The record-union., 1897-10-30

Gong in the First Round and
Hammers His Dusky Opponent
at Will Until the Contest is
Ended.
SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 29.-George
I4avigne whipped Joe Walcott tonight,
and whipped him thoroughly. Ten
thousand people saw the fight under
the auspices of the Occidental Club.
While the ending was abrupt and un-
expected at the moment, not one of the
great crowd thought the eventual end
ing would prove unfavorable to the
Saginaw kid" He set the most ter
rife pace from the sound of the gong
in the first round until the end of the
twelfth, and had a good margin to the
good III every round. While Walcott
stalled off the sturdy Michigander's
rushes we'll and returned many hard
blows, he could not stop Lavigne.
AT the close of the ninth round Wal
colt was seen to limp in going to his
corner and his seconds gave their at
tention to his legs. Walcott is subject
to muscular cramps in his lower limbs,
ntaely attacked the colored man to-
night. However, this attack did not
affect his fighting in the earlier rounds
of the fight, and only served to end
the fight in Lavigne's favor at an ear
lier stage than was looked for, as it
was apparent from the beginning of
the fifth round that Lavigne's lead
could not be overcome without a Won
derful rally on the part of Walcott.
Lavigne fought for the body princi-
pally, and it was these blows that took
the life out of the colored lad.
On no similar occasion has such a
crowd ever assembled in Mechanics
Pavilion as that which poured into the
big building tonight to witness the
Lavigne- Walcott fight While the at
tendances at the Corbett-Sharkey bout
and the notorious Fitzsimmons- -Sharkey
fiasco were something enormous, the
crowd came to see the big men in ring
costume rather than with the hopes of
seeing a great contest. But Tonight
everyone came with the expectation of
seeing decisive encounter between the
two greatest fighters in the world at
their weight.
The doors leading to the galleries of
the big building were thrown open as
early as $50 p. m., and as those who
held tickets admitting them to that
portion of the pavilion acted on the
rule of first come, first served" the
gallery seats Immediately filed up. The
crowd upstairs was a good natured one,
and settled down for the long wait
which they knew they would have to
endure. The seats on the main floor
began filing at 7:30, and soon every
chair had its occupant, and men and
boys We're perched upon the beams of
the great arched roof overhanging the
ring.
The arrangements made by the Occi-
dental Club for the comfort of the pub
lie were most elaborate. A squad of
fifty policemen guarded the entrances
and kept back the surging crowd which
thronged the streets in the vicinity of
the PAVILION. The ushers were attired
in Turkish costume of the most fam
tastic colors, in order that they might
be asily distinguished. A large force
of Pinkerton men supervised the seat
ing of the spectators, and all who held
the proper credentials We're placed in
their seats without confusion.
Betting on the fight continued brisk
all day, and thousands of dollars We're
poured into the poolrooms tonight, the
great bulk of which was placed on La
vigne. 1t was the weight of this money
that caused the radical change in the
odds Two days ago Walcott was the
favori5e with small bettors at 10 to 8.
The heavy bettors, however, particular
ly those from the East, among whom
are many horsemen, placed their money
on the white lad and it was this money
that caused the switch in the odds
Both men were below the stipulated
limit of 136 pounds at o'clock this
evening. The exact weight was not
given cut, but it is understood that
Lavigne weighed 1884 pounds, while
the colored man balanced the scales at
135.
While the evenings programme was
late in opening, the preliminaries
between local boxers were curtSiled.
and at $50 o'clock Joe Walcott step
ped into the ring wrapped in a long
gray bath robe. He was followed bv
Tom O'Rourke, George Dixon and Joe
Cotton. Walcott was warmly an
plauded. but it was discounted by the
roar of applause which greeted George
Lavigne as he followed the colored
man into the ring. Lavigne's seconds
were his brother, Billy Lavigne. Tim
McGrath and Billy Armstrong.
When Lavigne and Walcott dropped
their robes in the ring their splendid
condition was apparent.
The gong sounded at $50. Both men
came to the center and spared. La
vigne led first with his left and clinch-
ed. Lavigne caught Walcott on the
head with left hook, and moment
later got in a good left on the body
Lavigne rushed, and landed a. hard
left on body. Walcott stopped another
rush with a good stiff left on face
Lavigne forced the fighting, and landed
both right and left on jaw, staggering
the colored man, who repeatedly cIineh-
ed to avoid the terrific rushes from La
vigne. The gong sounded in a hot
mix up in the center of the ring in
which the white han had all the hae+
of it. He drew glood from Walcott,s :
nose.
In the second round Lavigne rushed
Walcott into corner, and tried with
his right, but was stopped by a stiff
left on the face. Lavigne had the bet-
ter of this round, doing all the fore
ing.
In the third round Lavigne missed a
right and left for the face, and clinch-
ed. A moment later he put in two on
the face, and a hard left on the body.