The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1894-09-29
CORBETT TO FITzsIMMONs


WIN Not Fight Him Untn He HISS Gone
Against O'DOnneIL
PORTLAND. Ne, Sept 29--James J.
Corbett has sent the following to
Fitzsimmons:
PoRrLAED, Ne. Sept %. 1894
Robert Fitzsimmons-
Dear Sir: have read in the morn
ing papers your very amusing chal-
lenge to me. You say the Olympic
club offers z purse. Well may be
they do. but I have never heard
from them as yet You put
80. 600 in the OLYMPIC clubs hands
why don t you put it up in some ne vs.
paper Office, or some place where a
man can see it, or is the Olympic club
backing you? However. that ne lther
here nor there. 1 suppose you are
AFRAID If you put the money up IN any
other place besides the Olympic club
some one else might cover it. 1t is
not necessary for me to give a reply
to your challenge, because you are
we'll aware that I will not accept it,
unless you prove yourself cham
piOn heavy weight and not middle
weight.
II must acknowledge that as q
middle weight you have no equal.
but all you ever did in the heavy
weight class was to defeat Peter
Maher and Joe ChOynski, two second
class 'heavyw since both of
these men have been defeated by Joe
Goddard of Australia, another second
class heavyweight.
NO one knows this better than
you. I suppose you think the public
will say you're a very brave man to
challenge me and fight me- Why
shOuldn' t you do SOP 1t is just like
buying a lottery ticket to win S., 90 0
for 81; all you have to lose Is 81, and
II is the same case in fighting me If
I defeated you, of course you would
say. He ought to beat me; / am only
a middleweight; just as when I beat
Sullivan, it was said, He is an old
man. and Mitchell, He was light
fellow; he was too small
Now Mr.. E'itzsimmons, if you
really, in your heart, want to fight
for the championship Of the world,
you certainly, if you are on the level.
want to prove yourself champion
heavyweight and not middleWeight t.
All YOU have to do in the world to
fight me for the cham ionship is to
prove to me and to the world that you
are capable OF defeating any heavy
weight outside of me-
you say 1 promised to give you
match if you defeated Choynski or
Creedon. When you say that, you
know Won lie. I never even noticed
you, and don't intend to unless you
prove yourself a champion heavy
You want to jump over the heads
of all these other people and take
that dying chance with me, but [ viii
fool you. Steve O'Donnen, my pres
ent sparring partner, an indicated
man, has SO, 600 that he can defeat
you He viii box you from one round
to a finish for fun or for money. Now,
how can you expect me to recog-
nize you when this man stands
ready with the money be
hind him to prove to the world
that he is your superior? If you will
only meet him and defeat him / VIII
accept an offer of twenty-five thou
sand dollars 1925, OOO) from the Olym-
pic club and I viii give you all the
fight you want. If you want to fight
me this is the only way you can ever
get me to make match with you, for
there is no power on earth that viii
make me notice you until you have
defeated Steve O'DOnneu and any
further talk from you I viii consider
and simply put down as bluff. 1 put
myself on record in black and white,
that if you defeat O'DOnneu / will
fight you for the championship of the
world and all the money you like.
This is positively my ultimatum.
Yours truly, JAMES J. CoRBETT,
champion of the World"