Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1901-02-16
THE RING
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Mr.. Hogarty may be what report cred
it's him with being, and yet l think he
will find in our Terry a foeman worthy
OF his steel When Abe Willis came to
this country from Australia just as Won
derful stories were told about him. and
yet George Dixon made him look like
counterfeit money when they fought in
san Francisco. l think young Critic the
greatest fighter of his weight Australia
has ever produced. He certainly was
marvel of tistic skill and of hard-hittinS
ability. He posed as featherweight in
this country, yet in reality he was ten
stone weller weight. If Hogarty in his
one hundred and-tirst battle adds Nc
Governs scalp to his collection of tro-
plies. he will be able to make more mon
ey in this country than the mines of
Australia have ever yielded. Somehow
can hardly get myself in the mood to
| believe that he is the invincble warrior
that he is said to be.
Long before George Dixon met his
, Waterloo at the hands of Terry Mccoy
ern l had talk one night With Tom
O'Rourke about him. Tom told me that
the marvellous little Mulatto was dssi-
patins terribly, and that he had found it
impossible to check his carousing career.
Ii he keeps on as he is going" said
O'Rourke, 1T won't surprise me to learn
that he will be whipped inside of a year"
That prophesy came true, for in less
than a year the same O'Rourke had to
toss up the sponge for him in token of
defeat. to keep him from being absolute
ly knocked out by McGovern.
Since that time Dixons career has
been steadily downward. He was to
meet Harry Lyons, a smart colored boy
OF Chicago, at Buffalo tonight, but as l
write it is reported that George is
wholly unfit to go in the ring, and that
his old manager, Tom O'Rourke is doing
his best to have the fight called off. It
is reported that Dixon doesn't weigh
more than 100 pounds, stripped and that
he is really more fit for a ward in hos
rital than the ring of sporting arena.
| feel very sorry for Dixon. He did more
t. gain respect for men Of color than
any negro that ever lived in America,
barring only, perhaps. Fred Douglas;
andBooker T. Washington. Years ago I
suggested that the colored race should
| fifty honor Dixon and its members by
raising a fund and properly invest it 50
that he could be maintained for life with
out having to figure in the prize ring
aeain--to do for Dixon what the English
| people did for Tom Savers after he flu
| tlely fought with John c. Heenan. My
| advice was unheeded. and poor Dixon is
| today virtually an object of charity.
| | fear that his finish is not far off. His
! life will point moral even if it does not
| adorn tale.
Most everybody you meet has the box
ing fever these days" says Dan Murphy.
| People are not only talking about it
| but if you start discussing the game of
hsticuffs the first thing you know some-
/ body is showing you the difference be-
tween a left-hand and a right-arm jolt,
and the demonstration is often practical.
If you happen to argue on past contests,
your friend, whom you have always con-
sidered an exemplary young man of cir
| cumspect. will dig down somewhere in
his clothes and pull a record book on
| you.
! Talk about followers of the ponies
| carrying dope sheets and miscellaneous
| information around in their pockets, I'll
| lay fifteen, six and three right this min
! ute that there are more people in Gin
! cinnati today with record books of the
! boxers in their possession than at any
| time since this city was known in the
| geographical map as Los-itville.'
| Did it ever occur to you how difficult
! it is for two men who are equally match
| ed in point of speed strength and skill
| to hurt each other in a boxing contest ?''
| asks Mike Conley.
Take two men like Jeffres and Rub
| lin. trained to the hour, and If they We're
| permitted to continue boxing indefinite
| ly there is no telling how far they would
| e., before one was forced to retire They
once boxed 20 rounds and at the finish
of the encounter it was so close that the
referee called it a draw.
Then, for instance, take Alec Greg
CLANS and Martin Costello. the clever
middle weights They engaged in sever.
al contests, and, all told, must have box
! ed $50 rounds without either scoring g
| victory. OF course, with the bouts lin.
tied to a few rounds as is the custom
today. we never hear of long contests
but few years ago before they were
limited to a number of rounds, Their,
we're many cases where the contests last
ed for hours.
George Sidons and the worlds ex.
champion lightweight, George Lavigne
were a well-matched pair and in thei
two contests. lasting 1872 rounds of thre,
| minutes each. neither was victorious
Their first bout lasted n rounds, and 81,