The herald., 1897-05-10

student of anatomy, and knows the exact
pug listic value OF shocks to the solar
plexus upper abdomen. pneumogastrlc
nerve (chin and jaw, the blow at the ante
or end of the short ribs. etc. He first en-
met and defeated Jack Wilkes of Boston,
who at first refused to fight for fear that
he would put the kid" to sleep for good.
II describing this fight and McCoys ring
characteristics, the World says:
Selby was so tall, so thin, so anaemic-
looking. that Wilkes feared he must com
NIT mansaughter with his first punch Sell
by considerably fought so that Wilkes did
not hit him once while he was putting
Wilkes to sleep. So the pale youth has
fought all through his career. Fearing to
his name into the ring, he has a ways called
himself kid" Mccoy He has knocked out
hundreds of men in the last six years.
nous m $ reach s Of selby's arms. This is Of
great Importance. In an artillery duel the
battery whose guns throw shells three
miles ought to beat battery whose guns
throw only two miles. In the prize ring
men cannot always keep off at long range,
still most of the fighting is done in this
way.
Selby's total reach is seventy-six inches.
This is longer than that of Corbett Fitz-
simmons Jackson or any other man who
has become famous in the ring. It means
that when Selby stretches out his arms
a. full length the distance from his left
finger tips to those of his right Is six feet
four inches.
Selhy's chief aim in battle is to get inside
the other fellows guard. He does it, too,
in a mysterious way that has always puz-
zled his enemies as soon as they become
conscious enough to wonder about it. He
never forgets the ancient maxim that a
straight line is the shortest distance be-
tween two points. If two men are trying
to eliminate the distance between their
fists and each others jaws that man will
win whose fist travels the shortest dis
tance
This rule is so simple that one is reluctant
to cal! attention to it. yet it is sad fact
that not per cent of the men who live by
punching fellows know anything about
it. They think that savage scowls and long.
heavy swings will do the bus ness 1t Is
only by rare good fortune that blows of this
KIND land, whereas the short, straight Nles
are almost sure to get to their proper
marks.
Selby's fighting position looks crouchy.
lie does crouch. up about the head ana
shoulders. but he Is as loose from the loins
downward as a walking panther. He is
on tiDtoe all the time, ready to dart in his
left fist when the first opportunity offers.
jaw and chin from swings without the la
Dor of raising his arms. All Of Selby' s
fighting tactics are mGeel devices for saw
ing labor n the ring l&s arms held close
He does not hit quite straight; His blow
| Is not the lunge of the rapier. 1t is rather
like the twisting thrust Of the schlager.
With his left fist held well forward. Selby
jabs it al his opponents chin with curious
sideways motion towards the right. The
distance between the fist in repose and the
point where it strikes the chin is rarely
more than eight or ten inches.
How does Seby get the power into this
blow? He stiffens his entire frame only
as far as the left elbow. then from that
foundation whips in the left fist with a sort
of swapping thrust. The impact of this
blow broke big Jim Days jaw. 1t has put
! DDS ranging from ten seconds to three or
four hours The blow is new. and it is
Selbys own. It is really beautiful in its
simplicity. 1t can be landed on the BODY
| A pleasant variant of this blow is to
coax the enemy to make right fist lunge
/ at the head. Selby thrusts. forward his
( left arm and pops out the elbow so as to
throw off the incoming right. Then. start"
ing his left fist from its extended position
he whips it in on the jaw. thereby causing
well with his right arm and fist. They are
new.
is only part of Selby's armament.
Reports from the east are that both Ma
her and Sharkey are training hard Tor
their coming $4,000 battle, which promises
to be an interesting event If the sailor Will
only fight fair and not resort to the foul
tactics which have characterized his per-
formances in the past. Opinion seems to
be about evenly divided as to the. outcome,
for while it is agreed that Maher Is the
better man. his reputation as an unucky
fighter clings to him and has its effect.
Should he defeat Sharkey it would go far
toward breaking the"hoodoo" which has
hung over him.
The coming contest between Fred Bogar
and Harry Jones at the Athletic clut
should be worth seeing. Began is one o.
the cleverest lightweights that ever steppe'
| into the ring. and although he has in,
! iured homself by dissipation he is a goot
man yet and capable of giving a fair ac
count of himself. Jones is fair. game
fishter. with more than average science
and q capacity for taking punishment that
is positively refreshing.