The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1904-01-17
AMUSING COMMENT ON
ATTELL-FORBES BOUT
Chicago Man Showed Ignorance
by Saying 1t Was for Cham
pionShip.
BIC GLOVES WERE USED
Many Men Do Not Possess Brutal
Instincts, and Do Not Crave
Blood.

Sporting writer's of Chicago and Cincin-
natl. who really ought TO know better.
have made some very ludicrous comments
on the recent contest in Indianapolis be-
tween Abe Attell and Harry Forbes. The
criticism or comment started in Chicago
and a Cincinnati paper took it up without
changing the matter any. One paper said:
THE fight between Harry Forbes and Abe
Attell in Indianapolis recently was much
heralded as a real battle for the bantam
weight championship. There was no men
ton of pillows before the fight. but after
it was over it became known that the
gloves weighed between seven and eight
ounces. Both fighters made creditable
showing, but there was little damage done
at any stage of the fight"
The sporting writer on the Chicago ''yel-
low paper has habit of learning things
after everything is over, but had he paid as
much attention to the match between At
tell and Forbes before il took place as he
has since he would realize how amusing
his comment is. well versed sporting
writer should know that championship bat
ties are against the laws Of Indiana. There
was absolutely no mention or the contest
being for the championship as such a thing
was never thought of by the boxers or the
promoters OF the club. The men were en-
gagged for n boxing contest and IL was an
nounced nearly every day in the Indianapo-
lis papers that they would wear large
gloves. For the benefit of critics in other
cities ii might be well TO say that there
are hundreds of men in indianapolis who
enjoy good boxing contest and they do
not possess the brutal instincts Of other
fight followers who grumble If quart of
blood is not split or If one man is not sent
TO dreamland as result of Jab on the
jaw.
II is generally believed that Young Cor
bett has distinctly the better of the weight
question in the coming bout. Britt was the
man who held ont for 100 pounds and Cor
bett seemed 10 consent rather reluctantly.
Yet those who are close to the champion
state that he is secretely pleased with that
additional pound over his figure in the Han
Ion fight. 1t took heroic measures to get
Young COrbett down TO l29 pounds and IL
will cause him good deal of trouble TO
make the 1@-pound limit. But as Jimmy
Britt is said TO be in the neighborhood of
l3S pounds Just at present, il does not ap-
pear if Corbett would have all the re-
ducing 10 do. Britt is said 10 be better
man at 1873 than at l30 This fact will likely
when they come together. Forecasts of the
odds on the fight are 10 the effect that Cor
bett will be at shorter odds i'm the first bet
ting than he was in the HanIon bout
Despairing of getting a fight with Joe
Choynski, negotiations for which have been
going on for four weeks. Sandy Ferguson
has decided 30 go after something better"
Alec Mclean, FergusOn's manager, has
posted 500 forfeit with Lawrence Swee-
ney and accepted the challenge of Bob
Fitzsimmons, in which the lanky Cornish
man expressed a willingness TO meet any
heavyweight. Boston fight followers who
saw the recent bout between Marvin Hart
and George Gardner. in which the latter
made such a woefully poor showing de-
clared openly that Fitzsimmons's showing
against the Lowell man gave Ferguson
good grounds for asking a match. and that
for any side bet the Cornishman would
make.