Omaha daily bee., 1894-01-29
HIS VITALITY Is ALL GONE
Old Tom Allen Tells Why Charley Mitchell
Could Not Win.
C0RBErT CAN WHIP ANY MAN LIVING
Opinion OF the EN-ChnmpIon is that the
California Wonder Is tho Best lof
the Fighters, Dead or Alive
About Jackson.

~ think the r%heumatics got into his
bloody heart" said Tom Allen TO the st.
Louis Republic Saturday night, in discuss
ing Mitchell and his defeat at the hands of
Champion Corbett. The ex-champion of
America, who was In the corner of the Eng
lishman in Thursdays battle, had just re-
turned from Jacksonville, and, notwith-
standing his countryman's defeat, was in
good humor. Continuing, Allen explained his
remark: 'for ten days before the battle it
was impossible for US to get Mitchell to
punch the bag. For Gods sake, Charley
I'd say, Just hit that bag a few punches
I've got the rhematics In the shoulder
he'd say, and that's all we could get out OF
him. If the rheumatics were not in his
shoulder they were in his heel; but ] got to
thinking TOWARD tho last that he had sized
up the trouble wrong, and that the rheuma-
tism was in his heart.
Knew His Fate Beforehand.
"He was q beaten man, and he knew 1t
four days before the fight. l didn't lose q
dollar, because l saw enough to show me
that Charley couldn't win, and hardly any
of the St. Louis boys lost any money, be-
cause l told them not to bet on Mitchell
Fred Watkins lost $400. / told him that [
didn't see how Mitchell stood even a chance,
but he wanted to put up some money for
friendships sake. | told him that / thought
that Charley might last twenty rounds, and
he went and placed $500 that way.
III hadn'tb been so long ut Mitchelps
training quarters ] would have lost consid-
cradle money on him, for ] took a roll with
me. Mitchell, the day of the fight, weighed
LOS pounds, / got TO Anastatia island two
weeks before the fight, when the English
man had got trained down to the limit and
should have begun TO build up. But he
couldn't do it, you know. He weighed 157
pounds then, and, although doing no train.
ing, he began to waste away and dropped off
a couple of pounds. He drank too much
champagne in his time, and he's got no
vitals left. He was nothing but a shell, al
though outwardly he appeared all right. He
had no life and / could see that the jig was
up.
Corbet Surprised Him..
81 hadn't seen Corbett since the Sullivan
fight and when he stripped for the first round
| was never so surprised in my life. He
weighed 1877 pounds and was in the pink of
condition. How he has filed out since he
downed John L.! Thu flesh has gone on so
nicely, too. Why, when the men stepped to
the center Corbett looked like a giant and
Mitchell like "a rat. All that Mitchell had
in him he showed in the first round. When
he came to the corner l knew he was beaten.
Pony Moore says to me then: Tom, what
do you think of itl' It's a hundred to one
that he goes out | replied. Hardly had the
words left my lips than Coroett punched
Mitchell and he went down. When he got
up Corbett knocked him down again, and
then l knew my nan was done for and the
fight would only last a few minutes.
The referee didn't know his business. He
may be a nice fellow, but he had no business
there. When Charley was knocked out, he
didn't begin to count until he had been down
nearly ten seconds, so excited was he. Cor
bett was q mailman. He lost his head COM
pletely, and in the second round should have
lost the fight he had almost won. Kelly
came pretty near being knocked out then.
After the gong had sounded, both men con-
tinued to exchange blows. Kelly rushed in
to separate them and Corbett let out a right
handler that just grazed the referees face.
If it had ever landed, a new referee would
have been necessary.
"Corbett is n wonder. | believe that If he
steps into the ring in the shape that he did
on Thursday, the Californian can whip the
best man that ever lived"