The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1898-03-22
WITH THE SPORTING FOLKS
Conflicting Reports Regarding
Joe ChOynSki's Condition.
THE JACKSON-JEFFRIES FIGHT
ChOynsEi Fighter Whose Courage
and Honesty Have Never Been
Questioned - Kid McCOy's Talk
Smncks of InsIncerity-Jncks
Future Depends on This Battle.

| The dispatches from San Francisco
announcing that Joe Choynski is suffer
| ing from blood poisoning are conflicting.
Some say that the ailment will prevent
! Choynski from ever again entering the
ring Others are TO the effect that while
his condition is serious and that his
physicians say that he will have to re-
tire for the present, he may, with good
care, be able to fight again.
If Choynsk should be forced to quit
boxing there will be genuine regret
among ring followers the world over.
I lie is not a champion and has met with
numerous defeats, notably those with
Jim Corbett and Joe Goddard. But
! Choynsh probably has more friends
among the fighting contingent than any
/ other boxer in the world. He has never
/ shrked a battle. He is a light heavy
weight and hardly in the class with
| Corbett, Goddard and Maher, but he has
met them all, and gloated over the OPP
portunity to do so. In each case he went
down, but he went down a game and
honest loser with nothing but regret on
the part of the sporting world.
Peter Maher unquestionably stands
next to Choynski in point of popularity.
But Maher has suffered at times from
suspicion. Choynski never has. In fact
he is one of the very few fighters against
whom no word of doubt as to his cour
age and honesty has ever been uttered.
Whenever he has gone into the ring
there was absolute confidence that he
was there to win, and that only sheer
I inability TO cope with an adversary would
turn him out a Loser The boxing world
viii sincerely hope for Choynski's early
! recovery. He is the kind of man sport
! ing men can tie to, and they do not want
to lose him.
In this connection it is rather singular
to note the coincidence that Kid Mccoy
| is suddenly out with the unqualified as
sertion that he will go after ChoynsN
/ for a match" soon as his battle with
I Gus Rubin is over. Mccoy, unless his
. declaration has escaped notice, has here
{ tofore been guarded in his talk about
fight with Choynski. In fact he has not
/ evidenced a consuming desire to tackle
/ the Hebrew and il can be said without
injustice to him that about nine-tenths
/ OF the sporting world were suspicious
! that he really wanted none Of Choynski
/ game. Now, however, with the same
| misfortune, Mccoy sends out word tina.
he is ready to go after him. Is it pos
sible that the self-constituted holder of
both the middle and heavyweight cham
pionships got word ahead that Choynski
had gone wrong?
There is no desire to do Mccoy injus-
tce. But the alacrity with which one of
these dispatches followed the other may
breed the notion that Mccoy knew pretty
well what he was doing when he pro-
mulgated that message.
Tonight Peter Jackson and Jim Jeftries
come together at San Francisco. There
is much interest manifested in this fight
As far as speculation goes on the result
however, there is very little. This is be-
cause of the suspicion that Jackson's way
of living of recent years has incapacitatcd
him for fighting a hard battle The little
money that has gone up is in Jefrics's ia
vor, the odds being 10 to and in some
cases better.
If Jackson, however, is in as good trim
as his friends claim he is Jeffries viii
surely have a fight that viii make him
extend himself, Notwithstanding his great
advantage in weight. Jackson Will go into
the ring at about 1873 pounds, his usu-
less than 215.
Dispatches last night corroborated the
assertions previously made that Jackson,
contrary TO all expectations. was in prime
condition. His wind is good his strength
is prodigious and his cleverness has in
no way been impaired. This glowing es-
innate of Jacksons condition should be
and undoubtedly is taken with a grain of
salt. II seems outside of probability,
even possibility, that "A man who has
gone the gait that Jackson is said to have
gone while in England should, at the
age of thirty-seven, be as good physical
~ as he was before he began his long
carouse.
That Jackson at one time was one of
the most accomplished boxers, from the
point of science and cleverness, that ev-
er stripped for fight is pretty generally
admitted. And that he was n game and
terrific fighter is not disputed But what
he will be tonight is problem.
On the other hand, Jeffries's admirers
| claim that he not only possesses science
grit and ring gcneralship, but that he has
power to hit that no fighter of the day
can claim. Then he is in the very prime
Of his fighting days. He is twenty-three
years old
This battle will settle to a very great
measure Jacksons future as a pugilist
If he wins he will again be a bright par
ticular star in the boxing armament. If
he loses he will be relegated to the long
list Of has becns." With Jeffries the
conditions are different. If he loses il
will be said that it took a great fighter
to beat him; that he is yet young and has
chance to 90 forward. If he wins his
victory will hardly be regarded as a great
achievement. 1t viii be said he whipped
an old, dissiDated wreck.
The action of a number of league base
ball players in holding off for increased
salaries brings TO mind, says the New
York Sun, the fact that larger salaries
would be paid by all clubs if the players
had not tried to kill the goose that laid
the golden egg in 1890 1t was the revolt
of the Brotherhood men, with the idea OF
running the game themselves and getting
all the big gate receipts, that brought
salaries down to rock bottom figures Be
fore the outbreak n ball player who re-
ceiVed S2,4OO-the present league limit
was looked upon as a third-rater John
NJ. Ward, who captained the New Yorks
in 1888. got close to $1,000, and Buck Ew-
ing, who piloted the team to the league