Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1897-10-31

Island. There are great many wagers
On the result.
Following is the full Associated
Press report of the Lavigne-Walcott
fight in San Francisco Friday night,
! which was crowded out of Saturdays
! issue on account of the lateness of the
/ hour and lack of space:
George Lavigne whipped Joe Wal
| colt tonight and whipped him thor
oughly. Ten thousand people saw the
! fight under the auspices OF the Occi-
/ dental Club.
/ While the ending was abrupt and
unexpected at the moment, not one of
the great crowd believed the eventful
ending would prove unfavorable to the
Saginaw lad. He set a terrific 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 in
| every round. While Walcott STAYED
/ off the sturdy Michigan mans rushes,
/ he could not stop Lavigne. At the
! close of the ninth round Joe was seen
to limp in going to his corner and his
( seconds gave their attention to his
! legs. Walcott is subject to muscular
cramps in his lower limbs, and it was
/ this ailment which unfortunately at
tackled the colored man tonight. How
ever, this attack did not affect his
fighting in the early rounds of the
fighting and only served to end the
fight in Lavignes favor at an earlier
/ stage than was looked for, as it was
apparent from the beginning of the
fifth round that LavIgne's lead could
NO low Fl,
the body, and it was these blows that
took the life out of the colored man
On no similar occasion has such
crowd ever assembled in Mechanics
Pavilion as that which poured into the
big building tonight to witness the
, fight. While the attendance at the
COrbett-Sharkey bout and the notori-
Gus Fitzsimmons-Shark fiasco were
something enormous, the crowd came
to see the big men in ring costume
rather than with the hope of seeing a
great contest. But tonight every one
came with the expectation of seeing a
I decisive encounter between the two
! greatest fighters in the world at their
weight
| The doors leading to the gallery of
the big building were thrown open as
held tickets admitting them to that
portion of the pavilion acted on the
rule of first come, first served" the
gallery seats Immediately filled IN.
| The crowd upstairs was a good
natured one and settled down for the
wait which they knew they would have
to endure.
The seats on the man floor began
of III,
preliminary was called an hour later
every chair had it's occupant, and men
! and boys were perched upon the b5am5
of the great arched roof overhanging
the ring.
TDe arrangements made by the OcCi-
dental Club for the comfort of the pub
lie were most elaborate. A squad Of
fifty policemen guarded the en- .rarce
and kept back the 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 easily distinguished. A large force
of Pinkerton men supervised the seat
ing OF the spectfa)rs, and those who
neld the proper credentials were placed
in their seats without confusion.
While the evenings programme was
late in opening, the preiiminaries be-
tween local boxers were curtailed and
at $3.50 Joe Wolcott stepped into the
ring. He was attired in a long gray
bath robe. He was followed by Tom
U Rourke, George Dixon and Joe Col
ton. Walcott was warmly applauded.
but it was discounted by the roar of ap-
plause which greeted George Lavigne
} q : hn fO11 al =
ring. Lavigne's seconds were his
brother, Billy Lavigne, Tim McGrath
and Billy Armstrong
When Lavigne and Walcott dropped
their robes their splendid condition was
apparent. The gong sounded at 9:55.
Both men came to the center and spar
red. Lavigne led first with his left and
clinched. Lavigne caught Walcott on
the head with a left hook and a mo-
ment later got in a good left on the
body. Lavigne rushed and landed hard
left on body. Walcott stopped another
rush with a good stiff left on the face.
Lavigne forced the fighting and landed
both right and left on the jaw, stag
gering the colored man, who repeated
ly ciinched TO avoid the terrific rushes
from Lavigne. The gong sounded in
hot mix in the center of the ring, in
which the white man hat all the best of
it. He drew blood from Walcotts nose.
In the second round Lavigne rushed
Walcott into corner and tried with
his right, but was stopped by stiff
left on the face. Lavigne had the bet
ter of the round, doing all the forcing.
The pace during the first four rounds
was terrific. In the third round La
vigne missed a right and left for the
face and clinched. A moment later he
put in two on the face aind a hard left
on the body. The Kid put in two hard
rights on the body in successor and
got a hard left on the face I.avigne
rushed, but Joe ducked and George
went over his head. Lavigne forced
Walcott about the ring, but the latter
did some fast work to keep cut of
harms way.
In the fourth round Lavig .e opened
up hosti4ties with a right hook, hut