The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1904-06-28
SCIENCE CHANGESGAME
PugiIists of Today Do Not Wear
Marks of the Pro-
feSsiOn.

lu former years, say u decade or so
ago, the pugiIist who did nos wear the
badge of his profession in the shape
OF a broken nose or an enlarged finger
joint or ''caulihower'' ear was a rar-
lily. A man was not considered the
proper sort of a fighter unless his
cOuntenance bore traces OF tie battles
he had engaged In. Now, however
very few OF the prominent fighters are
so COnspiCuOusly marked that their
calling is recognizable to the casual
observer. There are several reasons
for this, one being that boxing has inn
proved tenfold since the time when
John l.. Sullivan, Jack Dempsey and
Jack MCAuiiffe were the kingplns OF
their respective classes. Pugilists or
the present day are admittedly clev-
erer, quicker and better blOckers than
tkeir brethren of years ago. They
have seconds who know just what 80
do when their charges receive a punch
which Is certain TO leave an impress
sion if it is not attended to at once.
Yet it Is not always the cleverest
fighter who can retire from the ring
without some telitale mark. Some of
the most scientific boxers have quit
with Dulging ears, tilted noses and
fTOWsy lips. Take for instance GeOTge
DixCu. Very few boxers in the bust
ness could compare with linn in point
of knowledge of the manly art Dixon
at one time could boast Of never hay
ing received a bloody nose during
scrap. But in later years, when his
vitality was Slapped by Indifferent liv-
ing and too much training, Dixon was
afflicted with "caulitlOWer' ear,
which he viii carry to the grave Dixon
has q number of other marks, espe-
CiaIly one over the left eye, to show
that he had been in the ring. But tkis
scar was only received six years ago
. in a fight with Frank ETne. Up TO
that time the eX-featherWeight cham
plOn had been exchanging knocks with
the best Of 'em for over ten years.
Young COrbett has no marks from
his many battles, yet he has figured
in some stirring contests, VIXEN he eX-
changed punch for punch with his riv-
ais. His face is as smooth as a semi
nary girls and his hands are as solid
as a skyscraper. COrbett's prObOscis is
as straight now as the day he was
born Yet he admits that he has re-
Ceived many d good thump upon il.
Jim COTbett to this day is always
mistaken for an athletic clerk or com
merCial man. COrbett has q nose that
. Is very prominent. In a fight 1T would
appear the very point of attack. Yet
through all the years that Jim has
[ been IN the ring none of his opponents
has succeeded in putting it out of
shape or smearing it over his visage,
so TO speak. COrbett has also escaped
any malfOrmatiOn Of the ears. He
does not regard this as pure luck. He
declares that close study and practice
VIII keep any puSllist from being un-
necessarily marked That C0Tbett is
honest in this assertion may be taken
from the fact that most of his defeats
were the direct results of being
smashed on the body.
Kid Mccoy is another bTUiser who
does not carry any traces of his pro-
IessiOn. The kids nose is just as in
Z tact today as when he went to school,
both of his ears are normal ana his
lips are in perfect shape. OF course,
Mccoy has suffered from bad hands.
Most boxers are susceptible to this.
Jim Jeffries says that although he has
stopped several hard knocks on the
/ bridge of his nose, this member IS IN
as good working order as ever. Until
his last fight with Bob FitzsimmOns
at San Francisco Jeffries never re-
ceived a black eye in q mill. Jeffries,
for big man, wkO is prone to re-
ceiYe q stiff blow on his face during
. battle, carries fewer scars than Bob
F'itzsimmOns, Tom Shar1ey. or Gus
Rubin. This trio of heavyweights
have paid the penalty Of their many
engagements. FItZ has bad hands,
Rubin has a number Of wounds on
his cheeks, while Sharkey possesses a
battered set OF ribs, a "caulifiOWer'
/ ear ana d nose that is much the worse
for wear.
Terry McGOvern, Dave Sullivan,
Billy Elmer, Spike Sullivan and Jack
O'Brien are cOnspic,5Ously battle
SCARED. The last named fighters nose
is bent like an inverted comma and
his face is dotted with scars and
wounds. Yet O'BTien is as clever as
any middleMeight in the business.