The Saint Paul globe., 1904-12-27
TERRY STILL HOLDS
THE FEATHER TITLE
Veteran Billy Edwards Dis
courses on Modern Weight
Classes

I'm answer to some questions the editor
has put to me 1 should like to say few
words about who is the real feather
weight champion of the world" says the
veteran fighter Billy Edwards 81 can't
understand how Young Corbett or Jimmy
Britt or Battling Nelson ever had any
claim upon it. They are too big. 1 think
the real title holder has never been beaten
at the weight 122 pounds and that if he
can still do 122 pounds at the ringSide he
is still the featherweight champion.
eI refer, of course to Terry McGovern.
He went out of his class when he met
Young Corbett but getting beaten by a big
fellow at 130 pounds or so didn't lose him
the featherweight championship any more
than if he had been beaten by a middle
weight Or even a heavyweight.
Let US go back a little and look at the
history of the weights among fighters.
When James Figg, nearly 200 years ago,
began to give exhibitions in cleverness
in the use Of his fists the English prize
ring first took it's place among recognized
sports Figg was not a big man, but he
was so quick and clever that he was able
to beat anything thatscame against him.
He was therefore the champion. And
there was no classification of weights.
Any man who thought he had chance
to beat Figg was welcome to fight him.
But as the game began to spread
throughout England and the United King
dom generally and a great many fighters
cropped up everywhere it soon became
necessary to make a distinction between
small men. or lightweights and the fell
lows who were big enough to go against
anyone. So there We had the first classi
fication-lightweights and heavyweights.
Game Grew Popular
Fighting is such splendid exercise and
so exciting game that it has grown
more and more popular every year since
the prize ring was established And in
the course of q few generations so many
good men sprang up that another division
was separated the men who were neither
light nor heavy-the middleweights. And
after few generations more there was
another splitoff-the featherweight class.
I remember very well that when 1 won
the lightweight championship by beating
Sam Collyer, in 1868, the lightweight limit
was established at 112 pounds ringside
at that. You see, among such very little
men difference of two pounds. or even
one pound, is a very great handicap, and
If a fellow who naturally weighed ia
pounds could starve down to 112 three or
four hours before going into the ring
and then eat q meal and put on couple
of pounds he would have a great advant-
was was 6 az liz. '@H "HO9 Ha'uiai "eisn'
''BUt in my day anyone who weighed
NOR than 112 pounds was called a light
wei It. and he had to fight in that class
Why when won the lightweight cham
pioi hip weighed only 120 pounds at the
rims iide, and Sam Collyer was only 124
No long fterward we fought again
we filing, at 124 pounds ringside, and 1
wo again. In our last battle 1 weighed
4 Roundsi pd let him come in at catch
w ieht. an6 that time 1 won easiest of
al But there was never any question of
featherweight championship. When
fought Arthur Chambers in August, 1872
at Squirrel island, in Canada. we scaled
124 pounds ringside. though. of course. tho
lightweight limit at that time was 1873
pounds. Billy Tracey at the end of an
hour and a half decided against me on
an alleged foul that 1 never committed
but We'll not bother about that
New Glasses Created
"A new arrangement of classes among
fighters was made about twenty years
ago. 1t was ridiculous to make 120-
pound man fight as a lightweight against
13O-pound man. or 140-pound man
against q 155-pounder as middleweight
So the best men in the boxing game got
together and arranged these classes:
Notwithstanding up to 112
'Featherweight-Anything up to 122
pounds.
Lightweight Anything up to 1873
'.Welterweight-Up to 144 pounds.
Middieweight-Up to 15S pounds
All above that heavyweight
To-day there is still another class in
the process of formation-the light heavy