The San Francisco call., 1896-03-09

with the rusty crowd, elbowed and showed
to get glimpse of John L. Sullivan.
Yes. the great John L. Sullivan has ar.
rived. He is still great in many respects
although no longer the king OF the 24-foot
ring. He is better looking in face, because
his hard lines are being softened by
mustache and hair that are rapidly be-
coming gray.
But he is getting so terribly fat. He ac-
knowledges 277 pounds, which represents
about fifty pounds less than he actually
weighs. That makes little difference, how
ever; his bull-like roar, his hearty grasp
and his personal magnetism manage to
keep him popular wherever he travels.
1t took squad of policemen to clear the
hotel lobby when the news spread that
Sullivan had reached the hotel, and to
avoid rush Parsen Davies, who is man.
aging him, suggested that they both 60
upstairs to their rooms.
When the big fellow" disappeared in
the elevator the malcontents downstairs
said he was drunk and had to be put to
bed.
This is positively not so. Sullivan, last
night, was in a good jovial mood, not
having taken more than any gentleman
of his capacity can carry with dignity. He
received the newspapermen and a few
select friends with cordially, and said be
was glad to meet old acquaintances
He poked little fun at himself, espe-
cially at his fast increasing weight, saying
that if he did not wear an elastic bandage
his stomach would spill out over his
trousers band.
"I consider myself still champion of the
world, he said. I've got as much right
to the title as Corbett, because to win the
championship you have to have it out in
prize-ring style with bare knuckles."
Speaking in general way on pugilistic
son Davies were feeling their way toward
popularizing and legalizing tisticuffs in the
United States.
You see" said the big man, 1--WE want
to establish sporting league of a national
character. We want to get the best men
financially, socially and politically in the
United States to join, and represent the
sections in which they live. Then we will
be power in political way and force our
legislators to fix up our business so we can
conduct it, or else we won't elect them.''
at this juncture Sullivan branched off
on the question of professional rights,
claiming that he in all his career as prize
hghter never hurt nor touched q nom
com batant outside of prlzefight ring.
Quite the contrary, he had put his hand
down in his pocket to help out the poor,
regardless of whether they believed prize
fighting was right or wrong.
And, he emphasized, II never in my
life tried to stop preacher from preach
ing. Let them stick to their business
strictly and honestly, do the good believe
they can do, and quit monkeying with
other folks. When they do that you won't
have scandals like this Brown business
I've been hearing so much of. Did /, or
any other prizefghter, create such stink
as that?" he asked quite earnestly
Sullivan still bears the only half-healed
scars he sustained on the head some four
or five weeks ago when he fell from NOV
ing car near Springfield, Ill. The story
teiegraPhed here was that the wounds had
resulted in causing dropsy, but that
is pure fabrication.
II believe that if Corbett and Fitzsim-
mons met to-day that Corbett would whip
the COrnishman," Sullivan said.
"As to Jackson, he is no longer in it.
He's been living too high since he has gone
TO England. l think, though, he would
have licked Corbett had he not been handi-
capped when he fought him in this city.
You remem ber they fought draw. jack
sons leg was sprained at that hme.''
This question of colored men as fighters
caused Sullivan to launch forth a TRADE
against the race. Apparently be has
colored man in perfect horror. He talks,
however, of Bob Armstrong, twenty-ope-
year-oid prodigy which Parson Davies has
discovered. and who is now training with
Joe Choynski in Chicago. He believes he
will make himself known before long, as
soon as Joe puts some speed in him.
As to the coming battle between Lavigne
and Jack McAuliffe, Sullivan places his
faith in the latter, who, if he has not been
living too high, is "world beater," so he
claims, but" he added, .'Layigne can
lick any man living at 1873 pounds"
Hair dye is consid cred so detrimental to