The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1902-07-27
LOCAL SPORTS IxCREDULoUs.
50. LouiS Experts DIscredit Rumor
That Fight Was q Fake.


Local sports seem almost n unit in dis
creditIng reports that the big fight was
fake. and the majority OF lovers OF pugilisn
In this city appear certain that the contes
was on its merits. The good fight put VI
by FltZSimmOns. the savage punishment h,
more money could have been made by bet
ting on F1tzsmmons and letting him viii
are ali held up as evidences that there wa:
no trickery In the match.
Two explanations were current abou
Naughton's letter. One is the suDDositiOI
that some friend OF JerrieS. who knew o
the champions plan Of campaign which
may have Included 4 design to whip Fit;
inside OF ten rounds. II possible. informed
Naughton OF Je1rs intention with the ad
dendum that the bout should be settled IL
eight rounds. Naughton may have mis,n
terpreted this. and thought that there va:
some a in the matter.
Another explanation advanced was thu
suggestion that the Chicago bunch may
have wished to throw cold water on any
light In which they were not concerned
Tn San Francisco managers decided TO cui
loose from the Chicago outfit this time and
put in a local referee. 1t was suggested IN
some quarters that the outfit from the lake
side may have desired TO knock the game
81 am sure there was no fake in the
matter" said Nal Doyle yesterday. The
only reason for taxing would be TO make
money: and more money could be made by
letting Fitzsimmons win. As for Ftz
dropping hk hands. I see that his muscles
were all contracted on one side from JEFF
fries's punishment. This construction may
have caused his strength to give out sud
denly.
Body blows may not affect a man for
the moment. but ! have seen many cases
where a fighter went all to pieces a ryInd
or so after receiving these punches. That
Is NV explanation of why F1tz dropped his
hands. He nut up a fast fight. ana a hard
fight. but did any expert In the game he
lieve that F1tz would 20 many more than
eight rounds? He fought to his limit. that
JACK McKenna was positys IN Sis asler.
lions that the fight had been on the level
and he stated that Fits fash OF speed had
not surprised those who gave the Cornish
Didn't Fitz give Jenries the hardest kind
OF a Tight the last timeT' he said. and
time? What would be the sense I'm letting
yeffries win when hundreds NJ thousands OF
dollars could have been won from those who
wanted TO back the champion? No motive
can be shown for any trickery and there
must be some motive for a thinZ like that.
The gate receipts amounted to nothing com
won had Fltz been allowed TO win. So the
idea Of saving that the men framed up a
bout merely for gate money Is absurd"
Bob Douglass was also OF the opinion that
the fight was on the square.
There are no reports of heavy betting
he said. and there would have TO be some
inE the contest. Every fight that this un-
fortunate fello. Fitz gets into seems 10
nave some stigma attached to II. Naugh-
tons hitting the exact round in his letter
Is the only thing that makes his story even
family to be believed; and hitting the exact
round Is not % wonderful after all.
Most Of the sporting men with whom
talked put the duration OF the fight at six
TO ten rounds. Few thought that IL would
last less than six rounds: fewer vet believed
that IL would go more than ten. The same
opinion prevailed in other cities TO Judge
from reports In papers OF other cities.
Naughton simply hit one Of four rounds
within which II was generally conceded
that the fight would end"
IL there had been any fake in the mat
ter. said Manager NELL of the West End
club. everything would have pointed 10
F1tz as the victor. His regalning the cham
pionship would have attracted general inter
est to pugilism and would lave won him a
fortune A return match with Jefrtes
would have drawna record breaking house
And hundreds Of thousands cou d have been
made. had the affair been other than on The
level i don't believe the reports. at all"