Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-03-13

by either a champion or anybody else OF
prominence Good gracious, just think Of
It'll Here is . club that offers $25. 900
to the winner, and bet of 50, 500
more will yield the winner $27, 800
clear money, and John L. Sullivan deems
it too small Why, the thing is prepos-
ferrous. The idea of anybody retaining a
championship titlNunder such conditions is
absurd, to say the least of it. I question
and even if he could don't think he would
risk it on an almost sure thing If there is
any real method of ''blowing" it is that of
trying to down an opponent by demanding
big stakes.
NfSre About the Big People.
We should not forget that the proposition
made by Mitchell, if acted upon, would
yield the winner more money than has ever
been obtained in stakes or purse in the
history of the. prize ring. Supposing it
took the extraordinary sum of 81, 500 to
| train Sullivan three months, he would get
So, 900 clear if he won, and why should he
or Duncan Harrison have the nerve to say
that 81, 900 is too little? In all fairness,
there is neither rule nor custom in favor Of
the extraordinary demands of Sullivan.
And Sullivan's career has not been of so
| wonderful kind as to warrant any such
| demands. have often said that as prize
ring champion he has one of the worst of
| records, and am glad to find that he him.
| self lndorses my views on that point Here
| is what he said during the week:
81 want to get this man Mitchell into a
| ring, and want him to fight under rules
under which he cannot run away from me.
I met him in France in a mud lot, and I
would have had him down and out in ten
rounds if he had stood up and fought like a
man. But he took advantage of the rules,
/ like the coward that he is, and 1 was unable
to get near enough to him to whip him."
This is the most remarkable admission
ever made by champion pugilist, and it
comes from one who is termed ''the greatest
pugilist ever born" Oh, tell me, some of
you well-informed people of the champion,
outside of John L., who would have ever
confessed of his utter inability to fight
under the recognized rules of the prize ring?
In the long list there cannot be found one,
except Sullivan. We know now, and on
the admission of John L. Sullivan himself,
that he cannot defeat Mitchell in 24-foot
ring under the time-honored championship
rules.
The Foot-Racing Excuse Doesn't Go.
"Because of foot racing" think L hear
somebody say. But like all other good
men why does the greatest fighter on
earth" not stop the racing? Fi:zsimmons
stopped the racing Of that very clever man
Dempsey. And we must not forget that
prize ring rules demand the contestants to
toe the scratch at the beginning of every
round. But even under Queensberrv rules
Sullivan did not stop Dominick McCaffrey
from tracing" and slow man like Kill
rain "raced' in front of John for more than
two hours. But the foot-racing excuse is
too fimsy to discuss. There have been too
many good men and true beaten in the ring
for the excuse to have any force.
For the time being the friends of Sullivan
are in favor of brutality, not scientific pugil-
ism. If Sullivan and his opponent could be
gotten into four-foot ring it might suit the
big mans friends best. But that style of
fighting has gone generations ago, and
more scientific style has been evolved BY
men like Randall, Jem Ward and Jem
Mace. This style aids little man to cope
with brute strength, and at the same time
can combine strength, activity and skill.
Champions like O'Baldwin have all three
qualities, and if Sullivan has them why
does he refuse to do what neither O'Bald-
win nor any other champion who has pre-
ceded Sullivan would have declined to do?
If match is made between Sullivan and
Mitchell under Queensberry rules of course
the chances would he very much in favor of
Sullivan. But Mitchell is willing to fight
him under these rules for the largest amount
of money ever fought for. The question is q
very plain one, indeed.
Sullivan and Corbett.
Sullivan's reply to Slavin is such that the
latter cannot possibly accept John LIS
challenge. The latter cannot fight later
than the second week in September and not
before August. And what is more, he de-
l. I-c
jackson. All this is trickery, depend upon
it. But although our champion declines to
fight colored man, he is willing to meet
a man who could not defeat a colored man.
Sullivan is willing to fight Corbett and the
latter is willing to fight the big man. Each
of these boxers are in charge of show man.
ayers, bear in mind, and at best the proposed
contest looks very fshy to me.
If they should meet and everything be
all right wouldn't be surprised if Corbett
gave Sullivan the chase of his life. 1 use
the word chase because when it comes
down to foot racing in the ring Corbett is
champion, as we saw in his contest with
Jackson. If Corbett could move about in |
front Of Sullivan as he did in front Of Jack
son, why Sullivan would be beaten, and
that's all there's about it. He would beat |
himself. He has never been a sue
cess in chasing" man in a
ring and only been terror |
when men were foolish enough to stand up |
against him to be knocked down. His |
record bears me out in this. Corbett, who |
is not fighter, may by his active style of |
boxing be able to weary the very life out of |
Sullivan. But if there is no contest result |
ing from the vast amount of talk that has |
been going on, one thing is certain, and that |
is Mitchell, Sullivan, Corbett and Slavin |
will all be benefited by it, as they are all in |
the show business. Probably that is all |
that any of them wants.
An Old-Time Battle.
A correspondent from Venetia asks for a |
short account of the battle between Tom |
Savers and Aaron Jones to ''decide bet"
In this instance the request will be granted, |
but we cannot make practice of retelling
the stories of old fights. Some day We may,
when it is more opportune, discuss one q
week of the famous old-time contests.
Sayers and Jones met in January, 1857
Jones was 8 feet 11H inches tall, weighed
liz pounds and was 26 years old. Savers
was 3 feet SH inches tall, weighed 14S
pounds and was 81 years old. They fought
81 rounds, lasting about hours, when dark
ness stopped the fight Jones injured his
hand badly early in the battle, and in con-
sequence the fight was not resumed until
about five weeks later, when Sayers won in
35 rounds, lasting about two houra In the
first fight Jones looked like sure winner
in the first hour, but he was noted for lack
IF staying qualities. That was Jones' last
light in England and he came to this country
IN 1858 to train Heenan to fight Morrissey.
In 1867, when Jones was nearly blind, he
fought Mike McCoole and was beaten.
PRINGLE
TOTAL ABSTINENCE NEWS,