Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-09-18
Reasons Why James J. Cor
bett Is Not the Champion
Pugilist of the World.
SULLIVAN AS A FIGHTER.
A Talk About the Recent Glove
Contests Down at New Orleans.
PROSPECTS OF OTHER BATTLES.
Interesting Features Of the Race for the
League Pennant.
HANLAN'S LATE CHALLENGE TO sCUIL

All interest in the recent big glove con.
tests at New Orleans has not died vet bv
any means The truth is that during the
week just ended there has been Just a,
much talk about Corbett and Sullivan as
ever there was. What had to say about
the three contests did not get into print
last week, and even at the risk of being
"chestnutlv, L propose to say something
about the New Orleans events to-day.
Before going into any details, let me first
discuss the status of the three contests, and
do this so that correspondents will cease
asking so many questions on the matter.
Since the big battle Corbett has been
heralded all over the country as the cham
pion of the world. 1 emphatically declare
that he is no such thing, and there is some
reason for saving that he is not champion
at all. Sullivan never defeated a foreign
champion nor has Corbett But Sullivan
won the title of America in a bona fide
fashion by defeating RYAN and Kilrain.
These contests were tough. under the recog.
nized rules OF championship contests, and
Corbett has certainly not won his title under
such rules.
Everybody connected with the Corbett
ami Sullivan event declared before it took
place that it was glove contest, and as
such it will go on record. If it was a glove
contest, then it certainly was not a bare
knuckle battle for the championship of the
American prize ring, and if this is true, I
fail to see why John L. Sullivan is still not
the real champion of the United States,
although beaten in a glove contest by Cor
bert.
But putting this line of argument to one
side, there is not the shadow OF a reason for
saving that Corbett is champion of the
world and those who announce him as such
are simply trying to deceive the public.
And l also claim that the contest between
Myers and McAuliffe was not a champion
ship one; indeed, there could not possibly
be Gnv honor of the kind connected with it
II is an absurdity to talk about two men,
each weighing more than 137 pounds, fight
ing for the lightweight championship. Both
McAuliffe and Myer were lar beyond the
lightweight limit
The Downfall of Sullivan.
Far be it from me to say anything harsh
about y Ohm L. Sullivan at this stage of his
career, but there are some things that
must say, because his last effort as pugilist
has verified all that nave said regarding
him tor years Readers of these reviews
well know that from the first have argued
that Sullivan was an overrated man; in fact,
a very much overrated man. As fighter
in the ring he has a miserable record and as
n glove fighter strength only has been his
Characteristic. Now, you Sullivan admir-
ers, do not get agitated because of my say
ing this, because every word of it is true.
Somebody will no doubt remind me of
the wav in which Sullivan downed Mitchell
= IN z glove contest when both men were at
their best. Most certainly / admit that
Sullivan on that occasion had much the bet
ter of Mitchell, but entirely because Nit
chell endeavored to best Sullivan at his
own game, that of standing up and batter
ing away with gloves. Had Mitchell used
waiting aud lodging tactics there is every
reason to believe that he would have ac-
complished what CorbeUt did. 1t is q note
worthy fact that during his entire career,
John /. Sullivan has been a failure against
scientific men, and / an now more than
ever convinced that had the contest between
himself and Dominick McCaffrev been to
finish Sullivan would have beel beaten.
Beyond all doubt Sullivan has had the
most remarkable career of any pugilistic
champion in the history of the ring. He
has been idolized more and done less than
any man 1 know of or have heard OF. He
nss netted more money than all other
champions put together aud has had a
poorer record than any of them. Depend
upon il, all this is true, and when years
have passed future generations will
certainly estimate John c. Heenan as
much better man than John L. Sullivan
Time will wear out all those f1imsy and
frothy achievements of knocking great big
useless people out in one or two rounds
and nothing will be left but the solid
record of each man. Does anybody mean
10 tell me that when Sullivan tailed to
defeat Mitchell in prize ring that he could
have defeated the men that Heenan faced?
Or that he could possibly have beaten
O'Baldwin? Not a bit OF it.
For years the public has been laboring
under a delusion regarding John L.
Sullivan, and it is natural that the public
feels ill-tempered now that the delusion
has been exposed.
know that l will be reminded of nam
ing Sullivan to defeat Corbett Certainly 1
did so and l was not SO much surprised at
Corbett as 1 was at Sullivan. 1 had e1-
pected that the latter would at least do
something. but he did nothing Corbett
had nothing to fear and had expected that
lack of pugIlistic pluck would have been
his weak point. But there was really moth
ing to be afraid of, so that my calculation
on that point was entirely upset My read
ers will remember that plainly stated that
if l could convince myself that Corbett
was anything like q game man 1 would
name him as a winner
Well, Sullivan's glory has vanished; the
idol is shattered, and no pugilist before the
world to-day has had more to say than big
hearted John L. A more generous man
cannot live than he and we must all feel
sorry for him, and if he has deceived the
public the public has certainly deceived
him by leading him to believe he was some
thing he was not.
About the New Champion.
James j. Corbett will never be one
tenth as popular with the American people
as Sullivan has, but despite that fact Cor
bett is fine fellow, he is a gentleman but
he lacks the good-hearted qualities that
made Sullivan friends by the thousands
Doubtless Corbett will have a much keener
eve to business than Sullivan had and dur
ing the next six or nine months it is not
likely that Corbett will stop to contest
against anybody. He has definitely de-
clared that he means to make as much money
as possible while he has the chance and TOR
this he cannot be blamed. In this respect
others before him have set the pace aud it
seems to me that nowadays no recognition
is paid to rules or anything else.
The time was when q champion was
was compelled to fight q challenger within
six months. That rule exists yet but this
system of managers completely ig-
nores it.
What about this new boxing champion?
is the general question from everybody.
Let me say that in my judgment Corbett is
a very clever man; indeed, one of the
cleverest L have seen, but it would not
be fair to form an estimate of his cleyerness,
because of what he did in front OF Sullivan.
Tho lattar uas rnuoh too slow IN make an,