Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-10-28

class heavyweight championship fight
between big Jim Jeffries and sturdy Tom
Sharkey is not overly bright. 1t is true
that their managers, Tom O'Rourke and
Billy Brady, have a conference, and have
agreed to postpone the day. or rather the
night. of battle a week-to Nov. 3. But
despite his contrary assertion, there is
hardly a possibility that J~effries' Grip
pied arm will be fit and able to do the
duty it will be called on to perform by
that time.
The injured arm is the left, and it will
have to bear the brunt of the hard work.
1t is the arm with which Jeffries will
have to feint. lead, hook and jab, and
unless it is able to stand the strain of
an hours work. Jeffries would be a big
ger fool than Thompson's colt, which
went into the river to get out of the rain,
to attempt to fight such a case of trough
house. as the ex-sea soldier is. He
would not only be inviting, but counting,
defeat.
The fact that it was announced thai
each man had posted a forfeit of 50, 500 to
guarantee his appearance in the ring on
the 9th, that both O'Rourke and Sharkey
had declared that they would claim this
forfeit from Jeffries if he did not show
up in the ring on that date ready and
willing to fight, and that at the conference
the forfeit was not claimed but "waived'
has caused a good deal of adverse COM
ment. twenty-five hundred dollars is a
good deal Of money to waive" 1t is two
and a half times as much as was the
stake Of Tom Savers or John C. Heenan
the "Benecia Boy'D when they fought for
the championship Of the world. and IN,
actly the stake tina John L. Sullivan and
Paddy Ryan each had to put up when
they fought for the championship at Mis-
sissippi City. Sullivan, who had no rich
or influential backing behind him at that
time, had considerable trouble in raising
the stake. Had it not been that O'Rourke
and Sharkey We're both quoted as saying
that they would demand the forfeit.
O'Rourke's waving of it at the conference
would not have excited SO much COM
ment. But as they did SO announce, the
waving is ineXplicable.
1t is highly probable that the injury to
Jeffries' arm will result in the discontin-
uance of the use of "medicine," balls in
training. | never could see a particle of
good in them, and I don't now. The first
time | knew of their use was when John
L. Sullivan was training for his fight with
Jake kilrain. which took place at Rich
burg. ! saw then that a man using them
was liable to wrench or strain himself.
They seem TO hav a peculiar fascina-
ton for fighters, however. but now that
their danger has been clearly demon |
strated, they will probably be discarded,
at least for a time.
Why a fighter should var a wrestler
in his troop of trainers is a puzzle to me. |
The rules expressly stipulate thai in box
ing, holding and "Wrestling' are for |
hidden, and why a man who can only |
teach how to hold and pull, drag and tus-
sic should be needed is more than l can
comprehend. If / We're training a man l
sho'..3 labor to get him in perfect health
and strength, to see that his wind was |
thoroughly sound, and that his speed of
foot, hand, body, eye and head was de-
Veloped to the greatest possible extent.
l would not permit him to use heavy
dumbbells, medicine balls or even heavy
Indian clubs. ! would be exceedingly
careful to keep him from straining or
wrenching himself. l have seen more
thar one man hurt in training in exer-
cises which could be of no possible use
to him in a combat. Jem Mace once told
me that he never knew but five men who !
could train a fighter so as to get the best
possible result out of him. One of them
was Jim Cusick. As a matter of fact.
every man should be studied carefully by |
MS lIdlHeI dHu trained dccofulnS TO MS |
especial needs. Bicycle riding is another i
thing no pugilist in training should in
dulge in.
l see hat Tom O'Rourke intimates
that the injury to Jeffries' arm is hardly
as serious as the champion and his man.
ager claim, and he AYERS that it will
hardly have any effect on the betting
odds, which have made Jeffries a 10 to s
favorite. He says that he has faith in
Sharkey's ability to defeat Jeffries, but
has 81, 800 to bet on his man, provided
that he can get odds of 500 against $15
for his money. He says hat Jeffries hav-
ing the advantage in height. weight and
reach, and having defeated Fitzsjmmons.
should warrant these odds. O'Rourke is
a shreWd bettor and is entitled to use all
the arguments he can find in his favor,
and he is using them: but if the odds go
TO 10 to I it will be because those who
give them felt confident that Jeffries wen
and fit is more than 4 match for Sharkey. |
1t is certain that Sharkey has improved
n good deal in tistic knowledge since
O'Rourke took hold of him. out Jcffries,
under the able tutelage of Tommy Ryan,
has learned a thing or two. If both men
go into the ring fit and well, / think
barring accidents or luck hits (chance
that Jeffries should win, and
O'Rourke's estimate of the true bet
ting odds is a fair one. I do hope that
the men will not come together unless
both are as fit as the proverbial fiddle.
Up to the time of the accident to jeff
ries' arm it looked as though a match be-
tween Kid Mccoy and Peter Maher was
! certainty. Billy Brady, who is a sort