The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-12-10
OLD WAY WAS BETTER
NEW METHOD OF MAKING PUGI-
LISTIC CHAMPIONS DENOUNCED
AS MOST UNSATISFACTORY
FRIENDS OF ERNIE PROTEST

Their Recent Twenty-Five Round
COntest-Referee SiIer Thought
Differently, as Did Many of Those
Who Witnessed the Battle.
In the days when ring championships
were won where there could be no cavil
as to which was the better man, because
tho defeated boxer was not in condition
to dispute the decision of the referee,
the champion In his class was recognized
as the king of them all. Not SO today,
when championship battles are decided
on points. Referee SiFer brought down
upon himself q storm of indignant de-
nunciation when he said that Jeffries
had made a better showing than Shar-
key in their famous battle at Coney ISL
and. Now he is in a peck OF trouble be-
cause he decided that Erne and O'Brien
were each entitled to share Of the hon
ors in the contest for tho worlds light
weight championship. The friends of the
champion, Frank Erne contend that
their favorite made the better showing
- that his work was cleaner" throughout.
despite the fact that Erne was knocked
on his feet oftener than was O'Brien,
and that 1t is admitted that the East
erner's blows had more steam behind
them than did those of the Buffalo boxer.
FINISH IS THE THING.
No championship should be decided
upon the showing made by a boxer in a.
limited round contest. There should be a
rule that if. at the termination Of bout.
both men were on their feet and ready to
h.
Ihere Is no referee living who is compe-
tent to pass upon a bout in which one
may may have displayed more pretty
work than his competitor. Perhaps did
the battle go to finish the pretty box
er might be hors dc combat at its ter
mination. The referee of limited round
bout is about as safe as Is the Judge at n
baby show who decides that any one baby
is Drettier than is another. The mother
of the particular bit of humanity that the
Judge thinks has the "cutest'' pink toes,
and the deepest d1mples, and the most
roguish eyes is with the judge, while
the dozens of disappointed mothers whose
babies are, In their eyes, prettier than
the one that received the blue ribbon,
would like to have that particular judge
of pretty babies run for congress In Utah.
TOO MANY CHAMPIONS.
There are altogether too many cham
p1ons nowadays. There Is. the heavy. the
light heavy, the middle, the weller the
light. the 130-pound, the 125-pound, tho
feather. the bantam and others, and the
result is that there Is no recognized su-
perior boxer in the ring. That is, there is
no one man who is regarded as inVincibl9.
Jeffr1es is by no means hero. America
has no recognized heavyweight cham
pion; no undisputed midd1eweight pre-
m1er; no lightweight who is in undis-
puted possession Of his title; no feather
weight who can say: Il am the only"
No bantam who Is admittedly the front
of them alf-for Terry McGovern Is Meth
er feather nor bantam. And all this Is
due to the fact that boxing Is no longer
sport, but a money-making scheme.
The inevitable result may be deferred for
years, but it must eventually come. There
will be no change in the methods of de-
Gliding ring championships, or there will
be none to change.
SHARKEY AND CORBETT.
Sailor Tom Sharkey is to train Jim Cor
bett for his battle with Jeffries That is
the latest bit of ring news from the East
1t is said that Sharkey and Corbett met
by chance, the usual way, and that the
former man-owar' s-man proffered his
services to fit the eX-champion for his
go with the present claimant to that
title. And, 1t Is added Corbett promptly
accepted the offer. What strange bed
fellows politics and prize fighting bring
together. Sharkey must have a motive
In his efforts to get into the game In
which Jeffries and Corbett are to be the
star performers. What it is remains to
develop. 1t may be that the sailor has
such supreme contempt for the much
Wanted ability of Jefries that he wants
to be on the winning side, or it may be
that he Is playing for future stakes. At
any rate 1t is queer combination.
M'GOVERN AND SANTRY.
Terry McGovern IS to endeavor to es-
tablish his claim to the featherWeight
premiership in a battle with the hard
hitting and clever Chicagoan, Eddie San
try. McGovern has grown too big for the
bantam class. He will never be smaller,
and may get bigger as the years speed
by. Should he defeat Santry there is
| every reason why he should be hailed as
| the feather champion. Santry has shown
conclusively that he is the best Of the
lot Of today. He is a bit heavy for the
redoubtable Irish lad, but McGovern is
| so fast and SO strong that his admirers
have no fears OF the result Of the match
which has been made between the little
men. 1t may oe that in McGovern the
ring has a second Dixon. Perhaps of all
the fighters before the country today Nc
Govern is given most credit for his
| achievements.
FITZ AND JULIAN.
Robert Jennings Fitzsimmons facial
! decorator and soporif1c artist, has had
another falling out with his manager,
| Martin Luther Julian. 1t Is no uncom-
mon occurrence for a fighter and his man.
| ager to disagree Fitzsimmons and
| Julian have had previous differences that
| locked like beyond repair but they have
invariably "got together and buried the
tomahawk in the past. 1t may be differ
! ent this time. It must be borne in mind
| that Fitzsimmons is rich. lie has ample
means with which to live in ease the re-
mainder of his days. He Is not in real
need of a manager now He can spare
| Julian better than can Julian travel
through life without FitZ. 1t was pc
| cuiiar quarrel Fitz wanted box at
| Julian's Chicago theater. There were no
| boxes to spare. Then FltZ said Julian S
Did show was nc good anyway Julian
resented the attack upon his vaudeville
| house. He said that FitZ did not know
a good show from a bad one, and Fitz
| differed Then they tiled up and the
hotel clerk found it necessary to resort
to harsh measures to loosen the knot So
soon as the men were separated Fitz-
simmons packed his grip Cancelled his
| Chicago engagements, and left for New
| York. He and Julian will never again
! slide down the same cellar door, accord
! ing to the statement given out by Fitz.
CHANCE FOR FITZ.
Billy Brady has evidently begun to re-
| aliZo that in order to do business as a
freak his man Jeffries must talk fight