The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-11-20
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VT7HE PRIZE FIGHTER OF TO-DAY
M has in his hands tho fate of one Of
~ tho fnestsports tho English speaking
world knows. / say this because | feel that
a crisis is at hand in pugilism and it will
take bnt ono false step 10 undo tho work of
years. A dishonest fight now will turn tho
public against the sport, for it is only in
clined to go n great distance to see n fne
contest, and to pay large sums of money
for the privilege, If it 10 absolutely sure OK
u fair and square deal. Take that conf
dence out Of the arena and 1T will drop
again to the level of favoritism only with
the lowest classes. That is why | am OPP
posed at present, or Mt any time. to the
large purses which ARE now being offered
by the great athletic clubs of the country.
| When $40, 600 are at stake it ia a great
temptation for a prize fighter and
for the men back of him TO arrange for a
division of the purse on come friendly basis
and on a plan utterly unfair to the CON
fidinp public. | do not say that such is the
case now. ! merely wish to state that We
have reached a dangerous point and that
the tendency will be that way. Knowing
the managers of both the Coney Island
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 n deal had
been made the men would be blacklisted
and be posted all over the country "a black
guards. / say this because | take q 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 pub
lie which it new holds. A purse of 1926, 900
is enough for any two men to fight for, and
we ali know that to the ordinary prizo
fighter $10.0 600 is a fortune.
I 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 a Number of bankers
and professional men, and my only wish
was that nothing would be lone by those
matched against each other to take this
class of people away from the athletic club
house.
This comment ia particularly timely in
view of the great fights which are soon to
take place. I think the Mitchell-Corbett
contest must be considered q go" In my
opinion Corbett has all the natural advan-
tages. He is quicker and he ID taller.
Mitchell is stout, and when stripped looks,
perhaps. somewhat better than Corbett. but
| believe they will weigh in at about the
same number of pounds. Mitchell must
do something to square himself, and that is
why l believe he will come TO the scratch.
for even if he is whipped he will stand
better in the estimation of the American
public.
AS far as the FitZsimmons-Hall fight ia
concerned my judgment is somewhat handi-
capped, as / have only seen the men spar,
and much of what | know concerning them
is by hearsay. From Australians | have it
that Hall ia q more clever boxer than Fitz-
simmons, and then. too. he is his junior by
almost six years. II must be remembered
that Hall knocked him out i'll Australia.
Then Halls magnificent defeat of Pritch-
ard will count heavily for him.. Fitzsim-
mons, on the other hand, is a man who
trains splendidly. He works hard and
faithfully and when he goes into the ring
his friends and hackers can always feel as
sured that he is in perfect condition. He ia
cool headed and fights scientifically. This
was demonstrated in his fight with Maher.
In that contest a lucky blow in the first
round almost knocked the middleweight
champion ont. Then he began to show his
head work, and although he was unable
towards 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, will be q contest worth
witnessing. Goddard is one of the gamest
men in the ring and has a splendid record.
| think he is in the hands of Trainor Mad
den, the man who trained Maher for his
last fight. 80 that he will be able to give
Goddard n good many valuable pointers.
l 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, changing tactics con-
( tinually. If anything, he is inclined to be
a little slow with his legs. His rec
ord is a good one. He has whipped
Joe Ohoynski twice aud fought an
> eight-round draw with Jackson. Maher,
on the other hand. is a very hard hitter. Ii
he lands on Goddard the latter will know
that he is whipped. There is no reason 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 ex-
ceedingly willful.
! see that there is a possibility of a fight
l between Johnny Griffin and Dixon. If this
3 comes off the colored fighter will find that
his work has been cut out for him. | saw
Griffin fight Lynch and | consider him a
strong. game little fellow. lilo has a splen-
D did trainer in Carroll, and III my opinion
3 would come very nsar beating Dixon.
, So, on the whole. the winter and coming
spring ought to develop a number of splen-
did contests, and championship honors NAV
possibly change hands. In view of all this
| must again emphasize the necessity Of
square dealing all around and in the inter
ests of the prize ring. a reduction in the
amounts of the purses offered. or course.
the larger the amount the greater the inter
est. But the public will quickly recall past
unfair contests in which deals were made
apparent by results should there be the
least tendency toward cheating now. When
~ large purse ID offered, say of $40, 600 or
$50, 900. an arrangement could easily be
effected between the men by which tho
winner would get 55 or 80 per cent of the
> purse and the loser the smaller end. The
men would, of course. fight for the big end
of the purse, but 1t would not be such a
/ contest as n light for all the money. Those
are the fights the public want to see, and
, the men who frat enter into a deal of any
kind will have themselves to thank if purses
drop to $500 or $1,000.
In my capacity AZ instructor | have noted
particularly the increased interest aroused
by the recent fights among tho younger
members OF tho large athletic clubs of the
city, l imagine this increased interest eS-
tends all over the country, for | have now
, letters from many friends III the west ask
ing me for ideas on boxing.