The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1891-10-06
WOULD-BE PUGILIsTs.
Conoeited Mon Who Think They
Are Born Fighters.
An Old Teacher OF tho Manly Art t,ivca n
Fow Instances of tho Folly OF Some
Aspirants Who Iavo I'm
~. tered tho Ring.

Aspirants Who Havo En-
tered tho Ring.
The leading boxing master in New
York, the teacher in one of tho big
athletic clubs, was talking about tho
manly nrt to IN interested group of
young men, says the New York Sun.
Zone of the funniest things in life"
said he, lis the fancy that some men
have about their fighting abilities.
You've noticed when you attend spar
ring exhibitions that certain chaps
ca1no 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 hundred times in my life, but I
never had 1t brought SO plainly before
me as when, the other night, went to
a downtown thcater where lot of tho
best men in the business were exhibit
ing. Tho professionals were Offering
prizes to anyone who would como on
the stage and last four rounds. The
fellow that came out to meet Kilrain,
the man that fought Sullivan, was more
like wisp Of hay than an athlete. Ilil-
rain looked him over and smiled; then
,dabbed him on the face few times,
and tho poor chap did not know where
Ihewns. He staggered off ignominiously,
yet he had received no punishment that
any man even ordinarily we'll con-
Istructed could not have taken smiling
'ly. Now, why did that chap think he
could face heavyweight professional
prize fighter?
'Then two .middle-wcight amateurs
met each other. Ono was II lightning
hitter. lie was quick, strong and scion
.tific. Tho other was so bad that he
made you mad. lie was tough, like n
piece of dead meat, but the incessant
pounding that he received was enough
TO make anyone but q fool take off the
gloves and swear never to put them on
again. In four rounds that conccited
ass was struck fairly in tho face no less
than forty times and he never got in
even an accidental blow in return. Yet
he thought he could fight and probably
does so still. Two light-weights came
out next. One struck the other and
knocked him nearly across the stage.
The little fellow got up and was
repeated four or five times, and then
the man that was playing the part of
sshuttlecoclS CROPPED away into the wings,
amid howls of derision. He was another
fellow who had not learned even the
rudiments of boxing. find 1t the same
with the fashionable young men that I
tehch. Many of them can put up n
pretty good fight, but these arc not the
ones that think they can lick I'LL crca-
ton No; the conceitcd ones are the
hopeless cases, fellows that never can
learn to fight, who can never be quick
and never last through four three-min-
ute rounds the longest day they live.
"a follow of this sort asked me re-
Gently If would not box with him Mt
an exhibition that the club was going
to have l looked him over and his as
.surance made mo little angry. I
asked him to step into the sparring-room
and said that if we were going to box
at an exhibition we ought to have n re-
hearsal. He put on the gloves and we
faced each other. For the greater part
of a round did not lead for him once,
but allow ed him to punch at me. Sew
.cral times I put my face forward to
meet his glove, for there was no force
in 1t. AT last told him that 1 was
going to hit him and then did SO. 1t
was not q Knockout blow on the corner
.of the jaw, but q straight hit between
the eyes. ] think the man rolled clean
out of the room we were in and started
to fall down the stairs IN the hall out
side. When he got up he looked about
to see where he was. told him that
he could not fight, probably never could
learn and advised him to refrain by all
means from ever putting on gloves with
veterans like myself. declare, it's the
;strangcst thing in the world. No one
thinks he can play the violin without
years Of practice, yctSthc first slim Jim
that comes along fancies he can fight"
And the old ring hero shifted with dis
gust. The art of smashing mans nose
was as sacred to him as the manipula-
ton of tho bow was to Paganini.
C1vx