The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1904-10-22
TIMELY BOXING TALK.
Neifs Defeat by BOwker VIII Help 10 Mako
Pugillsm More Popular.

The defeat OF a champion, no matter who
he may be, has often good effect. especially
In pugism There is nothing that brings this
particular sport more into disfavor. especially
with the general public. than the lack Of new
blood While a premier in his class keeps
on WANING, interest in his victories lessen.
Take. for instance. the case of Jim Jeffres.
He has proved that he Is in a class by himself.
and in some quarters he Is believed to be
invncible IL he succeeds in finding some
one to meet him and beats his rival the victory
Is taken Az a matter of course. There is no
such thin gin boxing as a sure winner. For
that matter this assertion holds good in any
other branch of sport. But Jeffries has
such natural sdvanta ges in the way Of height.
weight. strength. etc. that he looms as q
superior man to any Of the opponents selected
to face him. Yet he is only human and can
be knocked out. He will go down and take
the count the same as any other scrapper if
the blow catches him on the right spot and
is deliver ed with sufficient force.
The defeat of frankie Neil by Jem Bowker
was. OF. course. a-big surprise. But the game
has, now new world champion. little
fellow who has shown that he can fight ac-
cording to the modern rules OF boxing. The
fact that Bovker is foreigner and, an Eng
/ lishman will do more toward g living puRilism
,a,fresh impaslA Ahan II Neil was vanauished
,hy sp,Aperics1, Boxing. as. it is being prso-
! tised to-day had it's birth in England. A
half century ago we looked to England for
champions, and that country certainly turned
out a lot Of them. After q long period Aus
tralia, became the stamping ground Of the
champions. From the aptipodes as recently
as twelve years ago came. such formidable
bruisers as Peter Jackson. Joe Goddard.
who have since passed away; i'm Hall, Aus
tralian BILLY Mccarthy. Young Critic and last.
but not least. the best Of them all. Bob Fitz-
simmons, These were all big men. who
scaled over ,lSs pounds and who were heavy
weights in the real sense Of the term. For
period the Australians excelled our fighters
and had no trouble in whipping them. America
at that time was not so far advanced in the
art OF boxing and had to take. second place.
But the American scrappers, improved with
perseverance and su coeeded in developing
pug iliste who were able TO hold their Own
The first success attained in this direction
fstic horizon as a candidate for heavyweight
honors Although nothing more than a raw
ceeded In battling a long draw with jackson.
acknowledged at that time as the peer OF the
pS II S do hss
such h proposition as Jackson WAS In those
days what could lNsl do wh0 had little
defeated John i; sullivan. After that The
iism ana Tor Years I no worlds tile even in
any class, reverted to England. Bob Fitz-
simmons became the champion heavyweight
OF the world In 1897. but he was considered
more Of An American than a foreigner in view
Of the fact that he became citizen OF the
United. States not long after his victory
Palmer was the last worlds champion that
was native Of England. But Terry Nc
Govern brought home these laurels when he
knocked Pedlar out n jiffy at Tuckahoe.
y. Y, about ak years ago,
| It is expected that England, will become
conGpc,loils in producing world q champions
in the near future. Most every English
fighter of the present time tries to emulate
the style OF the victorious American knight
OF the gloves. After studying his method of
training they will try to improve upon the
American's skill Formerly En- glish fighters
utilized the old regulations Of work. snoh as
doing 40 much labor day after day. whether
their system required IT or, whether i was
good or Injurious to their health All they
strived for, seemingly. was to get OF so many
pounds and improve their wind. The cult-
vation Of speed or the addition OF strength
was a secondary consideration Aggressive
than does mere science alone. or course
skill Is essential but II IL the rushing fight r
with the quick. snappy punches that wins
nowadays.
Jack O'Brien on his nrst trip to England
revolutioniled the trimming methods abroad
how TO get into condition in the correct way.
The result IL that the English fighters now
nre better trained, speeder and stronger
than they were ten years aro. They are
aggressive to some extent, too and their
powers Of endurance are infinitely better.
bowker is a fighter who keeps coming all the
time and who breaks ground repeatedly.