The Saint Paul globe., 1900-06-03
TOO MUCH LIKE TRAESIY
DECISIONS RENDERED IN LIMITED
ROUND BOUTS WHERE THERE
IS A DOUBT
RYAN IS OPEN TO CENsURE
Made "A GrIcvOus Mistake in As
saulting Referee MaIaehy HO-
Enn-McCOy Adds Another
Victory to His String.

Victory to His String.
When twelve men are to pass upon
the guilt or innocence of a fellow being,
n is the instruction OF the court that
there must be not as much as a reason
able doubt of the guilt of the accused
should the Jury declare against him.
When there is doubt in a boxing match
there should be no decision. This SHOULD
be stipulated in the articles of agreement.
as It was when Mccoy ard Ryan met In
Chicago. 1t may be true. probably IS,
that Mccoy had all the better of the
milling, but it does not necessarily fol-
low that he would have won had the con-
test gone to a fnish. Besides ii was stip-
ulated In the agreement between the
principals that should both be upon their
feet at the termination of the six rounds
they were to box. then there should be
no decision, and the verdict would be a
draw Had the articles lacked that stip-
ulation It is possible. if not probable,
that RYAN might have fought differently
McCoY also might have adOnted tactics
entirely foreign to those employed by
him. so that a draw was the only fair
settlement of the istic controversy. and
the TattersaIs club did the proper thing
when it reversed the decision of the ref
cree and declared the bout a draw.
RYAN'S BAD BREAK.
However that may all be. Tommy Ryan
made the mistake Of his life when ne re
sented the mistake of the referee by at
tacling that official after he had rendered
a decision in favor of Mccoy. Ryan sur
Drised his friends everywhere by his ap-
parent lack of good Judgment of which
he is supposed to possess a goodly guam
1
adding to the ammunition of the oppo-
nents Of boxing, at which he cams "A
livelihood. He should have patiently
awaited the action of the club. and is
probably now regretful of his unseemly
haste. As a rule Ryan is one of the bet
ter class of Dugilists. He conducts him
self IN a most exemplary manner, is by
no means q rOwdY and what could have
possessed him when he attacked Ma!a-
chy Hogan In the ring after the deci-
sion against him is a mystery to his host
of admirers. Principals should never
take a chance OF doing something that
they will afterward regret. There is too
much at stake. Ryan could not complain
We're he debarred from further sart:ci-
patton in the boxing game in Chicago.
HOW MISTAKES ARE MADE.
Reverting to the matter of decisions in
limited round bouts: A referee may be
right in his decision. He may carry with
him the majority of the spectators, and
yet he may have erred. 1 will cite a few
instances to make clear the argum ent:
What would have been the verdict in the
Jeffries-COrbett battle in New York, had
1t been for twenty instead of twenty-five
rounds? COrbett would have received the
decision, beyond all doubt And Jeffr.es
finally won. Had the battle between
Jack Dempsey and George La Blanche,
in which Dempsey was knocked out in
the thirty-secOnd round, been a limited
round bout, Dempsey would have been
declared the victor LaBlanche scarcely
phazed the gallant "Nonpareil' up to
the accidental pivot" that carried to
Dempsey his first defeat in the ring.
Where would Bob Fitzsimmons have
stood today had a half-dozen of the bouts
in which the kangaroo engaged been of
the limited round class? He would have
lost to Choynski, to Corbett and to others
who seemed to have him beaten up to his
inevitable Knockout blow.
IRRITATES PATRONS
The most Objectionable feature of the
limited round boxing match where there
must be a decision is that in the ma
tority of instances such verdicts irritate
patrons of the game, and that is just
what boxers and promoters of the sport
should seek to avoid. Without patronage
boxing would lose interest to all parties
concerned. Hence, the aim should be to
do that which will please rather than
displeasa the men who pay for the sport.
There was much dissatisfaction over
George Siler's ruling in the Jeffries
Sharkey bout in New York-so much so
that Si,er has not forgotten that affair.
Now, there is no question that Siler did
other than what he thought was the
proper thing. and the chances are all in
favor of his decision having been emf
nently fair, so far as points were con-
cerned. But had Siler declared that af-
fair a draw, he would have pleased more
people than he displeased by awarding
the verdict to JeCfries, with Sharkey on
his feet and able to continue the milling
and he would have displeased only those
who were directly interested in the sue
cess of Jeffries.
LINE SHOULD BE DRAWN.
There should be a sharp line drawn be-
tween boxing and fighting. In the limited
round contests there should be a stipula-
ton that if both men were on their feet
at the termination of the bout then there
would be no decision. And this should
be made known to the public in advance.
With that sort of a rule no one could be
treated unfairly, and the spectators could
decide for themselves which was the bet
ter man of the two engaged in the milling.
When men are to go for a championship
let them get together and make the re-
suit so decisive that there can be no
question as to superiority. Some may
say this is impossible under existing laws.
IT is nothing of the kind. Boxing is box
ing-fghtirg is fighting. There are box
ing champions who would make a sorry
showing If compelled to enter a ring and
go to the finish. Surely they are not en-
titled to the laurels of fighter who is
willing and able to go any distance but
happens to lack the pretty tricks of the
accomplished boxer. Let the public say
who did the prettiest boxing, but give no
man another's hard-earned laurels be
cause he happens to make his adversary's s
nose bleed.
RYAN AND SMITH.
Tommy RYAN and Billy Smith once met
in a battle that looked all Smith for a
greater portion of the fighting Then.
though bleeding freely, Ryan shot in and
put out the mysterious boxer. Had that
battle been a six-round bout Ryan would
certainly have lost, when there is scarce
ty any one who doubts he is the master
Of Smith. / might cite anV number of