The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-02-24
JOHN L. sULLIvAN's VIEWS.
Solar Pi.xus Blows and Hits on the
law.
from the New York Sun


Several sporting men INDUCED in a dis
| eussion at John L. Sullivan's cafe the
other night as to which is the more harm
tul blow. smash on the point of the law
/ or drive in the pit of the stomach call
ed the solar plexus punch nowadays The
! former heavyweight champion after lis
tenlng to various expressions of opinion
said conyincingly:
Take it from me as dead straight that
killed in prizeights have been hit on the
most dangerous used in the prize ring.
You'll find that what few men have been
killed in prize fights have been hit on the
chin or jugular and have fallen over in
such manner that their heads have hit
the floor with force enough to fracture
the skull In the old days. while all the
pugilists used stomach blows, they always
tried for the point of the jaw to put a ran
20 sleep. That was my long suit as you
well know l used to catch a fellow on
the chin with my right and it was all off
the first time l landed it. Yet 1 never
killed anybody.
The blow on the jaw generally hits a
nerve and for the moment paralyzes the
brain. That's why a fellow goes down
quick, because he doesn't know where
he's at. The jaw, of course. is liable to be
broken and as l said before there's a
chance for a fractured skull. But it's a
dead-sure Knockout pun:h just the same.
provided it lands. To show how tender
the point of the jaw must be- you've only
got to see Fitzsimmons hand in those lit
tie three-inch hooks of his. He doesn't
swing his mawleys like a blacksmith but
he steps in close and jolts the jawbone
WITH punch which,, though it doesn't
travel far, has enough power in it to
knock man cold. A big man with a thick
neck and solid shoulders can take a jaw
breaker better than fellow with a long
thin neck and weak frame. fighter
- tn powerful legs. such as Jefferies. can
stand up under smashes on the head bet
ter than a thin-legged boxer OF the Cor
bett and FitzsimmOns type. 1t stands to
reason that a house with solid founda-
tions will stand up better in cyclone
than one with weak underpinning.
THE stomach. or solar plexus. blow is
not so harmful in my estimation. When
it is properly delivered it simply knocks
the wind out OF a man just long enough
to make him unable to go on. That was
the case at Carson when Fitz stopped Cor
hett. The latter was getting
along finely until Bob got in
his shift and filed the left to
the stomach so hard that Jim didn't know
what hit him. The wind was knocked out
OF Corbett That was all. He wasn't IN
while on all fours and a few
after he had been counted out
he was all right. II. however. he had got
ten up before the limit had been reached
Fitz. with blow on the jaw, might have
killed him. as Jim's heart was probably
affected for the time being by the force
OF the punch in the stomach. Fitz prac-
tically licked Rubin with left hand body
punch in the second round but Gus had
the stamina TO take it and get up inside
of ten seconds. After that. however. he
was no use ard Fitz won as he pleased
bug was compelled 20 land a smash on the
jaw to end the mill. Few pugilists have
been seriously injured with these body
blows. If mans stomach is in good coll
iition he can stand lots OF them. II he's
not fit in the breadbasket he's a dead
'ock in the pit.
Look at Dixon. for instance When Nc
Govern started to hammer him in the body
here was nothing to it. Georges stom-
Lch was all gone and he couldn't stand Ut
lnder such betting as Terry handed to
lin. I'll admit that latter -day pugilists
lave made more of a study of body blows
han they used 10 do. The heart blow has
'een perfected. also the kidney punch. The |
after has been developed so that all z |
elbow has to do is to hold on with one !
land and hammer the kidneys with the !
,ther. Referees allow the rules to be yi0-
nted when they permit such business.
The greatest amount of body punching |
hat I've seen in recent years was that re-
eived by SharkCy from Jeffries. The |
ailor got it good and vas laid up for
everal days. but there were no i'll effects.
hose young fellows who die from the eff
scts of blows in the ring are as a rule
and out of condition; nov
,e5, in fact You never hear of pugilist
t and strong dying in the ring. But if
man does happen to die in nine cases
ut of ten it's due to a blow on the head |
omewhere and not on the body"