The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-11-26

the public against the sport, for 1t IS only
inclined to go great distance to see fine
contest, and to pay large sums Of
money for the privilege, if it IS
absolutely sure of fair and square
deal. Take that confidence out of the
arena and it will drop again to the level
of favoritism only with the lowest classes.
That is why am opposed at present, or at
any time, to the large purses which are
now being Offered by the great athletic
clubs of the country. When 1000 are
at stake it is a great temptation for
prizefghter and for the men back of him
to arrange for a division of the purse
on some friendly basis and on a plan
utterly unfair to the contiding pub
he. l do not say that such is the case
now. l merely wish to state that
We have reached dangerous point and
that the tendency will be that way. Know
ing the managers of both the Coney ISL
and Athletic Club and of the Crescent and
Olympic Clubs. of New Orleans, know
that they would never tolerate an unfair
fight; that if to their knowledge such
deal had been made the men
would be blacklisied and be posted
all over the country as blackguards.
say this because take deep interest in
the manly art of self-defense and | feel
that it should continue to occupy the high
place in the estimation OF the public which
it now holds. A purse of So. 900 is enough
for any two men to fight for. and We all
know that to the ordinary prizefighter
$4,000 is a fortune.
l was struck with the deep interest
taken by the best classes of the American
people at the fights both in New Orleans
and at Coney Island. In fact, at the
Choynski-Godfrey fight saw number of
bankers and professional men, and my
only wish was that nothing would be done
by those matched against each other to
take this class of people away from the
athletic club house.
This comment is particularly timely in
view of the great fights which are soon to
take place. l think the Mitchell-C Orbett
contest must be considered go" In
my opinion Corbett has all the
natural advantages. He is quicker and
he. is. taller. Mitchell is stout
somewhat better than Corbett, but l be-
lieve they will weigh in at about the same
number of pounds. Mitchell must do
some thing to square himself and that is
why believe he will come to the scratch,
for even if he is whipped he will stand
public.
As far as the Fitzsimmons-Hall fight is
concerned, my judgment is somewhat
handicapped, as l have only seen the
| men spar, and much Of what l know
concerning them is by hearsay. From
Australians have it that Hall Is more
clever boxer than FltzsimInons, and then,
too, he is his junior by almost six years.
1t must be remembered that Hall
knocked him out in Australia. Then
Halls magnificent defeat Of Pritchard
will count heavily for him. Fitzsimmons
on the other hand, IS man who trains
splendidly. He works hard and faithfully
and when he goes into the ring his friends
and hackers can always feel assured that
he is in perfect condition. He is cool
headed and fights scientifically. This was
| demonstrated in his fight with Maher. In
| that contest lucky blow in the first round
| almost knocked the middleweight cham
pion out. Then he began to show his head
| work, and although he was unable toward
the close of the fight to use his right hand
he whipped Maher with terrific left-hand
| jabs.
The fight between Goddard and Maher,
| which is to take place before the Coney
Island Athletic Club on December
| 8, will be contest. worth witness
| ing. Goddard is one of the gamest men in
| the ring and has splendid record. l
| think he is in the hands of Trainer Mad
! den. the man who trained Maher for his
| last fight; SO that he will be able to give
| Goddard good many valuable pointers
| / imagine that Goddard will weigh in at
1s5 or 1870 pounds, and at that weight he
| will be able TO do some wonderful rush
work. He fights right from the start.
! He has no peculiar blow. but hits at his
opponent in every possible way, chang
| ing tactics continually. If anything,
he is inclined to be little slow with his
| legs. His record is a good one. He has
whipped Joe Choynski twice and fought
| - rrSt IN Jnn 10
her, on the other hand. is very hard hit
ter Ii he lands on Goddard the latter
will know that he is hit. There is no rea-
son in the world why Maher shouldn't be
a very clever boxer if taken in hand by
some good man, but he is hard man to
train and is exceedingly willful.
see that there is n possibility of fight
between Johnny Griffin and Dixon. If
! this comes Oft the colored fighter will find
! that his work has been cut out for him. |
! saw Griffin fight Lynch and | consider
him strong, game little fellow. He has
Il splendid trainer in Carroll, and in my
! opinion would come very near beating
| Dixon.
So on the whole. the winter and COM
| ing spring ought 10 develop number of
splendid contests, and championship
| honors may possibly change hands. In
| view of all this | must again emphasize
the necessity of square dealing all
! around ana. IN the interests OF
| the prize ring. a reduction in the
| amounts OF the purses offered. OF course
| the larger the amount the greater the in
! terest. But the public Will quickly recall
| past unfair contests i'll which deals were
| made apparent by results should there be
| the least tendency towards cheating
now. When a large purse is offered, say
/ of $4,000 or $50 0n. an arrangement could
| easily be effected between the men by
| which the winner would get - or 80 per
cent of the purse and the loser the smaller
! end. The men would, Of course night for
| the big end OF the purse. but it would not
| be such a contest Is q light Tor all the
money. Those are the fights the public
want to see, and the men y ho first enter
! into a deal OF any kind will have them.
selves to thank If purses drop 10 500 or
$1,000.
In nv capacity as instructor | have
! noted particularly the increased interest
| aroused by the recent fights among the
| Younger members of the large athletic
! clubs of the city. Imagine this increased
( interest extends all over the country, for
| | have now letters from many friends IN
the Nest asking me for ideas on boxing.
note, too, that the fighters Of the coun-
/ try amateur and professional, are paying
more attention than ever to the science
/ ~ The ring" Nowadays great strength
must be supplemented by the best kind o.
training. by the requirement OF all the sci
/ euce oossible TO make good boxer, and
/ no man can go into the ring hall trained
and exnect to do Justice 10 himself or III:
hackers. MICHAEL DONOVAN.
Rxnn Wants Larger sum.