The San Francisco call., 1898-12-17

HTOleSSOT WaiJG \ atson there is possibly not another mal n this coast who has such @ good knowl .dge of boxing as De Witt Van Court Yho is the present boxing instructor O he Olympic Club. Mr. Van Court. in tn communication to The Call, of CTS many valuable suggestions to boxing ,luo managers, which they will certainl. ,roht by if they are desirous of keepini he sport from taint and corruption. Tn writer says:
 OLYMPIC CLUB, Dec. 13
 sporting Editor Call-Dear Sir: As every one knows, the Marquis Of Queensberry fngIlshman, and in my opinion they can het be improved upon, but the trouble Americans have with them is, l think. in the tact that our referees, fighters and hght managers have an incorrect interpre- tatlOn Of them.
 It is seldom an unsatisfactory decision IS given in the National Sporting Club Of London. Not that l think the English referees are more honest or more compe- tent but rom the fact that they enforce each and every rule to the letter. being fearless enough to do 50, regardless Of the betting fraternity.
 To fully cover all the points in dispute in our boxing contests, il will be better, perhaps, to commence rom the time arti- cles are signed until a decision is given, as We can all see mistakes rom the begin ming tO the end In the selection or men to nght the first mistake Is made by the managers of fighting clubs who nine times in ten match hard slugger against clever and shifty fellow. N hen the fight Is over the people who paid their money are dissatisfied with both the fight and the de- cislon, because the clever fellow ran away and the slGgger was not last enough 10 catch him. To overcome all this, let the size of the ring be cut down, as the rules call for a ring of any size rom sixteen 10 twenty-four feet, better yet, match a ''slugger with slugger and Q clever man with one of the same style of fight ing.
 proposition. A boxer will insist that he can fight at l5o pounds at o'clock the day Of the contest, when a matter of fact he cannot make l50 pounds without leaving all his speed and vitality at the training quarters. Alter the weight propo- sition is settled the selection of a referee comes la very important matter in fighO. and the fighters generally insist that a referee be selected at least twenty four or torty-eight hours before con- test. This matter, l contend, should be taken entirely out of the hands of the fighters. What right has a lighter who IS being paid to fight to say who shall be the referee? l think better proposition for the direct benefit of the fighters and the sporting public would be for the man. agers Of clubs or the sporting editors of the daily papers to make the selection. and keep the same 8 secret until the men are in the ring.
 the purse. Under no consideration should a purse be split other than l5 and 20 per cent. IL is only fair that 8 loser should re- ceive enough tor training expenses and 25 per cent will always cover that. There are any number of fighters with fairly good reputatiOns who would consent to a decision against them or a draw for an equal di- vision. l have not yet met fighter who will say that a good punch on the end of the nose is pleasant sensation, but have met quite number who would willingly take any number of punches on the nose or anywhere else provided there was good, fat purse in sight. We now have the fighters in the ring. and the farce begins by the referee absurdly calling the men to the center of the ring for instructions. He asks: Well, boys, what are you going to do, break away clean or hit in the clinches?" The rules distinctly say: No clinching or wrestling allowed. IL Is then just as much of foul 10 hold or clinch man 1t is to hit below the belt.
 Referees should insist on men hitting in clinches. and give contest against a man who clnches without any warning what ever. Some people ridicule the idea Of a referee standing outside a ring. There Is no occasion of referee being within a ring if the fighters be given to understand the rules will be rigidly enforced.
 The rules also call for a timekeeper, whose duty it shall be to keep correct time of the contestant who is down, but under no con sideration shall a referee act as both ref cree and timekeeper. How many times have we seen a man Knocked down ana d referee waste several seconds trying to get his opponent Q safe distance away. so that no fouls will be committed, and then com mence to count off the seconds? Often the interval between the count Is of several seconds duration instead of one, and, fin- ishing the count the referee calls, Flight, nine ten-out," instead of eight, nine out" The rule on this point says: "A man who falls or is knocked down shall be given ten seconds in which to get up. unassisted; meanwhile his opponent shall return to his corner until the fallen man Is on his feet" I have never had the pleasure of seeing a man walk to his corner when he knocked an opponent down. except John L. sulli- van, and who will say that Sullivan was not a fair fighter?
 According to the system of fighting now in vogue the general impression is that the aggressOr should always be given the pref erence, when as a matter Of fact there Is nothing in the Marquis of Queensberry or London priZe-ring rules that gives a ref cree power to decide a contest on points, Yet every referee and lighter nave talked to on that subject has agreed that con test that goes the limit should be decided on points. The question then remains, what constitute the points of boxing?
 You will find that answer only in the amateur rules. It includes leading, counter ing, feinting, slipping, ducking. sidestep- to be delivered with the knuckles of the hand, and any boxer fliclSing, skipping hitting with the wrist or elbow shall be disqualified, and only when all points are equal shall the aggressor be given the pref erence. The rules further state that the scoring of points shall be for every clean blocked with the shoulder or glove cannot be counted as clean hits-the contestant scoring the most number or clean nltS 10 De declared the winner.
 When points are scored in this manner 1t must be plain to any sensible man that limited contest must be fast If it is to be decided on points. The fastest boxing ever seen In this city has taken place at the Olympic Clubs amateur tournaments, where all contests are decided in this manner.
 I have always been in favor of honest box ing but can the game going from bad to worse and the only remedy l see now Is to instruct all referees on entering the ring to declare all bets off. Cut down the size of the ring and I will venture the opinion that your fake fighters will disappear. Last of all give the people referee who un- derstands the rules and Is fearless enough
 DE WITT VAN COURT.
 Boxing Instructor of the Olympic Club. Billy Shannon and Billy Akers left las evening with Floto. the colored pugilist who Is matched to fight George Dixon i .Nev York on January IT.
 The officers of the Princeton Athleti Club. 422 Fifth street. are: President John Griffen; vice president, c. Connolly treasurer. H. Gabel; secretary, F. Perry financial secretary. R. Harrigan; captain A. Neal. Frank Mcconnell is boxing in 5tructor, and John Conroy will act as hi assistant The club will incorporate 1 January.
 The California Athletic and Swimmin Club will open their new clubrooms a Hall, corner of Grove and La guna streets. on Tuesday evening wic 3 boxing exhibition. There will be fou eight round contests for decisions be
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