The Washington times., 1904-05-16
O'Brien-McCOy Match
Severely Criticised
Openly Charged in Philadelphia That 1t Was
Fixed SO That Neither Would Get Hurt
Many Peculiar Features

/ Not since the CorbeJt-McCoy fight IN
] New York, which to the critics smelled
so strongly of fake that it helped to kill
the boxing game In that city, has there
! been fight which has caused so much
! criticism among the followers of pugi-
/ ism as the McCoy-O Brien fight in Phil
! adelphia on Saturday night.
/ The critics and sporting writers were
almost unanimous in their belief that the
/ fight was not on the level, but Was
merely an easy money parlor boxing
match not intended to harm either man.
/ If that was really the case II was a
! great success in the way CT avoiding
/ punishment At the conclusion of the
, bout the crowd let out loud yells of dis
| appointment ard derision. indicating its
/ belief that il had been deceived.
/ Both fighters strenuously deny that
/ they faxed. and O'Brien offers 5000 to
anyone who will prove it was n fake.
Philadelphians Sarcastic.
The Philadelphia papers deride the
! fight. Here is what the .'NCrth Amerl-
can says in part;
"Stung by the unanimous denuncia-
ton that Is everywhere being visited on
him for his share in the bout with Nc
Coy on Saturday. Jack O'Brien last
night began Offering dollars by the thou
sands 10 anyone who could prove him
guilty.
i will give $1,000. he said. at his
home, to any man who can prove that
/ had any agreement with Mccoy. or
that my hight with him was not strictly
on the level.
I carried the battle to him in the
tist round. and had all the better Of
IL, though everybody had predicted tndt
/ q knocked
Then he grew cautious, and refused
10 do his share of the fighting. ! rushed
and tried TO force him. but of course
could not do ii all Furthermore. I hurt
my thumb in the fourth round. and was
unable TO land with full effect
There is much that is familiar about
all this
1T is the kind of talk that has always
been handed out by the guilty PRINCIPALS
of every fake since the time when
crooked fighters first began TO rob the
pubic.
$4,000 in No Danger
''The $1,000 is therefore safe. The
thrifty Mr.. Hagen can stow IL away
with his share of the money that was
stolen from those who paid to see the
bour Of Saturday.
The injured thumb IS also an old
friend
THE next step viii now be TO get the
uOclOT ceEtncdte that always goes
With this story. 1t might also be a good
idea 10 put the injured member in
splints. This viii help TO make * all
realistic. and perhaps Il may be possible
10 ind some farmer who will be gulIible
70 swallow the yarn.
There are several things that no
stCrles of injuries or melOdramatic dig
plays of cash can explain away
IF O'Brien wants to be believed he
should explain why he changed his style
OF boxing between the first and second
He began like a champion and nad
Sll the better of Mccoy in the first three
minutes. He used his left lab with
deadly effect and landed hard and often
Mccoy seemed to weaken under the
blows. and it looked as though O'Brien
l. he forced his advantage. might da-
feat his man before the sixth round mad
been reached.
Changed His Style.
IF he really desired to achieve this
result ne would have continued to use
the jab. and only brought over the
right when Mccoy. through careless
nesS or weakness. left an opening.
But apparently the Philadelphia
was afraid that he might knock the hid
cut, and to avoid this he abandoned
the style that had been working sue
cessfully and began TO fight wildly.
In the second round he rushed and
leo with the right, making absurdly
VIII swings that anybody could have
dooged, and which would have dis
gTSCed a novice. Twice these blows
were so poorly aimed that when ne
the floor.
ct was something new for JACK
o Brien. Nobody had seen him fight