Waterbury Democrat., 1902-04-28
FIGHTS IND FIGHTERS.
Tommy Ryan Tells How Nice It
 Feels to Get Knocked Out.

He Says the Sensation Is One of Pleas
 ure, Not Pain-Jack Root Knocks
 Out Billy Stift-Sharkey and Ruh-
 lin Have Posted Their Forfeits-Los l Angeles May Get the Big Fight.
 Tommy Ryan, one of the best ring generals in the pugilistic game, in talk on the knockout blow, said that there is no more pleasant sensation known to mankind than that of being knocked down and out in d boxing match. ITO the tired and discouraged fighter helplessly awaiting the end it is the sweetest sensation imaginable. The same sensation a man has when he is knocked out is about the same as that which goes with hitting the pipe or riding in rub bber- tired carriage. The reaction comes when the victim recovers and it is far from pleasant" Regarding the knockout blow of mod ern boxing Ryan says: ''If delivered correctly and at the proper angle it ;s absolutely painless to the man who ges down and out. The final blow used by the up to date boxers is not the old time John l.. Sullivan vicious swing. It is a scientific, lightning-like shot jab, delivered from a forearm ac- tion of not more than a few inches, and landed when man is advancing to strike. The blow and it's recipient met half way, and the result is a sud- den jar which makes the victim enter at once upon a dream of pleasant thoughts. There are some mistaken ideas about the knockout blow exist ing in the minds of people ignorant of the ways of modern boxing, "said Ryan
 People seem to think that because q man is put out suddenly he suffers pain 1n receiving the blow. Such is not the case. When a high strung fighter or a tired one gets his sleeping medicine the sensation before he dozes off might be compared to that a man who has been carrying millstone feels when he is felleved of it's weight. Have you ever Ielt, Well, I've done my best and it has done no good-now I'm going to give 1t up and sleepY Well, there you have the feeling of the boxer who goes down and out. The knockout sensa- ton is pleasant. I believe it is the same as the death sensation Dis cussing the modern forearm jab which he and other boxers use in putting thelr men to sleep, Ryan said: It is a gentleman's blow-not a. bruiser,s There are perhaps 300 fighters in ,he world to-day of which perhaps ten are sclentlhc men. These use the short arm JaD. The vital points which n cleper boxer tries to reach with this in-nghtlng Jab are the point of the chin. the Jugular vein and the Dit of the stomach. Boxing has changed won derfully in the last ten years.'' contin- ued Ryan. Nowadays man firhts With his head and feet. In the days of the old London prize ring rules. when Sullivan and his class of mon fought, it was brute force thar counted In those days a fifty-round figbt was common. Now fights seldom last oyer lfteen rounds at the most. The scian- tlilc short arm work finishes them in . short order when properly used. Jef- Irles lights with the close in. short. cfouchlng methods that I use, and Which was practically unknown fen years ago. In all the years that I llava been lighting 1 have never been in n brutal slugging match yet and never will be in one"
 Tom Sharkey and Gus Ruhlin posted S2,o0o each Saturday with Al smith as forfeit to bind their match. which IS To take place at the National Snort- Ing club of London the latter Darf of June. When the articles were signad lhe other day it was agreed to post tbe lorIeits on Saturday, and Billy Mad ! den, representing Ruhlin. and Tom Snarkey acting for himself, called on MT smith at the Gilsey house and turned over the money. Although the amount posted is a forfeit for the fight CTS appearance, it is agreed that the 9-'9oo Will go as a side wager when the men enter the ring. Both mon iitFe engaged passage for early depart- ing steamers. Sharkey will sail on May . and will take along with him boD Armstrong. who will be matched to meet Denver Ed Martin. Ruhlin.s sparring partner. Ruhlin. accompanied by his manager, Billy Madden and {he latter's family, will go abroad on May lU and should reach London about three days later than Sharkey. Both have arranged to go on q little touring expedition before they settle down to active training.
 Chicago, April '2S.-Jack Root. the western light heavyweight champion. knocked out Billy Stiff at the Chi cago Athletic club ill less than two rounds Saturday night Tn the first round both men were cautious and there were few hard blows. In the second round Root feinted once or twice. drawing Stifft out and then landed as clean a knockout blow on the jaw as has been seen ill this citv ! in many a day.
 1t was reported on good authority last night that if the proposed encoun- ter between Jim Jeffries and Bob Bob Fitzsimmons is ever held it will be at Los Angeles, the champions na- tive city. It is understood that. the pugilists will be compelled finally to agree on this place in view of the fact that the clubs in San Francisco just now are at loggerheads as to which organization should get the mill and rather than incur the wrath of the authorities the fighters will eventually consent to box at Los An geles. The date of the mill will probably be July 10 or whereabouts.