The Minneapolis journal., 1902-07-26
SPORTS
CRY OF FAKE RAISED
w. w. Naugton Says Fitz "Quit''
In the Eighth.
THINGS THAT POINT THAT WAY
Sefries successfully Defends cham-
piOnship Title Though Badly
Punished. ~ ..

For the first time in the history of the
prize ring, probably. the cry of fake has
been raised after a heavyweight cham
sank half unconscious on the floor of the
ring at San Francisco last night, the mus
cles of his left side so wrenched by the
terrific blows from the big cham
pion's left fist, the spect ators pronounced
the battle on of the fiercest and bloodiest
ever seen in America,
Almost Immediately, however, w. w.
Naughton, the Chicago sporting writer,
came to the front with the assertion that
the fight was Fixed Mayor Schmitz Of
San Francisco corroborat ed the state
ments of Naughton, saying that before the
battle began he had been handed letter
TO be opened at the end of the contest
The letter contained statement that
Fitzsimmons had agreed to lie down in
the eighth round.
The cry Of fake cannot be accepted or
discarded lightly in a contest of such i'm
portance. On the one hand the fact that
t1tz had dropped his hands just before
Jeffries administered the knockout, fur
other hand the ferocity of the battle and
the punishment taken by both men tends
to disprove the story
: me hight is best described in the fol-
lowing article by Lou NJ. Houseman:
After the most marvellous exhibition
ever seen in any ring, Jim Jeffries
Knocked out Bob Fitzsimmons with a left
to the stomach, followed by a left to the
jaw.
Ihls was not, however, until Fitzsim-
mons had made the champion look like
a comparative novice at the boxing game
The battle was won by Jeffries solely
and wholly by his overpowering weight.
brute force and inordinate capacity for
taking punishment. While the fight last
ed, and, in fact, till the final punch was
landed the wonder from Cornwall had
all the better of it. He outboxed the
champion at every point. The big fellow
went in against the left jabs and right
crosses OF Fitzsimmons as though there
was not danger in either hand. All
the while he was trying his hooks for the
body and two of these which landed in
the early part Of the third round unde-
p1ably contributed to the ultimate end
The defeated man fought brilliant bat
tie against almost unsurmountable odds
This was evident before the men boxed
four rounds. Fitzsimmons> brought his
erstwhile powerful right into play time
and time again. 1t appears, however, that
these had no effect. save in cutting and
bruising up the face of his opponent
Even the loss Of blood sustained by JET
fries did not appear to have any debili-
tating effect on the champion. He bored
in against his opponents leads as though
he was boxing with sparring partner.
The punch which really did the work
landed two inches to the left of Fitz-
simmons navel. The man from Cornwall
went to the padded floor under the impact
and was, counted out. He was unconscious
at no stage, simply shaking his head,
indicating his inability to proceed long
er. 1t is a question which Of the two
men was cheered the most when they
left the ring, Jeffries for his victory or
Fitzsimmons for his heroic battle.
Picturesque Affair.
It was a picturesque affair." and
one that will be long remembered
If for no other reason than the
disparity in size of the men. It was
announced that Fitzsimmons weighed
1852. He did not look to be more than
ten pounds heavier than when he fought