Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1897-03-14
BOTH TRAINED TO AN EDGE
Says Al Smith of Corbett and
FitzSimmonS.
BOTH ARE IN FINE SHAPE
And To Pick the Winner Is More Than He
Dare Undertake-The Men Train
ing for Blood.

WORK ON the arena where COrbett and
Fitzsimmons will meet ON St. Patrick's
Day was concluded this afternoon when
the reserved seats were numbered. The
kaleidoscope was put in place at the ring
side, and the arrangements whereby the
big mill can be reviewed at leisure by
thousands all completed and only re-
quires fine weather to make the pictures
a success. The sun had almost the fierce
ness of summer heat and its drying quail
tiles were quickly manifested by the APP
pearance OF the roads, which, though stu
muddy in spots, were sufficiently dried
off to enable both men to do some twelve
miles of outdoor work. The effect OF
Yesterdays pow-wow over Silef S inter-
probation of the rules was manifested In
the work OF both men today.
Fitzsimmons was particularly atten-
Rive to hitting on the break and clinches,
and Roeber and Hickey wore a CORY APP
pearance as a result OF the CornIshmans
practice. Corbett, too, old lot OF m
lighting, and Billy Woods pneumatic
aevice did not avail him much In the way
of protection from Jim's short-arm
punches. Corbett's foo- work was most
admirable, and none OF the squad were
able to make him extend himself. Inc
Californan's quarters were the Mecca OF
all sight-seers today, and Charley White
had his hands full in keeping the crowd,
OF which two-thirds We're women, from
encroaching too much on the limited
space in che hand ball court.
f'itzslmmonS has recovered from the
shock he received when Corbett delib-
era tely fouled him, according to the
Chesterfield rules, and he was in great
humor today. He took good beating at
qaoits without murmur, and admit ted
a number cf deadheads to see him at
work. From short spin on the wheel
he turned to the punching bag for ten
rounds, winding up with geyser dis
play of hard hitting. Earnest Roeber
was first man up with the gloves. Bob
invited the man from Hanover to "come
in and fight" and Earnest accepted the
invitations With true pugiliss hospital
ity Fltzsimmons met him at the door
and openeda cut about the Germans ear.
Roeber kept coming in" just the same
and at the end of the third and last round
both men were smeared with blood
Hickey laughed al Ernests misery, but
he lost his smile when Fitzsimmons' split
open his forehead in a breakaway Three
rounds were all Dan wanted and Stenzler
was thankful when his boxing engage
rnent was declared Off
= Bob's inside work concluded with few
games of hand ball. He sprinted twelve
miles in the afternoon behind a horse
and buggy driven by his wife and retired
early
Corbett was even more vicious than the
Australian. He puffed up Jeffries' lip
with straight left and dished up few
Woods mask with blood and splitting his
lower lip. Brother Joe" was more eau
tious than the others and kept a re-
spectful distance. Jim wore out Splinter
Ryan and Billy Delaney on the road be-
fore noon, covering twelve miles alto
gether in his mornings walk. He spent
considerable time with the dumb bells
and clubs, contrary to his usual custom.
The wrist machine was not neglected and
the punching bag was given an extra
whirl. Three fast games of hand ball
left the champion in nice perspiration
for his afternoons boxing. He was not
SO irritable as yesterday nor did the
presence of the crowd seem to annoy him
so much. Not less than fifty vehicles
were down near the hand ball court and
every knot hole commanded premium.
A mob of some small boys climbed up on
the roof and many of them passed in
through the skylight and perched among
the rafters Jeffiries, Woods and Joe
Corbett each spared four speedy rounds
and McVey took his customary trounc-
ing. Jim has the knack of hitting in
clinches down to a. fine point and his box
ing companions all bear red spletches on
their chests as result Upper-cutting
he does not seem to favor His arms
swing less rigid than Fitzsimmons' and
he keeps well over the guard in mix-up.
The general appearance won over num-
today for the first time.
Al Smith, of New York, final stake
holder in the big mill, arrived from San
FFancisco this afternoon and headed for
the Bullion bank where he deposited $685.
600 in certificates. This amount will be
handed over to the winner on ST. Pat
rick's day. After visiting Shaws
Springs, Cooks ranch and Stuart's arena,
Mr.. Smith dictated the following inter-
view for distribution to press CORE
spondents:
''The prospects are the most rosy that
ever attended an affair of this sort. 1
find that both Of the men are in admira-
BILE shape, and If there ever was a sin
cere pair of pugilists you have them in
Corbett and Fitzsimmons. I find that
they are trained to an edge and the con-
test should be a corker. Such conf
dence as the men display is astonishing.
OF course, there must be winner and al
loser, but If you can find the latter or
line that would lead to that conclusion
by looking over and talking to the men,
you beat me. I cannot for the life of
me recall contest which presents such
complex questions as this in the matter
of calling the turn. l went out to look
over the arena, too, and found 1t the
best of its sort ever visited There is
not a seat in the whole vast structure
which does not present a clear, unob-
structed view. The welter and feather
weight fights look to for whole lot
OF genuine sport. II he men are So even
ly matched and have trained so faith
fully, that I would not be bit sur
priscd to see the best fight of the three
crop out in one of the lesser engage
ments. With these conditions backed
up by weather, such as one would expect
to find in tropical lands, this time of
year, predict that Mr.. Stuart will get
some returns for the ceaseless and I'M
firing pluck he has displayed. 1t would
take a whole lot of money to induce me
to miss the treat know is in store for
the lovers of the manly art.
C'Signed.D AL SMITH"
The two pool rooms are not taking in
enough money to pay room rent. A ia
vorite combination is Corbett, Green
and Hawkins, and the odds against the
trio have been cut down from > to 3 to
1. The wad Of eastern money which was
supposed to go on Fitzsimmons is not
in sight and there appears to be enough
San Francisco coin behind Corbett to
keep the odds where they were, 10 to z,
with Fitzsimmons at the short end.
Excursion rates from the Pacific coast
were effective today and trains are head
ed for Carson City from all points In the