Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-01-03

IN Ine NOrlQ In America 10 accomplish
this an immense amount of money has been
expended. There is every reason to believe
that this year will see the American turf
more popular than ever, and, may add,
purer than it has been heretofore.
The Professional Features.
As far as professional sporting affairs are
concerned the year has made little change.
Professional boat rowing is just where it
has been for years, and professional sprint
ing is little better. We have more sprint
ers, it is true, and 1 dare say better aver
| age lot than ever, but they are held in such
light esteem here that, to do any good for
themselves and hackers, they have to go to
England. There are some great sprinters
| in America, but, judging from the events of
the last year, I see little hope for them this
wear in this country.
Nor has there been anything startling in
pugilism. Confining ourselves to this
country, the wear has introduced nobody to
us whom we can call frst-class pugilist
Taking everything into consideration the
events Of the year prove that pugilism is
still getting further away from what it used
tc be in the ''good old times" and is becom-
ing more and more mere business of dollars
and dimes
Of course there are many other branches
of professional sport, but the above are what
deem the most important and are what We
discuss IN these columns every week.
Gibbons and Bowen.
Last week 1 had to take little dose of a
bitter pill, inasmuch as had predicted that
Carroll would defeat Myer, which he didn't
do. But this week have two winners to
nv credit, viz: Gibbons and McAuliffe, so
that matters are more than evened up, and
may add that in the way of predictions
during the year we have had very much the
best of it. Well, Gibbons defeated Bowen
and their contest was not one of the best.
But suppose that both men fought accord
ing to instructions and if they did I cannot
help thinking that Bowen was very badly
advised. He evidently was making a wait
ing game Of 1t, and that is Just what he
should not have done, because he is not
built to be ''long range" man, and Gibbons
is, therefore waiting gave the latter all the
best of it.
. Probably many people will wonder why
expected Gibbons to defeat Bowen after I
had criticized the former so severely after
his battle with McAuliffe. That is easy to
explain. Bowen is not McAulife and is a
verv short man. He is more of "glutton"
his boxing Just as good and NAV be little
better than that of Bowen. The latter is
built tolerabiy fair to fight under prize
ring rules, but he never can be first-class
man under Queensberry rules. This con-
sideration led me TO fancy Gibbons. But
the latter hadn't so verv much the best of it
at that, and the way he won only goes to
show that when 1 said he was not first
class fighter was right. 1t will, indeed be
q great surprise to me if Gibbons were to
defeat Myer, or even an old man like Car
roll.
But as matters stand among the light
weights now it is difficult to tell who is
who The truth is that Myer has no claim
at all to lightweight honorS, as he and Car
roll fought at over 13S pounds. 1 always
hold that before any man begins to talk
about being champion at certain weight
he ought to get down to that weight and do
something. If these so-called lightweights
of ours would get thoroughly down to
weight and fight then we would known
what they we're like. But these club ar
rangements tend to stop all that. 1t may
be that arrangement will be made for con-
test between Myer and Gibbons. The
former, in the most miserable way, objects to
meeting McAulitfe; not only does he object,
but he abuses McAuliffe in the most i'm
measured terms. As long as Myer declines
to meet McAulife at weight he can lay no
claim to q championship title, and what is
more, if he continues to class McAuliffe as
a lookiEg-glass fighter, the public will come
to the conclusion that he is a windbag.
Rules Are Unfair.
But the Bowen and Gibbons contest gave
us definite illustration of the untairness
of using Queensberry rules in q finish fight.
Bowen's build prevented his fighting his
best until be got to close quarters. But as
soon as he closed and was, therefore, able to
punish his man, the rule stepped in and
separated them. The rule said: ''Now you
must not close with your man and punish
him, but you must stand off at long range,
and if you cannot reach Gibbons, he can
reach you."
Well, the philosophy of this rule is en-
tirely against the law of selfdeferse. To
learn to defend oneself with ones fists, is
not merely to stand off from an opponent ard
try to hit him. If that opponent meets you
on the street he probably will not stand of,
and that being so, you ought to be able to
you could punish him and throw him
down if need be- As a means of
self-defense Queensberry rules are of pre-
cious little account. And if the Queens
berry disciple were to come in contact with
a front-rank old timer of the natural school
the Queensberrv would soon be done for.
For instance, let US suppose that man of
the natural school like Jem Ward were to
meet a good Queensberrv man like Fitz-
simmons, what would be the result? Why,
Ward or his equal would either stop Fitz-
simmons vicious blows or take them, but
he would surely get his arms around Fitz
and, after humping him badly, throw him
down and fall upon him. If there is to be
anything known as the art of self-defense
that is it, and if learning to use ones hands
is not to defend oneself then we have no
noble art" at all
Fighters in General.
As predicted in this paper, Joe McAu-
life defeated Cardiff, and we may have
heard the last of the vanquished man. If
four-round glove contests had never been
1t was only because McAuliffe is as slow on
his feet as an elephant that Cardiff lasted as
long as he did.
What was said in this paper last week
relative to the proposed boxing contests
was surely not wide of the mark. Both the
DeTnpsey-Maher and the Mitchell Corbett
affairs smacked so much of "receipts" that
il WAS well the police took a hand in the
matter. For the life of me, have never
been able to see why the police should pre-
vent an up and up fight and allow a known
"fake," with the object of swindling the
public, to &c on. If one cannot be, then
certainly stop both. Most assuredlv moth
ing would please Corbett better than to box
anybOdy six rounds with bio rloveS and