The evening times., 1897-05-22

| fighting man is the gieat mans skill in
| taking advantage Of every opportunity.
The close OF the incident Just related
found titzsilnmons standing erect with
eoFbett stooped over before him, rising
after fiaisiag his unsuccessful lCnge at the
body. Here was a line chance for a man
with a quick mind, though it would not
be apparent to an ordinary observer
Quicker than the motion could be fol
lowed by any OF the 5000 pairs OF eyes
focused On the ring. FitZsimmons Con-
tinued Ids side-step, thus placing himself
in safe position defensiyeIy; and at the
same instant he drew his left fist back
ward and downward and then hurled it
upward in long, heavy, swinging upper
cut. He at the same moment hurled around
all the weight Of his body, using his right
foot as pivot, and thus every ounce of
his great frame was concentrated upon
driving home that awful punch
This was the Knockout blow The veri-
scope picture shows its crushing effect
Corbett had tried a left lead for the head,
but it came too late and FitZsimmoHS
avoided it by his sidestepping.
There was not time for Corbett to send
in a defensive blow with his right or even
to clap the forearm across his body as II
guard That swinging left uppereut, with
all the impetus ofthe Cornisiman'S $ weight
in it, struck full upon his solar pleXus. His
collapse was stantaneous
No greater contrast could be imagined
than that presented in the picture Of this
blow. FltZSimm1as is shown active, 1.-the,
throwing al Of his force into the feTocioGs
a
by it's destructive effects. At the very tua-
Llent Of receiving the blow IL will be noticed
that his head falls forward, his mouth ags
open, his eyes roll with an expression of
pain or stock and his knees begin To bend
under hjin.
But Fitzdmmons is still active. still
carrying on the fight The same quick
Intelligence which prompted him to side
step into safety and rip in that knockout
blow stili esges biul forward IN the con
test. Corbett is shaking and t0ttering.
Slowly, very slowly. he begins to pitch
forward and downward. His left hand
clutches al his side, and his hight arm
hangs swinging beiplesSly In less than
one-fifth of a seCoBd the Corhishmaa's
blow is carrying on is work Of destruction.
When Corhett began to fall FitZsimnaonS
made as though lac would hit him with his
right fist. lie reconsidered this, how
ever, and swung around so as 10 bring his
left into range. He drew back that arm
and again swung the fist upw ard, throw
ing behind it ali his great weight
When that blow struck CoTbett he was
technically down He was resting on
his left knee and right foot and right hand
On his face was the most awful look CT
agony the writer has ever witnessed. The
yeriScope picture repToduces it with fl
deity 1t also shows Referee siler be-
ginning to count out Corbett. 1t is of in
tcreSt 70 compare Ftzsimrnons' picture
with the one which shows him striking
the Knockout blow.
In the Knockout IL will be seen tEat
he IS swinging every atom OF It's weight
into the blow. In the punch while Corhett
is down he apIiears not To lie swinging
so hard One Is inclined to believe that
while the blow was in midair Fitz>iiamons
saw that he was hitting a fallen man
ard that he did all in his power to hold
il back.
Yet il is a fact that Fitzsimmous' left
fist did strike CoTbett's left jaw while
Corl,ctt was down. The veriScope proves
that beyond the possibility Of any doubt
That hlow is a foGl, technically, under the
QucenSherry rules, which governed the
contest But the rules are so interpreted
that iuteut is always considered by The
referee in deciding foul. For example,
when FItZsimmons hit Corbett below he
belt in one of the early roaBds it was
plain as day that he did not intend to
do SO, and therefore he was not even
warned by the referee.
The strangcst thing in the wl ole history
of the fight is that Referee SierS, fight
ing man OF great experience, the highest in
tcgrity and excellent sight, should fal to
see the technical foul blow. He was near
est To it, Fl . eyesight is easily excused,
however, by the fact that not one OF the
thousands of spectators saw it The veri-
scope record cannot be denied
II the referee had seen Fitzsimmons'
blow while Corbett was down and decided
it a foul Corbett would stln be champion OF
the world