The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-01-11
M'cOY'S FooTWORK A WONDER
ESCAPED MANY A BLOW BY SIDE
STEPPING OUT OF REACH,
And Sent His Opponent to the Floor
Twice in the Third ROund-The
Fight in Detail, and Incidents.

NEW YORK, Jan. 10-Tom Sharkey, the
American sailor, stands tonight the only
heavyweight possibility for championship
honors and the title now held by Bob Fitz-
simmons. He whipped Kid Mccoy good and
hard in the tenth round of what was to
have been a twenty-round battle, and by
doing so the Irish-American pugilist forged
his way so positively and undeniably to the
front rank that Fitzsimmons must now con-
slider the sailor pugilist's claim without de-
lay.
Sharkey tonight was a revelation to those
who saw him a couple Of years ago. His
ring work and generalship are so vastly
superior to his exhibitions when he first
came to the East as a fighter that the i'm
provement is almost incredible. Great
lunches Of muscle, with unlimited conf
dence and a cool head are the qualifications
which have enabled Sharkey to fight his
way to the great rank of heavyweight pugi-
lists, and no one, not even Mccoy, who
suffered defeat at his hands tonight denies
the full measure of praise that is due to the
Irshman.
NIcCoys marvellous foot work and that
long left jab, with which he has put so many
of his opponents to sleep, are two factors
in his makeup that must always appeal to
lovers of the hstic art. He used every arti-
flee known to the advanced school of
pugilism in his contest tonight, and his de
feat must not be attributed to any lack of
close study on his part of every trick in the
boxing game. Many of his friends feel to-
night that he ought to have gone up against
smaller game than Sharkey. When Mccoy
sent Sharkey twice to the floor in the third
round tonight no one doubted the Kids
ability to hit hard, and many thought that
he had Sharl1ey at his mercy. This idea
was soon dispelled when the Irishman began
to get to his man.
When the doors of the Lenox Athletic
Club were thrown open tonight the en-
trance was well guarded by policemen.
From O'Clock the streets in the immediate
vicinity of the club were patrolled by
force of bluecoats, and the people who had
booked their seats in advance had no diff
Guilty in gaining admittance to the club
house building. Cordons of policemen were
stationed in the vicinity of the clubhouse,
and Chief of Police Devery and his subordi-
mates were busily engaged throughout the
evening in keeping the crowd in subsection.
BY 1880 o'clock there were 5000 people in the
house and the turnstiles were clicking mer-
rily. so that by o'clock the attendance was
nearly as many thousand as the hours indi-
Gated
The boxes and seats in the vicinity of the
ring were filled up by o'clock and to look
at the gathering of sports one would think
that all who interested in winter
ing in New Orleans had by some magical
c1,f,
Bookmakers, headed by joe Vendig, made
the welkin ring with their shouts of IN
bet thousand to nine hundred on Mccoy
Come on with your money, the Kid must
win" Come on with your money"
Many bets were booked at these odds and
then the Sharkey money which hove in sight
forced the layers of odds TO offer nothing
better than even money.
Can Mccoy win?" was the question
which went the rounds of the boxes and the
answer to this question was "even money
If the fight is on the level"
"sharkey can do the Kid but let us know
how they are going to fight"
In the first of the two preliminary con-
tests Isadore Straus. of Philadelphia. won
from Kid Carter, an overgrown juvenile
who halls from Brooklyn. They were sched-
uled to fight ten rounds at catch weights.
Carter was the heavier by at least five
pounds Straus was always up to his man
and had all the better of the bout. when
In the sixth round Carter tried to wiring his
opponents neck, Referee White stopped the
bout and awarded the fight to Straus, on d
very palpable foul. Time of round SO.
Kid Broad, of Cleveland, and Frank Pat
terson, of Brooklyn, were the participants
in the scrap that was put on as the second
preliminary to the big bout. These lads
met for ten-round go at 121 pounds and
pummeled each other in anything but a
friendly manner. Patterson was declared the
winner.
After the preliminary bouts had been de-
cided the, betting was 100 to 90 in favor of
Mccoy. A few minutes later the betting
changed 10 even money.
There was a meeting held in the Office OF
the club between Mccoy, Tom ORourke
and Referee Tim Hurst at 1920 O'clock
There were present several prominent men,
among them Jim Kennedy, Eugene Comis-
key and Ben Benton, McCoy's manager At
this conference it was decided tflat Tim
Hurst should decide, as the official referee
what constituted clinch, and thus obviate
any difficulty after the men entered the
ring.
sharlSey and Mccoy entered the ring sim
uitaneously at 1920 o'clock Both wore bath
robes. sharkeys was of a dark brown |
color. and McCoys was almost white Nc
Coys seconds were Doc Payne Con Reilly. |
Frank Erne. Timekeeper, Nate Fenton, Of
Buffalo, Toms seconds were Tom O'Rourke
Tommy Ryan. Of Syracuse; George Dixon |
and Jack Dougherty. Timekeeper. Prof |
Jimmy De Forest. Sharkey's weight was l72 |
pounds. AfcCoy's l5S pounds Mccoy wore
white running trunks with a heIt xvftb tba |