The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-09-15


pOsluVeness Of assertion is eQuaued only
by their lack Of inside ring knowledge
are fond of asserting that the Australian
Is really a heavyweight: that l75 pounds
or some such matter, is better suited 10
him than anything else This is a mis-
representation. 1t is well enough known
that he was a 147-pOund man in most Of
MS Australian fighting career; it is also
well known that he has milled in this
country considerably below middleWeight,
ana not longer than a year agO-Sept. 26,
1871 he weighed in at the ring side for
Dan Creedon a 1854 pounds. This should
be convincing enough as to his weight
class He and Creedon were matched TO
turn the scales at 15S pounds; nothing
lighter was expected of him, yet he came
10 the ropes two and one-half pounds
lower.
AS has been noted, Fitzsimmons is a
wonder in the way of Knockout hitting,
yet, If he and Corbett We're to measure
their striking strength by test, on a reg
lsterlng machine, it is very probable that
Corbett would equal or outahit him, which
is trife paradoxical to the uninitiated.
Fttzsimmons. in the ring. let's fly his pow
erful batteries at every opening holding
nothing in reserve; Corbett keeps half
the force of his blow home, to take care
OF himself. The first goes in head and
heels; the second goes in only as far as
he can get back safely. Fitz deals in one
punch knock-outs; Corbett never, unless
his man has been jabbed till he is too
weak to throw a quick and dangerous
counter, or unless he is no good, as in the
case of Charley Mitchell. This reminds
one again of the maxim before referred
to-namely, that the dashing, single-punch
fellow not infrequently goes out on the
same route. But it has been stated also,
however, that Fitzsimmons holds himself
more safely than any other fighter that
because of his marvellous feinting and
quickness.
The big Californian is a student of safe
fighting; it has been his study for many
years. AS a follower of scientific milling,
to the incest reasoning the ring never had
the equal of Corbett i'm so big a man; he
believes in seeing his way and he will
not leave his Notifications till he does
He once said TO me: when ! get in the
ring with an opponent l am looking mar
rowly for the inside track; that is my
study. 1 have spent many hours in mental
planning for every contest l ever had with
the result that when 1 get in front of my
man my itinerary Of routes is spread in
big letters. Let my man start any way he
chooses. l like him TO do the starting
always-and he is going to fall into one
of the paths already chalked out for him"
As showing the thoroughness and fore
thought of the American champion, l can
Peter
Jackson-the contest which placed him
among the great fighters of the world
he was lively in quest of colored men to
box with. He said Il have spared plenty
of white men. but here l am soon to crawl
In the ropes to fight to a finish with
herculean black Gackson) and 1 do not
know how it seems to stand in front of
one of them; there may be something in
dark opponent that is not found in a
light one, and, if so, 1t behooves me to
lind out, the sooner the better" Jim in
vestigated the subject carefully; he boxed
with many men of varying shades but 1
belieYe without detecting differences wor-
thy of notice. In training for the champi-
onship battle with Sullivan, he refused
TO follow the usual habit of retiring about
3; he made il instead, some time after IL
as he said he did not know but it might
habituate him to feel sleepy too early in
the evening-a time, for all he knew, that
on the actual night of contest, might find
his fortune and the ambition of his life
dependent on the finest tension of the
hair-springs of his nerves. Looking ahead
into such minube Details such things as
appear purile to ordinary people, shows
the stuff which generals are fashioned.
The science Of boxing has been studied
with as much care by Jim as any profess
sional man in the same time, has given
TO his vocation; enthusiasm, continuity
and plastic physique made him a verit-
able giant of the ring before any one had
suspected it. Supposed to be an ordin-
airy, overgrown kid, with nothing more
than a knowledge of fancy boxing. he
slipped into the ring with Peter Jackson
in 1891, and was full partner in the great
est ring contest between big men in the
annals of pugilism. mo contest" il was
called, after siXty-one rounds of the most
marvellous exhibition of endurance pluck
and ring tactics in the history of the fight
inn old a.. &I,,t
Francisco it is doubtful if any man coul0
have taken either of their places for an
hour without defeat
If Fitzsimmons has come to be famous
for his abandon in hitting. his lightning
changes of front, his litheness and DART
ing of the body and a capability of mus
tering murderous blows from any posi-
ton, Corbett is just as famous for his
polished mastery of all parts of the game
and particularly for his wondrous duck
ing and rapid, graceful foot movement
Most boxers have set ways of ducking
that the opposite man is son next to-"
james will switch his head around flying
fists as if the wind of the glove made a
cushion of the air that is always pushing
his head just out of the way of being pin
ned He will send his head either way in
circle from an incoming right or left
handler, or he will duck under and up
into his mans face in a wink Such
ducking as the big one IS capable Of
has been attained only after years of
special practice. When Jim was a young
instructor of boxing in the Olympic Club
of San Francisco, a common amusement
with him was TO set his juvenile class on
the gymnasium horse one by one and go
through toy boxing bouts with them
Sitting down on a level with each other,
the little fellow would endeavor to strike
the big one in the face, then the pompa-
dour would swish round or back, always
clear of the juvenile fist, and the little
fellow would gather more confidence to
hit hard and straight, but still the POM
padour would always be snatched away
or to one side. Much exercise such as
this, and practice with all sorts of box
ing opponents, in which Jim did the get
ting away and they the finding or seek
ing. furnished him his peculiarly sensitive
head piece. Without doubt, never was
there big man to equal him in saving his
head from a crashing blow.
To sum up briefly; Fitzsimmons is a
Knockout hitter, all the time; he is a ma
gician at feinting and getting in from a
long distance, and he can knock Corbett
out as quick as anybody else if he can hit
him about the head; at ducking or saw