The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-07-09


Corbett has no one to blame save him
self for his downfall as boxer. He
certainly received full need of praise for
his achievements from the public, and
had he conducted himself properly might
have been the beau ideal of fighter. A
great majority of those who read of
prize fighters pictured Corbett as the
gentleman of the ring. They were espe-
cially proud of him because all the world
believes that a gentleman is the master
of cad with natures weapons-the fists.
He. was Gentleman jim" Now he is
something else. At the Erne-Lavigne
battle for the lightweight championship,
Corbett had the termerity to announce
from the ring that he was getting into
shape to meet the winner of the Jeffries-
Sharkey go. He was coldly received.
They may have accentuated his anger to-
wards Kelly At any rate he brutally at
tackled the referee and made for himself
additional enemies.
JEFFRIES AND SHARKEY.
There is ominous lack of interest in the
proposed enthusiastically match. 1t may
be too soon for the public to begin to
enthuse, but in the matches of that cali
Der it is the rule rather than the excep-
ton that the talk begins to grow as soon
as the match is made. There has been
no move toward a ratification of the ar
ticles which have virtually been agreed
to by the men. Sharkey has said that he
is in training and will be ready to go
to New York when ordered to do so by
his manager, Tom O'Rourke But the
binding feature of the articles is lack
ing That is what the public is prone to
disapprove There have been so many
matches of that sort that have fallen
through because of the delay in signing
the articles. Eight weeks is the time
allotted to pugilist to get into shape
for a championship battle If the men
are to fight In, October they should be
getting ready to sign and select training
quarters. October is not far distant
PASSING OF LAvIGNE.
kid" Lavigne, the mighty lightweight
who killed Andy Bowen, of New Orr ms,
with a blow, Is ''has-been." He has
paid the penalty of disobedience of the
laws that govern the successful athlete.
Nature is a stern mistress and will brook
no abuse of her gifts. Physical culture
IS a part of the curriculum of the Young
Mems Christian association, because to
become successful athlete a man must
practice morality. And he cannot cheat
himself or nature by appearing exemplary
before his teachers and the world, for If
he attempt to deceive and be false to him.
self the penalty is defeat and exposure.
That was the fate Of Lavigne. He pre-
tended to be what he was not. His hab-
it's of late have not been what they should
have been He has paid the score
Frank Erne beat him to a standstill and
is now champion. To the credit of
Lavigne be it recorded. He lost his title
as he won it-displa wing an utter absence
of fear or suffering and the gameness OF
a lion
RITCHIE'S RISE AND FALL.
Johnnie Ritchie, the lad who had the
temerity to take on Terry McGovern, and
who was knocked out by the little Won
der in the third round of what was TO
have been a twenty round contest, IS
ST Louis production. Richie IS a bar
Der. He began fighting in the vicinity
of st. Louis, meeting and defeating all
the good little men there. Then he went
to Chicago and showed himself the mas
ter of the good boxers among the little
men there He was ambitious. and his