The Savannah morning news., 1903-04-02
FIGHTS AFTERMATH
THE TALK LOCALLY OF THE COR
BETT-McGOVERN BOUT.
RESULT WAS A SURPRISE.
McGOVERN WAS PICKED BY MA
JORITY TO WIN.

Decision Was Reached from Rec
Ords of Both Men Before and
After Their First Fight-McGOv-
ern's Rapid Strides to the Ton
Had Made Him a FavOrite-COr-
belts Work Since First Meeting
Was POOr-COOI Heads Drew
Much from First Battle.
Now that the battle for the feather
weight championship of the world is
over there is nothing to prevent the
free expression of opinions of the fol-
lowers and close observers of the
arena of the manly art. The varied
reasons which prompted the local ad-
mirers of the game in picking their
man are interesting and fraught with
pointers as to how lines are drawn on
the stars of the game.
over the result of Tuesday nights
battle the majority of the local fol-
lowers of the sport, like the majority
of the country, are surprised. Ever
since Corbett defeated McGovern at
Hartford, Conn.,, on the night of Nov
%, 1901, in the second round of their
first fight McGoven has been the pick
of the majority of the country because
Corbetts victory was generally con-
sidered "f1uke," the Knockout blow
being thought a chance one. McGov-
ern's showing since that fight as COM
pared with Corbett's made him the
stronger favorite. Previous to his
fight the other night McGovern fought
three times since his defeat at Hart
ford. He met Dave Sullivan, joe
Bernstein and Billy Maynard. His
showing with Maynard was taken as
conclusive proof that Terry was a
better man than the champion be-
cause Corbett failed to get the better
OF Maynard in a siX-round bout, while
Terry knocked him out in the fourth
round
Young Corbett, on the other hand,
fought eight times in that interval,
and his showing against second class
men was disappointing. In contest
with Austin Rice at Hot Springs he
took eighteen rounds to force Rice'S
seconds to throw up the sponge. A
few weeks later he barely managed to
even up matters in six-round bout
with Billy Maynard. In his recent
twenty five-round bout with Eddie
Hanlon at San Francisco he showed
up even worse. Hanlop was practically
an unknown quantity, yet he went the
entire twenty-five rounds and many
thought at the finish that he was en-
titled to the decision. That battle did
more than anything else to make Nc
Govern the favorite.
Furthermore, for sever ears pre-
vious to Corbett's and cUogeTn's first
fight at Hartford McGovern had been
III do
feating his opponents with comparative
ease. After he knocked out George
Dixon in eight rounds in January of
1900 he was given the sobriquet of the
Brooklyn Terror" becoming the idol
of the pugilistic world and living up
to his name by knocking out all the
best men in his. class during the fol-
lowing six months. Then it was he was
matched to meet Young Corbett, who
had won an excellent reputation in
the West III their first fight. McGov-
ern was the pronounced favorite, and
when the men climbed under the ropes
offers of 100 to 25 on McGovern went
begging.
Those were the things which made
McGovern the chosen winner in their
fight Tuesday night in spite of the fact
that after two minutes of fighting in
the second round of the first fight
Corbett had put Terry in Dreamland.
On the other hand, the local minority
were strong in their convictions and
advanced many sound reasons for their
pick of d choice, setting sentiment aside
entirely and basing their conclusions
upon cold facts. They pointed out in
argument against the "huke" theory
that Corbett outgeneraled McGovern IN
their Hartford meeting and by clear
use of his head offset the whirlwind
rushes of Terry and when Terry, who
when hurt knows no other remedy than
hard fighting, began his onslaught in
the fatal round Corbett got in close
and clinched while he took his bearings
and then carefully fighting himself free
and protecting himself as he back
away, changed tactics suddenly and
rushed in with damaging work on
Terry's jaw. Then when McGoren
with more courage ttan judgment
Fought back while in a dazed condition
while Corbett measured his opponent
well and landed the winning blow on
the jaw.
Then, too the Corbett hackers say,
certain happenings since the first fight
which, in their minds, brought on the
talk of the fight of Tuesday being fix
ed also suggested something to
them. When, after the first
light a second meeting between
the men was arranged no less
than five times and each time
the authorities interferred and es-
pecially after their meeting had been
interferred with in Louisville it was
rumored that Sam Harris, the man
ager of McGovern, was behind the
moves to prevent the fight because
he was afraid that McGovern could
not defeat Young Corbett and did not
want, to have them meet, but was US
ing that means to keep McGovern be
fore the public for theatrical adver-
Using purposes. Therefore, thought
the local Corbett men, when Harris saw
it was no longer possible to keep the
men apart those who were RESPONSE
BILE for the fixed" story figured that
Harris would make the best of what
he thought certain defeat for Terry