Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1900-01-04
MCCOY FINISHES THE FRESHMAN
IN FIFTH ROUND
TERRIFIC SWING ON JAW
Hardest Blow Ever Struck in Prize
Ring-McCoy Was Best of All But
Fourth Round in Which Maher
Showed Well-How the Betting
Stood.

pldc0u himself III the championship
class by defeating Peter Maher in
brisk, well-fought battle of five rounds
before the COney Island Athletic club
Monday afternoon. The fight was
scheduled to last twenty-five rounds
and the purse was to have been S20,-
600 but the attendance was not as large
as expected, and before the fight be-
gan the principals agreed that the
winner should receive the gross gate
receipts. The battle was hard-fought
from start to finish but Mccoy was far
the cleverer man in ring tactics, dOdg-
ing, side-stepping and hitting powers.
He showed himself to be good ring
general, ever watching for an opening
and never failing to take advantage Of
one. Maher did not get in many effec-
| tive blows. His foot-work was poor
and, at times, he did not appear to
! have perfect control of himself. When
| the men entered the ring and stripped
| condition. They were greeted with
| tumultuous applause. Under the Mar
quis of Queensbury rules, new gloves,
provided by the club were handed to
| the boxers seconds. Maher dOnned
| his quickly but Mccoy claimed the
| gloves did not fit him and stubbOrnly
refused to use them. He insisted on
wearing an old pair, which he claimed
suited him, but the referee was obdu
rate and he gave in. Mccoy was the
aggressor in the start-off, forcing
Maher to break ground. He tented
| cleverly with the left, Maher sparring
with an anxious look on his fare. The
Kid sent left hook to the jaw, floor
| ing the Irishman, who was up in two
seconds. Maher tried two left swings
for the head, but Mccoy side-stepped
neatly and Peter received left on the
| body for his pains In an attempt to
counter, Maher over-reached himself
| and fell. He then began rushing tao
| ties, forcing the Kid to the ropes and
! landing a hard right on the body.
| The Irishman had Mccoy in a tight
place but the Kid broke away nimbly
and sent a hard left to Makers stom-
ach before the first round ended. Nc
! Coy tantalized the big fellow with feint-
| ing in the next round and induced
Peter to make vicious swings with both
| hands. The Kid got into close quar-
| tiers, much to the surprise of Makers
| friends, and, while he received
blows on the back and shoulders he
put the right and left hard to the body.
On the breakway, Mccoy landed a
| staggering left to the jaw. Maher
| landed heavily on the body with both
| hands and, in the breakaway, sent
| left to the ribs. The Kid stepped
! back after this but quickly put a right
on the jaw which sent Peter to his
hands and knees where he remained
! four seconds. When Maher got up, he
seemed to lose his head and rushed at
Mccoy. sending the right to body, but
received three left jabs in the face. In
q rush to the ropes the Kid slipped to
the floor but was up in jiffy, sending
a left to Makers face that threw his
| head back Then, two let's to the jaw
and a right over from the Kid made
the gong a welcome sound for Maher.
Mccoy was more confident than ever
in the third. He tented, but was
rushed to the ropes where he hooked
a left to jaw and escaped Peters re-
turn. Then, he began playing his long
left into Peters stomach and the Irish
man began sparring at long range.
With a WelI-timed feint, the Kid
brought the big fellow to him and sent
INN back with two left hooks on the
jaw. Maher essayed to return but Nc
Coy ducked and they clinched, break
ing from which the Kid sent straight
right to face and another to the stom~
! ach. Maher tried to mix it up and
forced the Kid to the ropes but the
latter got back to the center of the
ring, where he landed a straight left
TO the face. Mccoy assumed the aggres-
sive in the fourth round but Peter
spared carefully. The Irishman soon
began forcing, landing the left lightly
on the wind Maher forced Mccoy
into a neutral corner, planting a ter
rife left on the face and
parrying McCoyS head. The
Kid side-stepped in an un-
usual direction and Peter tried an
other left, which fell short. In the
mix-up which followed, honors were
even and Mccoy was cautioned by the
referee for holding. Maher outpOinted
the Kid by so per cent. in this round,
sending in rights and let's to the head
while the Kid retaliated with let's OH
the wind. Toward the close, Maher
was cautioned for holding and, coming
from the breakaway, he sent a hard
left to McCoy's face. At this stage Of
the game, Makers friends became very
confident that the Irishman would win, !
but Mccoy had a great deal more left |
in him than Peter had bargained for.
In the fifth and last round, the Kid |
tapped Maher with the left lightly in |
the face, all the time shifting to the |
left side. Then both landed let's to |
the head and Peter sent a hard left to |
the face. The Kid countered. Then |
Maher sent one to the throat and |
tried to cross with the right, but the |
Kid ducked and landed the left and |
right on the jaw. Peter wavered. Nc
coy sent another right, which fell bit
short Then, dropping his left to the
body, he tried a right swing and, as
Peter side-stepped, met him with
full swinging left, which landed on
the point of the jaw and the Irishman
went down, resting on his right elbow.
He was counted out in this position. 1t
was a terrific blow, and, landing right
on the mark, an OK could hardly
have withstood its force. 1t
was the cleanest knockout ever seen in