The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1904-08-26

notch. The never-in- finer condition
in-my-life statement is to be expected,
but it cannot be made with any de-
gree of truthfulness. Jeffries is close
to the 3O0-mark and can never hope to
be as good as he was four or even
three years ago. He has not taken the
best care of himself. takes on flesh
with alarming rapidity and finds each
spell of training harder than the pre-
decessor.
Jeffries today is a foeman worthy of
any mans steel and is fit to put up
another of his remarkable battles. but
he is not a bit better than at any stage
of mis- career.
Munroe must be considered an I'M
certain quantity. Physically his con-
dition could not be improved. Trainer
Tim McGrath, than whom there is
none better, has worked his charge
into grand shape but it is not un-
reasonable to doubt that he has made
the great fighter of him that he must
be to withstand the onslaugnts of his
bear-like antagonist. Munroe has ire
| mendous strength and unlimited game
ness, not to mention a soaring ambi-
TO hi, L.
students of the game figure that that
let's him put. He is only fairly speedy
| and is none too we'll scienced. Kid
Mccoy. a postmaster in the fine
finer points Of fisticuffs, joined the mi
ner's camp at the eleventh hour for
the purpose of giving Munroes boxing
a little polish, but the foxy Kids eff
forts were not of mucn avail. 1t is
plain that Munroe was not cut out for
| heady, scientific boxer and that
the stock in trade that he must rely
| upon is his enormous strength and
ability to assimilate punishment. He
has a punch that will bring home the
money any time he lands it on the
proper spot, but it is doubtful if he
can land it on JefTries. He has the
chance though that every fighter
has, whether he meets champion or
a dub" Munroe's body is we'll night
invulnerabe, his stomach and kid
like muscles, but his jaws, though
| thick-set and heavy, cannot begin to
compare with those of the champion
The "dopesters" never fail to point out
the fact that Sharkey. a shadow of
the once great fighting sailor, tioored
Munroe in the first round and nearly
put him out in their fight at Philadel-
phia When at the zenith of his fight
ing power Sharkey could not do this
to Jeffries, and there is no denying the
fact that Sharkey was not the man
when he met Munroe that he was when
he met Jeffries, and had practically all
of the fight knocked out of him. 1t is
| argued that if a tap from hasbeen
sends Munroe to the mat for the nine
count, one of Jeffries' terrific jolts will
certainly make him count the electric
lights for ten or more.
1t should not be understood, how
ever, that Munroe is the raw fighter
that he was when he invaded the
east after his memorable set-to with
Jeffries. He has improved greatly,
but not enough, in the estimation of
the wise ones, to wrest the laurels
from the champion. When Munroe
part of the summer he was as slow as
the prOVerbial ice wagon and knew
practically nothing of the essence of
boxing. Under expert tutors he has
made great strides and has been an
agreeable surprise to his friends. He
no longer depends entirely upon his
strength, as he did in his battles with
Limerick and Sharkey. But despite
the fact that he is an apt pupil and
perfect gluttOn for study, there is a
something lacking that cannot be ac-
Quired by lecture or practice
Munroe, to sum up his qualifications,
is game as a pebble, has extraordinary