Waterbury Democrat., 1902-04-10
FIGHTS AND FIGHTERS.
Next Big Sporting Event is the
 Boxing Tournament

-Fitzsimmons is Playing Peculiar Game-Tommy Ryan Writes a Lei ter
 The next sporting event that will interest the lovers of clean contests in this city will be the boxing "ard prepared by the Waterbury Athletic club under the management of Will liam L. Crowley of Hartford. No bet ter card could have been secured and the wisest move that has been made in many days was the one that se- lected Manager Crowley to handle the affairs of the exhibition. In the first place he knows all the men who don the mitts and they know him, and they : are pretty we'll aware of the fact that if they sign to do certain things with him they must show the real article or down go their chances of a match. The boxers also know that whateve.. terms have been made with them, those terms will be lived up to to the letter and for that reason they prepare for hard battle with the knowledge that if they win they have a chance to get good money. Manager Crowley has been all over the country for the
 
 rosy reports about the three bouts and the crowd that will be in attendance on the night of the exhibition.
 It will be news to many that Tom Sharkey will be here on that night and he will be in Dave Sullivan's cor ner. With him will be the redoubt- able Spike Sullivan, Dave's older brother, the hero himself of many bat aT -hr fa1- rt in the contest has posted q forfeit Manager Crowley holds $50 for each of the preiminaries ard t.s) eac:: has been posted by SulliTan and Rice in the hands of Harry Beecaer, tha sport ing editor of the New York Journal Sullivan is training at his hoine in Sheepshead and his brother Spike is looking after his welfare i'll every re- sDect. Spike is about to erect one of the best gymnasiums t'iere is m this country at his home there and the one In present use is as good as any i'll existence to-day.
 Austin Rice is training at his hcIae fn New London and that honest little lighter is putting in the hardest licks of his life in order to Ee in condition to face his sturdy opponent He will bring with him the night of the match more than one hundred of his towns men who will back him to their last dollar. They will journey to New Haven and will be able to return home with the New Haven crowd after mid night Manager Crowley is trying 10 arrange it so that Rice will finish his last weeks training in this city, and if he does he will be given the pest of attention.
 
 The special train from Hartford will leave there at o'clock nn1 will arrive in this city at S:07 It will re- turn at midnight. Besides the Con- nectieut sports who will be present will be men from all over the country. New York will send up delegation and so will Boston. while from Provi- dence and other cities will come other crowds.
 Tickets will go on sale at the bcx office of Polls theater on Friday mora ing of this week and will remain on sale until the night of the contest The prices are S1, $2 and s. The ar engagements in the theater will be ample to hold the big crowd Sur rounding the ring on the stage will be 400 seats which will be sold for S3 apiece. The first four rows down stairs will be S3 each. Back ,f that the whole lower floor will be B each and the first two rows in the gallery will be $2 each seat. All the other seats in the house will be $1 This will give accommodation to about 1000 people and it is expected thai many more will clamor for admission.
 The chances of Jim Jeffries and Bob Fitzsimmons ever coming together al San Francisco or Los Angeles seem to have vanished so far as the Cornish man is concerned. Yesterday Fit7 came out with a statement to the Of feet that he positively would refuse tc tackle the boilermaker in the state of California. He declared that if lief fries means to meet him the bout woulG have to be held in England. Now that it is impossible to box at Charleston Fitz is inclined to consider England as the most available place, and to this end notified pr Ordway yesterday. ask ing the latter to open negotiations an6 bring the match off at the Nationa Sporting club in London. Ordway i: satisfied to have the encounter decided abroad during the f1stic carnival nex June and has an appointment witt FitZsimmons this afternoon to tall matters over. A bout of such impor tance would undoubtedly create grea interest in England, for both men art well known on the other side. Should the fight be brought about it will bt the first time in the history of latter day pugilism that two representativ, fighters from this country have met tt decide the worlds heavyweight honor. on foreign soil. Jim Kennedy, repre- senting the Yosemite A. c. of Sa1 Francisco, yesterday received a tele gram from Billy Delaney, saying tha Jeffries had accepted the clubs offe of 70 per cent of the gross gate re ceipts. Fitz when informed of this said that he would box Jeffries In Eng land or nowhere The Cornishmal made the amazing statement that h. would undertake to meet any five mel in the world in the National Sportins club, London, one each night for fiv' nights, and then wind up on the sixtl night with a battle with Jeffries fo the championship. He asserted it dit not matter to him if the bouts wer scheduled for two rounds or twent. rounds, and the challenge was not con fna,1 fo Fno1feh boxprs fhe only con