The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1904-08-26
JEFFRIES AND MUNROE WILL
BATTLE TONIGHT FOR THE
WORLDS CHAMPIONSHIP.
Both Are Confident Of Success ane
Each Promises to Put Up
Good Fight.

3.
Nothing but the tap of the gong re-
mains to bring Jim Jeffries and Jack
ion tonight to battle for the heavy
weight championship of the world.
While the advance sale of seats does
not augur a record breaking house, the
two burly gladiators will pull down
enough money to more than keep them
in cigarette papers for year at least.
When the fight was postponed last
June on account of Jeffries' bad knee
the prediction was freely made that
when the men did meet they would not
draw enough to pay for the advertising,
but the promoter. the fighter and his
manager nave become acutely wise in
their generation and know trick or
two worth any fight fans money.
There is no Disgusting the fact that
JeffrieS is an intensely unpopular
champion, the most unpopular, prob
ably, in the history of the ring. He
did not add one jot or title to his pop
ularity when he sprung his bad
knee gag, which was taken with
more than one grain of salt, the fact
that he had been going at an exceed
ingly lively clip having been too We'll
known. But the bad knee was not
without its beneficial effects and the
advantage it gave was not overlooked.
When the public first heard of the bad
knee it smiled knowingly and quietly
handed out the opinion that Jeffries
didn't want to meet the husky from
Butte. The more courageous said, it
was a case of quit. Talk along this
line had grown to very respectable
proportions when the club promoters
other date. From the public they took
their tip and the heavy play was on
the word quit" Harry Pollock. Mum
roe's manager. a slender, pale
youth, accused the mammoth Jeffries
to his face that he was afraid to meet
MunrOe. Jeffries, apparently. took the
charge to heart. but whether he did
or not, all the capital possible has been
worked out of the incident. In a nut
Smell, the word has gone forth that to-
nights affair Of the gloves is to be a
''grudge fight" In other words, not only
a battle for the championship and the
money that goes with it, but a scrap
for satisfaction"
And SO it has come to pass that the
spectators tonight expect to witness a
fight for blood one that will be wicked
and vicious, full of ponderous and
damaging punches. with one of the
two giants knocked stiff for the full
count
However much the box office crowd
may have traded on the grudge feat
ure, there is no doubt that Jeffries
has given it some thought, much to
the regret of his trainers. The big
fellow, as usual. was slow in begin
ming to condition himself for the fight,
but was quickly stung into activity by
renewal of the 'quitting' talk and
went to work with a spirit that BODIED
i'll for his prospective opponent. Under
no atcb nj nf
champion prepared himself with unu-
sual zeal. He developed a tremendous
appetite for work. playing no rnvor-
ties as between the road and the gym
nasium. His sparring partners, Joe
Kennedy and Jack Jeffries, were rend-
cred unfit more than once during the
training period by the boiler makers
mighty whacks. The 3OO-pound bag
was tussled with and tossed about as
though it We're a football, the punch
ing bag was hammered with a vim
that threatened it's usefulness and the
other gymnasium apparatus did not
escape unscathed. Not since he won
the championship has Jeffries pre-
pared himself with such care and ener-
gy. He did not overlook the fact that
the easy life he had led since he
whipped Corbett made hard work ne
cessary and he was spurred to further |
effort by the reports from Munroe's
camp Of the Butte mans wonderful |
improvement. Nor did he forget that |
four round affair with Munroe in
Butte or the reflection on his courage
cast by Munroe's manager.
AS a result of his hard work JEFF
fries has stripped the vagrant flesh |
off his gigantic frame and has brought |
his speed and strength up to the proper |