Waterbury evening Democrat., 1903-11-24
THE PUGlLlSTS.
Criticising the Build and Abil-
 ity of Fitzsimmons.

Uhe Lanky Bob Is Knockkneed and
 Bow-Le9ged- Thinks Card
 ner Will Win and Is Backing Him George Dixon's Great Battle in Eng and--other Fighting News.
 San Francisco. Nov 24.-Here and on
 the Pacific coast Bob Fitzslmmons con-
 tinues to rule favorite over George Gardner at odds of 2 to l. Whose who risk their hard or otherwise earned
 kopecs on the force of punch have not lost their faith in the boss wallop- er. When nature designed Fitzsim-
 mons she must have had but one ob- jAct in vfaw-to produce beater o
 his fellow men. If he were stripped Rhong the patients in an accident ward he would be the last one picked out for Hn athlete. unless by one gifted with keen analysis. When he met Jack Dempsey his legs caused laugh that Wrinl5led the face of the continent
 And they were long after a standing joke But those same unorthodox legs are built on proper lines to do the work Tor which nature intended them. One Ix bowed. the other knock-kneed. The
 arch is the strongest thing known in mechanics. 1t also applies to animated
 endeavor. The best example of the latter is in the arch to the forelegs of the bulldog. It's that spread of under pInninE that gives him solidity on his feet and prevents him from being easi- iy thrown. Bow-iegged men are strong men. strong in the sense of being hard
 to move. They make good wrestlers.
 Titzs single bow leg keeps him from
 heinz upset by punch. He can brace t when the jar of the wallop shakes his top. and it holds him upright where otherwise his Sparsely thatched head might bump the floor. But as a fight ,er he needs something besides soidity on his feet He needs speed. The other leg that Is out of plumb and bends inward gives him auickness in coming or getting away. The knee heinz bent in the direction of his op- ponent keeps the lower leg always set for spring forward. Tn all athletic Starts for speed the knees are bent.
 Terry McGovern. the fastest of fight l, CTS, always stood with his knees turned inward, so that from the waist down he resembled the letter x. Many other K hoxers have copied this position. But 1T Is not alone In the legs that this ap- parent freak shows the cunning of na- fure in framing fighter. He has an enormous trunk. That's the boiler containing the steam. There is plenty
 of room in 1t for the valves to work. q crowding there of lungs or heart.
 Freedom of action is all theirs. That's the principal reason that he had gone 70 long without having his vitality pumped out of him by wear and hard thumps. Then there's his great width ef shoulders. the long leverage that Hits the blow. The swing of those shoulders is like the sweep of topsail yard when the hurtling sea catches the ship under the counter and hurls her head into the smother. Howbeit that tremendous power would have been of little use had not nature designed him an arm and hand to withstand the shock of impact. Fitz has straight heavy arm, almost of a thickness from shoulder to wrist. At the end of the arm is bunch of bones. rugged. irreg ular and hard as tax collectors con science. When the fearful force ot those shoulders swings the arm it i; stiff and rigid, and there is no danger of anything breaking when the blow lands. And yet with all these peculiar gifts. Gardner may show nature tha she made a mistake. Jim Corbet l thinks SO Jim is something of fight ler himself. At the Hoffman house las s/ night he placed $500 against $1.00t k with a friend that Gardner would bea R Fitz. Corbett also said that he ha( wired a similar commission to hi! # brother Harry In San Francisco. "My I opinion is that Gardner will have z walkover." said the former champion
 He will put Fftz down and out before many persons. who think they have tn,
 coming fight figured out. can realize
 that the battle has begun" The wisl { Is largely father to the thought witt N Corbett. He doesn't like Fitz-yol
 cannot blame him for that--and hope
 that his conqueror will be whipped
 still. it were better for Corbett tha
 the result fell the other way. If Gard
 her beats Fitz that retires the 'olt
 man'' for aye. And then what be @ comes of a hattie between him ant
 Corbett? There Is no such thing. Bu
 with F'itz the victor this pair ma.
 again meet in the ring and to a hous
 that will equal i'll the shower of it
 shekels the Jeffries-Corbett entertain
 ment. James is usually wise to tn
 color of the necessary yellow boys. bu
 lie was ever Of q nervous, trigger tenn
 perament. t