Waterbury Democrat., 1902-01-03
EGHTS AND FIGHTERS.
Classification of the Fighters
 Compiled by 8 Sportsman.

 The Various Weights and the Holders
 of the Titles-Billy Delaney Makes
 Another Offer to Fitzsimmons-
 Tommy Ryan Says He Has Not
 Quit the Fighting Arena-McCue
 After Young Corbett.
 Every pugilistic champion. barring Jeffries. went down to deIeat uul inS tbe year just ended. Starting Wlln the bantams, Danny Dougherty was beaten by Harry Forbes at st 1ouls er, In the featherweight class Ierly ~ Govern was vanquished py 1ouns Corbett at Hartford. FranK Erne lightweight champion, was stoppeu pS 4o Rube Ferns, the bout being ciose lo welterweight. Ferns, the recognizeu welterweight champion, who won nis title from Matty Matthews, ~aS % Knocked out by Joe Walcott. The lat +a,. also defeafed the so-called middle weight champion, George GaruneI. Then Marvin Hart, considered the pest light heavyweight. was hammereo down and out by Wild Bill Hanrahah. Frne went out of his class to meet Ferns and McGovern declares that ne did not lose the featherwe1ght chan- pionship to Corbett because they weighed in at 126 pounds. Kid La yigne beat Tim Heggarty, the chan- pion featherweight of Australia, Ill bout at special weights, while Phlia- delphia Jack O'Brien captured the heayyweight championship or Eng land. The whole situation appears 10 be pretty we'll muddled. Walcott, TOT instance, seems to be the welterwe1ght champion beyond a doubt, but the oth- CTS are in some doubt. ring follower has attempted to classify the leading fighters as follows:
 Bantamweight class-Harry Forbes of Chicago.
 122 pound class, featherweight limit Terry McGovern of Brooklyn.
 126 pound class-Young Corbett of Denver.
 13O pound class-Martin Duffy of Chicago.
 133 pound class, lightweight limit Frank Erne of Buffalo.
 142 pound class, weIterweight limit Joe Walcott of Boston.
 154 pound class-George Gardner of Lowell
 ITO pound class-BiIl Hanrahan of Brooklyn.
 Heavyweight class-James J. Jef- fries of Los Angeles, Cal.
 So many fighters go out of their class to secure matches and there is such general disregard for weights that it is difficult thing nowadays to determine the real champions in the different classes. McGovern won the featherweight championship from George Dixon at 11S pounds, consid- cred by some to be the limit in that, class. Terry now insists that the limit is 122 pounds and wants to defend his title at that weight. McGOvern, how ever, was knocked out by Young Cor bett at 126 pounds, though Terry had previously knocked out Frank Erne at FPS and Joe Cans at 13O Erne won the lightweight championship from Lavigne, though they actually weigh ed 1S5 pounds. McFadden later knocked Lavigne out at 13S. Erne was stopped by Ferns, the former weighing about 13S. Ferns beat Mat thews at welterweight and lost to Walcott at the same limit Walcott several years ago was whipped by La vigne at 133, after which Joe stopped Dan Creedon at 15S and Jos Choynski the California heavyweight. Fitzsim- mons, for long time, declared that he was the middleweight champion because he had never been beaten at IDS, but it is not believed that the Cor nlshman could get down to that weight now. George Gardner, though he has lost to Walcott, appears to be the com ing mtddleweight champion, though Tommy Ryan says he is entitled to the honor. The idea of dividing up the heavyweight class has been often dis cussed. To place limit of l75 pounds on some matches would make matters interesting for fighters of the Mccoy, Snoynski, Maher, Hanrahan and Shar- Key class, though Fitzsimmons could whip any and all of them at that weight. Jeffries, Ruhlin and Corbett appear to be the only men in the osl pound class, with Corbett under thar limit by ten pounds when fit. 1t would not be out of the way for different boxing authorities of recognized ability to get together and arrange detinitas scale of weights.