sc1en-
siac. The other was SO bad that he
made yo,, mad. He was tough, Ike a
piece of dead meat but the incessaMt
pounding that he received was enough
to make anyone but q fool take OFT the
gloves and swear never to put them on
again. In four rounds that conceited
ass was struck fairly in the face no less
than forty times and he never got III
even an accidental blow in return. Yet
h., thought he could fight and probably
does SO still. Two light-weights ca1ae
out next One struck the other and
knocked him nearly across the stage.
The little fellow got up and was
Knocked down again. This action was
mpeated four or five times, and then
she man that YVES playing the part Of
shuttlecock groped away into the wings,
amid howls Of derision He was another
fellow who had ncS learned even the
ru1irnents Of boxing. find it the sanne
with the fashionable young zoen that l.
teach. Many of them can put up IL
pretty good fight, but these are not the
ones that think they can Lick all crea~
&ion. No; the conceited ONES are the
hopeless cases, fellows that never oan
laarn to fight, who can never be quick
and never last through four three-min-
ute rounds the longest day they live.
"A fellow Of this sort asked me re-
Gently if I would not box with him at
all exhibit that the club was going
NJ have looked him over and his as
;surance made me a little angry. L
asked him to step into the sparring-roon
and said that if we were going to box
a. an exhibition we ought to have re-
hearsal. He put Oh the gloves and we
faced each othsr. For the greater part
Of a round did not lead for him once,
but allow ed HIM 10 punch at nae Sew
eral times put my face forward to
meet his glove, for there was no force
in it. At last told him that was
going to hit him and then did SO. 1t
was not a Knockout blow on the corner
oil the jaw, but a. straight hit between
the eyes. think the man rolled clean
out Of the ROOM we were In and started
10 fall down the stairs III the hall out
side. When he got up he looked about
10 see where he was. / told him that
he could not fight, probably never could
harn and advised him to refrain by all
means from ever putting on gloves with
veterans like myself. declare, it's the
strangest thing in the world, No one
Thinks he can play the violin without
pears of practice, yet the first slim Jim
that comes along fancies he can fight. F"
And the old ring hero shifted with dis
gust. The art Of smashing a mans nose
was as sacred to him as the manipula~
tSon Of the bow was to Paganini.